Be Calm In Your Heart

We are constantly surrounded by noise, trouble and hard work, but for many of us, we are rarely at peace. We have a hard time being calm in our heart. We are constantly rushing around, contributing to the noise and chaos. It can become frustrating being enveloped by this chaos, but this frustration only leads further and further away from the peace we desire. Being outwardly calm doesn't always equal being calm in your heart, but it can start you along the path towards peace.

One thing we all need to do is become better at accepting things as they are, especially when we can not change them. This acceptance helps to alleviate the frustrations and dampens the din around us. Part of being calm is knowing there are things of which you have no control and accepting this. We can't change everything about the world around us, but when we realize this, the world around us will change for us. As illogical as this sounds, the way we view the world makes the world what it is for us.

Let go of the frustrations over the things you can't control. Take control over the things you can. When you are able to orchestrate the things you can and feel no frustration towards the things you can't, calmness will begin to find it's way into your heart. As with every great thing we do, this won't be easy and will take time and practice. The more you practice, the easier it will become. 

It won't always be easy

Forget about what other people think. Forget the doubts. Forget the fear.  Don't listen to the naysayers. Don't let anyone stop you. Don't worry so much. Don't hold back.

Live your life. Follow your heart. Do things you think are impossible. Dream big. Be yourself and believe in that person. Do what makes you feel alive. 

This takes work and dedication and courage and strength. It's not always going to be easy, but the best things in life rarely are and it will be worth it. What do you want to do?

Dreams

This tree really has nothing to do with this post, I just like it.

We all dream. We all have dreams. Our most important dreams are those we have when we are awake. These are the things we are supposed do. We are meant to chase our dreams and if we try hard enough, we just might catch them. Once we do, we are lucky enough to be able to dream again and come up with something new to chase.

The worst thing we could ever do is ignore these dreams. We may never feel the time is right to start chasing them. We may have too many responsibilities or too many bills or too many people relying on us. We may feel as if we owe our company or our boss for the job we have or feel it would be selfish to quit. We may be afraid of failing. We have probably become really too good at convincing ourselves we still have time and we can start tomorrow, which becomes the following day or the following month or the following year. We are amazing at coming up with excuses. While we may never feel the time is right, the time you choose, right now, is the right time to start chasing your dreams.

We dream for a reason. Our emotions and heart and intuition know what we want to do, what we should be doing, how we can bring the most good in to the world. Because we have become so good at ignoring these, we dream. It's the best way for the emotion and heart and intuition to be heard. Listen to them and start chasing.

Heart and Intuition

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

-Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios

I have been thinking about this quote a lot lately. I sometimes wonder if I am really living my life or am I living someone else’s life? I still don’t know what I want to do when I grow up. I fear this is because I don’t know how to listen to my heart and intuition. Even worse, I sometimes wonder if it is because I choose not to listen to my heart and intuition.

I have a great job and I get to help animals on a daily basis. I work with a lot of amazing people, who, for the most part, really care about what they are doing and give 100% day in and day out, no matter what. I am lucky to have found such a place, but is this what I am supposed to be doing or is there more out there for me? Have I found my muse and not realized it or is my muse still frantically searching for me? I need to quietly listen to my heart and intuition in hopes they will weigh in on the matter.