Have You Ever?

Another oldie, but goodie written over the summer:

Have you ever…
-Stopped worrying about what others might think, say or do and did something because it mattered to you?

-Watched a sunset long enough to see the colors change and mold together with complete intrigue and fascination?

-Taken the time to talk to a stranger, a homeless person or someone less fortunate than you?

-Gone on a trip all by yourself and been completely content without the slightest feelings of lonliness?

-Loved someone with all your heart?

-Had the kind of best friends who know you better than anyone? The kind of friends who respect you, care for you, love you and cherish you as you do them? The kind of friends who people compliment you on because they are such wonderful people?

-Believed in something so much and worked for something so hard and put as much positive energy into something as humanly possible, that you actually achieved the goal you were reaching for?

-Had your heart broken, with the pieces all over the floor and still managed to pick them all back up and put them all back into place again?

-Learned to sincerely and unconditionally forgive someone for even the most unimaginable and hurtful of acts?

-Noticed the different smells that come with each changing season?

-Quieted the mind enough that you literally had no thoughts?

-Stopped to think about all the people in your life who have gone above and beyond for you from your childhood until now?

-Thought about your favorite teacher(s) or the teacher(s) who inspired you most or helped you most, and taken a moment to thank them… even if it was years later?

-Looked into the eyes of a child and felt like there was a wise soul looking back?

-Accepted rejection and moved on?

-Snuggled with someone you adore all night and all the next day and felt like you couldn’t imagine being anywhere else?

-Tried something that scared you and discovered A.) There’s a reason it scares you, or B.) Learned it’s not so bad after all?

-Avoided making any plans and letting things spontaneously happen only to discover that it was the most enjoyable time you’d had in a while?

-Learned to just let it go.

-Laid on a beach and let the sand stick to your skin, the wind blow through your hair and the sun radiate your skin and looked out onto the ocean without anything in sight for miles, and felt completely care free?

-Dealt with enough trials in life to make you strong, understanding, mature and aware?

-Listened to a song and felt like you could connect with every single lyric?

-Put others before yourself in a healthy manner?

-Realized what your faults are and embraced them, even if you know there’s still worked to be done?

-Overcome obstacles you never thought you could break through and maybe even had them return only to discover that it’s even easier the second time around?

-Looked back at a time when you wanted something so badly and it never happened and at that present moment were thankful it didn’t work out?

-Volunteered not because you earned something for it, but because you genuinely cared about the mission behind action?

-Laughed until your stomach hurt and looked around you to discover that the people who helped create that laughter are the kind of people you couldn’t imagine not knowing?

-Missed someone so much that your heart felt tight and your stomach felt knotted?

-Looked at yourself in the mirror, not because you wondered how you or something on you looked, but instead took a moment to see yourself in a way you’ve never taken the time to truly analyze and see?

-Changed your beliefs  because you actually stopped to think about what mattered and made sense to you, not simply what others have you told you is the way to believe?

-Just cried without holding back, even if it’s something you’re not accustomed to?

-Been truly passionate about something from day one and know it’ll be your biggest passion until the day your soul moves on?

-Decided that things like celebrities, lots of money, expensive/designer clothes, top of the line cars and phones and purses and whatever else our society tells us is so important, really doesn’t matter at all?

-Taken care of your body and felt like a different person a couple weeks later and from there on out?

- Smiled over a happy thought, a moment of nostalgia, or for no reason at all?

-Complimented a stranger or been complimented by a stranger and thought about how good both situations made you feel afterwards?

-Opened your heart, even if it took some work?

-Helped someone you didn’t know because you knew they needed it?

-Slept under the stars and thought about what a small part of the world you really are when you stop to take a look at the world and people around you, you realized that all the little things that overcome your thoughts or actions are really insignificant in such a huge universe?

-Seen the words, “This Too Shall Pass”, and known that it’s always true?

I have. And, because I have done and experienced these things, I am who I am today- stronger, wiser, more understanding, more mature and more aware; yet, with the realization that there’s far more things to experience and discover and all of them will only add to that person I am today, on the inside and out. Have you?