I spoke in an earlier post about a new life philosophy, so here you go. It’s nothing ground shattering or epic, but it’s real, it’s me, and it’s my life.

This first part is a few selections from Donald Miller’s “Through Painted Desserts.”

“All my life I have been changing. I changed from a baby to a child; I changed into a teenager to drive a car, into a worker to spend some money. I will change into a husband to love a woman, into a father to love a child, change houses so we are near water, and again so we are near mountains, and again so we are near friends, keep changing with my wife, getting our love so it dies and gets born again and again, like a garden, fed by four seasons, a cycle of change. Everybody has to change, or they expire.
I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out.

Only the good stories have the characters different at the end than they were at the beginning. I bought the lie that the academic life had to be separate from relational experience, as though God only wanted us to learn cognitive ideas, as if the heart of a man were only created to resonate with movies. No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath…

We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and the resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn’t it?”

That pretty much sums it up. haha. jk. I’ll elaborate. First, let’s get this out of the way- here’s what I believe: As most of you know, I call myself a Christ-follower. However, I am not religious and am not a fan of the concept of “religion” as it is man-made and often misguided. I don’t Bible-thump, and I’m not conservative. I’d rather would help someone see the beauty of God through nature or my life and actions. It’s not about doing church on Sundays and following rules. It’s about loving God, loving the life you’ve been given, and loving others. Those are my basics on that. (If you want me to elaborate or want to ask me questions about where I stand on specific things, feel free to email me anytime.) I’m in NO way telling you to convert, become a Christian, or believe in God.  But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a big part of my happiness.

So moving along, like the quote said, wouldn’t it be a shame not to venture out in this gorgeous world God made? I think so. I think a mistake I used to always make is getting caught up in what our culture would have us think is important. Get the degree, get the job, have the house, have the spouse, have the kids, buy a dishwasher, get a maid, get a promotion, get an iphone, etc, etc, etc.  I’m not saying doing any of that is wrong by any means. I’m just saying that you don’t have to do that. Realizing that I didn’t want to climb the corporate ladder, that moving jobs over and over again to make a certain amount of money wasn’t a priority, realizing that I didn’t have to live the life those around me did….that was life-changing. 

And yea, I’m a dreamer.  And yea life sucks sometimes, and things aren’t always a fairytale.  But who’s to say you can’t always dream…that you can’t always make your own fairytales…. that you can’t “move so you are near mountains, and again so you are near water.”  Because you can do whatevertheheck you want!  Mmmhmm.

Another thing that held me back was fear of what other people would think and how they would react. And to be honest, most of my family doesn’t get me. They simply don’t, and they never will. We have totally different perspectives on life.  And it’s taken a lot of time, but I’m finally coming to terms with that. They don’t have to get me, but they do still have to love and respect me.  And I have to do the same to them.

I know I’m all over the place with this, but hopefully it makes some sense. Basically, I’m saying this: I’ve learned to love myself. I’ve learned to be myself, despite the discouragement of others. I’ve learned what makes me tick. I’ve learned that my happiness doesn’t depend on money, nice cars, or brand names. I’ve learned that time is one of the most valuable things I can give. I’ve learned to be content with myself. I’ve learned that a glass of wine and a good book are just as enjoyable as most anything else. And now I’m just rambling, but let this serve as a reminder that life can be pretty stinkin’ awesome if you make it.

Allow yourself to change when you need to change and to give love and receive love and to forgive when you need to forgive.  And this long-ass post is my reminder to myself to do all those things, and to keep on laughing and loving and believing and to keep dreaming and frolicking.  Because that’s me, and that’s what makes me happy.