One Thing…

Posted by: brookeyool on: June 15, 2011

• In: challenge | happiness | trust30
• 2 Comments

OK… I’m getting toward the end of this writing challenge, and some of the prompts are feeling repetitive. I guess that’s good, since that means I’ve given thought to many of the deeper issues they’re probing? (Dealing with many health issues will do that to you.)

Here’s the prompt from yesterday:

(tuesday 14 june) Do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Take a moment, step back from your concerns, and focus on one thing: You have one life to achieve everything you’ve ever wanted. Sounds simple, but when you really focus on it, let it seep into your consciousness, you realize you only have about 100 years to get every single thing you’ve ever wanted to do. No second chances. This is your only shot. Suddenly, this means you should have started yesterday. No more waiting for permission or resources to start. Today is the day you make the rest of your life happen. Write down one thing you’ve always wanted to do and how you will achieve that goal. Don’t be afraid to be very specific in how you’ll achieve it: once you start achieving, your goals will get bigger and your capability to meet them will grow. (Author: Colin Wright)

I feel like I’ve already answered this before… I must say, throughout the past year recovering from my medical mishaps, I’ve truly discovered mortality. It’s funny, throughout childhood, college, and my 20’s, I always felt “not old enough”, as though I could while away the days without a worry in sight. Then, one day, something changed: I felt as though I was chasing time and had to make every minute count. There was no transition between the two phases. I’m not saying that I feel “old” by any means, just that I very much appreciate the life that I have.

And I’ve mentioned the “one thing” I want to do in a previous post, so I’ll leave it at that.

Now, for today:

(wed 15 june) When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?

Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future. (Author: Bridget Pilloud)

I’ve had several of these, actually, and these experiences are gratifying, exciting, terrifying, refreshing… this is why I seek them out. They are moments of true self-discovery, and ways in which we truly live.

One of my first “self-blossoming” moments (other than acting/musical performance in high school and college) was my first experience as a college professor. Ten years ago, I was a full-time, tenure track faculty member at a community college, in charge of all organic chemistry classes and labs–that’s a lot for a 27-year-old! I was flattered to be given all the responsibility, I was terrified to have the responsibility (as well as a group of students learning solely from me), yet at the same time I was excited to wield the chalk in my own hand and lead the class using my favorite teaching techniques. It was a job where, some days, I was just a few pages ahead of the students–but that was part of the thrill.

I try to be a thrill-seeker in life… moment by moment. It makes us feel alive. (I’d love to hear other people’s thrill-seeking moments!!!)

Tags: risk-taking, success, trust30