The Awakening

A time comes in your life when you finally get it...
when in the midst of all

your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice

inside your head cries out - ENOUGH!
Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on.
And, like a child quieting down after a blind

tantrum, your sobs begin to subside,
you shudder once or twice, you blink

back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you
begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it's time to stop hoping and waiting
for something to change
or
for happiness, safety and security
to come galloping over the next horizon.

You come to terms with the fact that he or she
is not Prince or Princess Charming
and you are not Cinderella or Cinderfella
and in the real world there aren't always fairy tale endings
(or beginnings for that matter)
and that any guarantee of "happily ever after"
must begin with you and in the process
a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact you are not perfect
and not everyone will always love,
appreciate or approve of who or what you are...
and that's OK.

(They are entitled to their own views and opinions.)
You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself
and in the process a sense of new found confidence
is born of self approval.

You stop criticizing and blaming other people
for the things they did to you
(or didn't do for you)
and you learn that the only thing you can really count on
is the unexpected.
You learn people don't always say what they mean
or
mean what they say and not everyone will always be there for you and that it's not always about you.

So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself
and in the process a sense of safety and security
is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and
you begin to accept people as they are,
and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties,
and in the process a sense of peace and contentment
is born of forgiveness.

You realize that much of the way you view yourself,
and the world around you,

is as a result of all the messages and opinions
that have been ingrained into your psyche.

You begin to sift through all the beliefs you've been fed about
how you should behave, how you should look,
how much you should weigh,
what you should wear,
where you should shop,
what you should drive,
how and where you should live,
what you should do for a living,
who you should sleep with,
who you should marry,

what you should expect of a marriage,
the importance of having and raising children
or what you owe your parents.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view.
You beginreassessing and redefining who you are
and what you really stand for.
You learn the difference between wanting and needing
and you begin to discard the doctrines and values
you've outgrown,

or should never have bought intotobegin with,
and in the process you learn to trust your own knowing.

You learn it is truly in giving that we receive,
that there is power and
glory in creating and contributing and
you stop maneuvering through life
merely as a "consumer" looking for your next fix.

You learn principles suchas honesty and integrity
are not the outdated ideals of a by gone era
but the mortar that holds together the foundation
upon which you must build alife.

You learn you don't know everything,
it's not your job to save the world and
you can't teach a pig to sing.

You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility
and the importance of setting boundaries
and learning to say NO.

You learn the only cross to bear is the one you chooseto carry
and that martyrs get burned at the stake.
Then, you learn about love, romantic love and familial love.

You learn how to love,how much to give in love,
when to stop giving and when to walk away.

You learn not to project your needs or your feelings
onto a relationship.

You learn you will not be, more beautiful, more intelligent,
more lovable or important
because of the man or woman on your arm
or the child that bears your name.

You learn to look at relationships as they really are
and not as you would have them be.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes.

You learn just as people grow and change so it is with love...
and you learn you don't have the right to
demand love on your terms...

just to make you happy.

You learn that alone does not mean lonely...
and you look in the mirror
and come to terms with the fact you will never be
a size 3 or a perfect 10
and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head
and agonizing over how you "stack up."

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside,
smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn feelings of entitlement areperfectly OK...
and that it is your right to want things
and to ask forthe things that you want...
and that sometimes it is necessary to make demands.

You come to the realization that you deserve
to be treated with love,
kindness, sensitivity and respect and you won't settle for less.

You allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you
to glorify you with his or hertouch...
and in the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect.

You learn your body really is your temple.
You begin to care for it andtreat it with respect.

You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more waterand taking more time to exercise.

You learn fatigue diminishes the spirit
and can create doubt and fear so you take more time to rest.

And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul,
so you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn, that for the most part in life,
you get what you believe youdeserve...
and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn anything worth achieving is worth
working for and wishing for
something to happen is different from working
toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn in order to achieve
success you need direction,
discipline and perseverance.
You also learn no one can do it all alone
and that it's OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is the great

robber baron of all time, FEAR itself.

You learn to step right into and through your fears
because you know whatever happens you can handle it
and to give in to fear is to give away the right
to live life on your terms.

You learn to fight for your life
and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn life isn't always fair, you don't always
get what you think
you deserve and sometimes bad things happen
to unsuspecting, good people.
On these occasions you learn not to personalize things.
You learn no one is punishing you or failing to answer your prayers.
It is just life happening.

You learn to deal with evil in its most primal state - the ego.
You learn negative feelings such as anger,
envy and resentment must be understood
and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you
and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to admit when you are wrong
and to building bridges instead of walls.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we
take for granted, things that millions of people upon
the earth can only dream about:
a full refrigerator, clean running water,
a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself
by yourself and to
make yourself a promise to never betray yourself
and to never, ever settle forless than your heart's desire.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so
you can listen to the wind and
you make it a point to keep smiling,
to keep trusting,
and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart and with faith
by your side you take

a stand, you take a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

~ "saddlebag" ~