“When you’re young, you believe the world changes faster than it does. It does change, but it’s slow. You learn to accept the world on its terms without giving up the belief that you can change the world. That’s a successful adulthood — the maturation of your thought process and very soul to the point where you understand the limits of life, without giving up on its possibilities.”
~ Bruce Springsteen.
Came across an interview with Springsteen just the other day. This quote jumped out.
Right now, I believe there are a lot of folks “catastrophizing” about the future ~ the results of presidential elections, the state of the economy, the effects of the latest hurricane, the educational process of students (be it kindergarten, grad or technical school) …. and … the list goes on. (May be that your personal list goes on … and on …. and on …. and on.)
I ask you to remember one of my favorite heard 12-step phrases: This, too, shall pass.
I ask you to remember to breathe.
I ask you to remember the resilience of the spirit ~ of all living things.
Are there events that occur that suddenly shake the foundation? Yes. Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Chicxulub asteroid which struck Earth and took out the majority of existing dinosaurs in a matter of months. (Well, except for those in Australia who survived for another million years ~ give or take a millennia or two.) Pompei (79 CE). 9/11. The need for the creation of the Zuiderzee (15th century). The Hamin Mangha plague 5000 years ago. This list could go on, and on, and on. (And it does).
All this is simply to point out that …. time goes on, and changes happen. And happen again. And change again.
Cause and effect continue to play.
Not everything that occurs in this instance is a catastrophe. It takes a type of mental maturity (no matter the age) to recognize and ‘deal with’ the event(s) of Now. Now is not tomorrow, though echoes may exist. (Now is not next week … month … or year!)
With the understanding that comes from this maturity, the acceptance of the current world on its terms, understanding the current limits of one’s own life, then belief and possibilities can live strong and true. The guiding light and north star. The persistance of persistance. If you could, ask Johnny ‘Appleseed’ Chapman or Maurice de Sully. Neither lived long enough to see the fruition of their dreams. They had the belief and understood the possibilities couched within the terms of life and time. It did not stop either. A guiding light. A north star. Process coupled with belief. Without giving up.
So ~ breathe. Remember.
Become your own “Boss.”