It's Okay Now

“All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is exclusively my own.”

- Goethe

My cousin, Jacob, posted that. I can’t stop thinking about it.  There are so many things that we use to define success: cars, houses, bank accounts, influence, children, job titles…  But at the end of the day, no matter what we attain, where is it going to leave us?  It’s okay now?   What does that even mean? This quote defines the underlying core of everything I strive to attain.  Freedom of Heart.

I had a paper route when I was little.  I remember riding that route in sixth grade and collecting the money from my “clients” (Are you allowed to call them clients when you’re 12?) One thing I learned at 12 was that people can be mean. I remember being 12 and thinking about how I needed to make sure that I forgave people every time I got a chance, because the bitterness and hardness that I found in some of the elderly people on my block handicapped them more than their physical ailments ever could. There is a distinct difference between adults that have taken care of their heart and those that haven’t.  When you don’t there is bitterness, anger, resentment, jealousy, envy and no matter how you try to hide it, the warmth of love leaves and that’s no way to live.

Today as I think on that quote, I am once again challenged, to live with freedom of heart. No matter where success may take us, I think we’d all rather live a low life with the fullness of freedom in my heart, than to be plagued with the unforgiveness of years and the resentment for what life could have been. 

Life is what is and it will be full if my heart is free.

What are your thoughts?  How do you protect your heart from bitterness, anger and envy?Tweet

You’ve heard it said, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

Whether or not we make lemonade, we will get lemons.  And the truth is that although lemon juice is bitter and sour, often times we’d rather just stare at the lemon than to go through the necessary process of making it something palatable.  Why in life do we like to dwell in our bitter moments?

What if we decided to make a pact with ourselves to learn how to move past things… to offer others the grace that we need ourselves? What if we decided to walk along the path of personal freedom and offer people a second chance?  It’s a bit harder, but it’ll be much sweeter in the end.

There is something about being able to say, “It’s okay now.”  Once upon a time, it may not have been okay… but now it is.

What a lighthearted feeling that leaves.

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