Carpe diem (life’s dos and don’ts)

Don’t wait for time. Make it.
Don’t wait for love. Feel it.
Don’t wait for money. Earn it.
Don’t wait for the path. Find it.
Don’t wait for opportunity. Create it.
Don’t go for less. Get the best.
Don’t compare. Be unique.
Don’t fight your misfortune. Transform it.
Don’t avoid failure. Use it.
Don’t dwell on [mistakes]. Learn from [them].
Don’t back down. Go around.
Don’t close your eyes. Open your mind.
Don’t run [from] life. Embrace it.
~ Bigvai Volcy

This post is more for me than anyone else.  Another reminder of how I desire to live actively, rather than passively.  How I want to take control over my own circumstances.  But I’m more likely to spend time beating myself up over missed opportunities instead of pursuing the life I desire for myself.  Sometimes I feel selfish adopting this attitude.  However, if I want something, I can’t wait for it to drop in my lap.  I can’t wait … period.  Carpe diem.

What are you waiting for?

[Image credit: http://www.villacarpediemcuracao.nl/%5D

This too shall pass

[Image credit: Vlado]

I think the phrase This too shall pass requires an active, rather than a passive, approach.  For instance, my daughter’s change of residence (see Empty nests are for the birds) is not going as well as we’d hoped.  Granted, it’s only been five nights, but she’s spent 60 percent of those nights at “home,” in my nest.  Not that I’m complaining, but I know that wasn’t her intent when she made the decision to fly the coop.  I can’t be sure if she’ll be back, or if these are simply growing pains while she learns to spread her wings.  But without action, her circumstances will remain the same.  In other words, she can’t continue to keep one foot in each door indefinitely.  She either needs to stay put, confront her concerns and see if it works out.  Or she needs to accept that it’s not right for her.  Even if that means temporarily returning to the nest.

Do you believe this too shall pass with, or without effort?