Waste Not Wednesday:What Makes a King out of a Slave

Courage.


I am in a pretty huge season of change as of late. And mostly it has been natural, and flowing. Nothing really standing in my way. But it can't always be that easy. Begin:today.

Today I am being reminded that in order to completely realize the change, you need a giant amount of courage. There will be a point in all forward motion where you will get stuck. Even though you welcome the change completely and are trucking along just fine, you WILL get to a point where you find yourself sick with fear. Fear of the unknown, how what you are doing will affect those around you, or that you might be making a terrible mistake.

Enter: The Wizard of Oz




When I started thinking about the topic of courage, Wizard of Oz was obviously the first thing I thought of. And when I really let it all sink in I came to two realizations.
1- I could write about this movie all day (but i wont)
2- Dorothy came across these characters in the perfect order. Each one of them was in need of something. That one thing that was going to complete them. But in reality it was Dorothy who needed to find all of those things for herself. And we are ALL Dorothy.

Dorothy meets the Scarecrow first- when she doesn't know where to go. She needs direction. She needs knowledge. She's lost. And hey, scarecrow needs a brain. fancy that.

She meets the Tin Man next, after being attacked & tempted by those nasty trees and their rotten apples. And while Dorothy is not lacking in the heart department, per se, it IS the fact that the Tin Man NEEDS a heart, that hers is proven, when she suggests to Scarecrow to invite the Tin Man along.

And of course, when fear of the unknown & scary forest is upon our lady, She meets the Lion, who of course needs courage.

So here we stand. In the face of change. We know things here are going to be different. We want something grander. We need to get to our own Emerald City. First we need to know which way to go. What our best options are, and even take a chance on one path vs. the other. After we decide which way to get where we're going, we realize that we absolutely positively HAVE to have the heart for it. Without heart, there is no hope. And just when we thought the path we've chosen was the right one- we come across the scary dark forest of doubt. And it's in the face of doubt that we MUST have courage. Courage to TRUST that our brain & our heart are working together to guide us. Courage to face the darkness that lies just before the Emerald City.

And of course, once you realize that you already have all the brains, heart & courage it takes to make the journey- the only thing left to do is USE THEM.


Today I have been challenged. I know my path. My heart is ready for the change. And I stand at the entrance of a dark forest, scared of the things that may be hiding in it, and courage is my only way out. COURAGE is what will keep me from wasting everything I have been given.

Waste Not Wednesday

My iPod can do magical things. Today it played me a song. One song to inspire what I can only hope will become months & months worth of inspiration & challenge.

Am I a fool at this late date
To heed a voice that says,
You can be great

I heard it young, now I hear it again
It says, you can be better than you've ever been

Don't want to waste what I have to give
In all of the time that I've left to live
Don't want to waste what I have to give
In any of the time that I've got left
I can do more than I thought I could
Work brings more luck than knocking on wood
There's random bad and random good
Work brings more good luck

You ask the world
And the world says, no
It's the world's refrain
Mine says, go
You ask the world
And the world says, no
It's an old world refrain
Mine says, go

Don't want to waste what I have to give
In all of the time that I've left to live
Don't want to waste what I have to give
In any of the time that I've got left
I can do more than I thought I could
Work brings more luck than knocking on wood
There's random bad and random good
Work brings more good luck

Better be off
I've got dreams to dream
Though it seems uphill and a little extreme
If I can find hope in this fading light
Then I'll find you on the morningside

-John Gorka "Morningside"

I struggle a lot with accomplishing goals. Actually, I don't ever really set goals for myself. I have always felt limited by setting goals. Because of that, I rarely feel accomplished. Always dreaming, never doing. But this song hit me today. It's a simple message really, and I think right now the things I find most profound, are actually the simplest.

I know I was made for bigger things than what I am doing. I can always do more, and I always want to. But being honest with myself, means admitting that I am wasting what I have to give. And I don't want to do that. No longer.

I think we all have a bit of wastefulness in us. When something is too hard, or too inconvenient, or too time consuming, or too much work- we just let the opportunity go. We don't work for more. We settle with what we are doing. And by doing that, we are wasting what we have to give in this world. I, for one, know I could be doing a lot more.

From here on out, I proclaim every Wednesday "Waste not Wednesday". To inspire & encourage us ALL not to waste what we are given. Not to let our talents, desires, & goals sit idly by. To take steps toward accomplishment, fulfillment & inner peace. To LEARN about ourselves so we can know what it is we have to give. We all have the power to make this world a better place. We all have all been given individual gifts to lavish upon the rest of the world. Why are we letting them get dusty? What are we waiting for? What are we afraid of?

I heard it young, now I hear it again
It says, you can be better than you've ever been