Follow Your Star November 16, 2011
Posted by nrhatch in Happiness, Mindfulness, People.trackback
Simple pleasures are life’s treasures
As we journey on down the road
Pain and fear are heavy burdens
Why don’t you put down that load?
Hardship is inevitable; misery is optional.
We are here to find out who we are
Don’t be afraid to follow your star
Don’t put your dreams on hold
Follow your own road
Our purpose is to find our purpose, and then pursue it with passion.
In the stillness, your true self emerges
As others’ expectations are purged
You’ll start to see the best part of thee
Once you learn just to be
Claim what isn’t, as if it were, until it becomes.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related posts: Getting Your Feet Wet (Water Witch’s Daughter) * The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (Judith Baxter) * Whose Shoes Are They Anyway? * Stop Playing “Follow The Leader” * Life Is Not One-Size-Fits-All * Live Your Life
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Spirit Lights The Way 
I agree up to a point. Sometimes misery is inevitable in great difficulty. But overall, a very good sentiment.
Hardships are “the inevitable obstacles we encounter” on our journey through life. We can climb over them, tunnel under them, walk around them, kick them to the curb, or . . . collapse in front of them in a heap of abject misery.
How we relate to the issue IS the issue.
A prime example: Viktor Frankl:
Immersed in great suffering and loss, Frankl began to wonder why some of his fellow prisoners were able not only to survive the horrifying conditions, but to grow in the process. Frankl’s conclusion – that the most basic human motivation is the will to meaning – became the basis of his groundbreaking psychological theory, logotherapy. As Nietzsche put it, “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0671023373
Nancy, I’m so happy you found how special Victor Frankl is/was…remarkable man, remarkable insights! And I love that idea of “follow your star”….thank you for such a special post.
I’ve heard of him many times, but didn’t understand his background and history. Amazing man and story.
I needed this today thanks Nancy!
Yay! Attitude, not aptitude, determines altitude. Fly high!
“Hardship is inevitable; misery is optional.”- Oh, how I wish to plaster a bumper sticker of this all over my car. I think SO many people focus on the obstacles, the feeling that they are owed something for their hardship. Really, a little attitude adjustment will fix things 🙂
Thanks, Tori. So many people add to their suffering in life by the thoughts they think.
I understand people in the midst of miserable conditions who are filled with misery ~ e.g., people who are starving to death with no meal in sight. I don’t understand people who leave the miserable conditions behind, but choose to carry the misery with them for the remainder of their days. It’s over . . . let it go!
Nor do I understand those who turn every “bump in the road” into some monument of misery. Get over it!
It is good to follow your dreams, but my advice is make sure you have a plan to accompany your dreams. I say this from personal experience. 🙂
Good point, PiP! Between the wish and the thing . . . life lies waiting.
Some people are so caught up in their “plans for the future” that they forget to live life right here and now.
Thanks for the pingback Nancy. I agree – people do spend so much time on planning their future or looking back on the past that they forget today is the present.
We need things to aim toward . . . but we need to embrace the journey from HERE to THERE rather than postponing our happiness until we reach our “destination.”
Some people are so focused on crossing items off their To Do lists, that they ignore the simple pleasures right in their own backyard.
“Claim what isn’t, as if it were, until it becomes.”-this line is pure gold, love it!
Thanks, Suzi. That’s from a song I wrote many moons ago. 😀
😀 Very true!!! I can attest to the benefits of following one’s dream!
Our dreams for the future provide our raison d’etre.
Oh, the joy to win and overcome! The pleasure in knowing it is possible!
Obstacles are gifts of gold in disguise . . . they give us something to “conquer” as we journey through life.
I’ve always be a proponent of this thought, “I don’t see problems, only opportunities.” Yes, life can be and often is cruel but I believe in the human spirit to be stronger. Sometimes feeling miserable for a while is important, it’s part of the grieving process. But it’s only a step, not the end.
So many people give up on their dreams but they don’t try hard enough. If you look at really successful people (and I’m not talking just about financially successful here), the one thing that separates them from the 90% remainder is that they kept trying, even when everyone and everything told them no. If one thing doesn’t work, try something else. Perseverance always pays in the end.
Follow the path of P’s . . . purpose, passion, patience, and perseverance.
If at first you don’t succeed, try again. 😀
Well said!
Nancy, your writings uplift me as I resonate with your wisdom. I needed to read this today, even positive me needs a lift from time to time! 😉
Me too! Sometimes the sun is obscured from view, and I can’t see past the clouds in my way.
I needed this myself, I have had the worst day and I’m back to feeling trapped at yet another miserable job…I’m getting out somehow…so thank you for the inspiring words…
Life takes practice and patience, eh?
It’s tough when we feel like we are trapped in a maze . . . and can’t seem to find the EXIT sign.
Good luck, Alannah!
Thank you Nancy 🙂
Few words, but very inspiring writing. I like hardship is inevitable; misery is optional. And stillness and the simple pleasures, I’ll go for that.
It’s hard to accomplish what we want to in life if we are carting around a wheelbarrow of stale grievances. We travel best when we travel light.
Lovely, lovely, lovely! Such simple wisdom that sometimes we need the reminder to get out of our own way and let it be. A very special perspective…thank you! Debra
Thanks, Debra. Sometimes we just need to relax into the moment and let our inner peace surface. Aah . . . that’s better.
How can anyone be miserable with such happy faces smiling back at them from this post? Our dreams are worth the hardship. Always.
There is nothing like a bit of Disney Magic to make us smile! 😀
It is true we are what we think. And what we think is our choice.
Sometimes it is nice to have a good wallow in the pity-poor-me section of life– but only for a brief time– then move on up and get on with living.
Sometimes we do choose to throw ourselves our “pity party” . . . until we tire of our misery. 😉
Little lass who works with me is going through a hard time, I think I will send her here to read this. Happy Thursday, Nancy 🙂
Thanks, Cin. Hope your day is off to a grand start.
We are so hard on ourselves at times, carrying the weight of the world on our shoulders. Sometimes we just need to “let it be.”
Aah . . . that’s better.
You are a star, Nancy! A bright, shiny one. That bubbles!
Thanks, Amy!
Some days I’m effervescent and feel lighter than air. Other days, I feel like a deflated bubble bath. 😆
‘Hardship is inevitable; misery is optional.’
I do believe I’ve found my mantra for self-pity days!
Yes! Me too. A reminder that, while I’m “entitled” to keep score of all the challenges I’ve faced, the disappointments I’ve felt, and the pain I’ve endured, I’m also “entitled” to let it all go and make the best of a bad situation.
Beautiful, Nancy. “In the stillness, your true self emerges”; never a truer word.
Thanks, Kate. Don’t just do something . . . sit there. 😀
Keep your feet on the ground but reach for the stars. (Theodore Roosevelt)
Teddy Roosevelt had some great sayings. My favorite: Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
[…] Follow Your Star. […]
A sort of Fake it till you make it….a confirmed way to success!
Exactly! If we want to be more X . . . we must pretend to be more X until we become more X. 😀
Simple pleasures are life’s treasures…and all is right with the world!
Simple pleasures (like laughter) make life worth living. 😀
Beautifully put. Coincidentally, I just wrote a poem about recognizing the star (highlight) of each day. 🙂 http://warriorpoetwisdom.com/2011/11/18/highlight/
Thanks! A quick retrospective glance allows us to see if we are still on the “right” path.
But if we spend too much time looking over our shoulder at past accomplishments, we risk tripping over our own feet. 😉
We are here to find out who we are
Don’t be afraid to follow your star…
That is true and a pity that some of us seem to forget who we are. Great post. 😉
When we follow our star and let our light shine . . . we give others “permission” to do the same.
“In the stillness, your true self emerges
As others’ expectations are purged” – who was it who said, “Hell is other people”? 🙂
I’m not sure. Sounds like Churchill. 😀