Friday, April 12, 2013

Lesson #1

Life is a journey. I'm sure you've heard that. Life is an adventure. Life is cyclical. Life is a quest for answers. In the end, do we ever find them? Or are we just left with more questions?



I started this blog as a way to express the things I've learned and what I'm learning. This is appropriate because I am also a teacher and teaching and learning are essential to who I am.

My goal is to write a lesson a day, so (in theory) I should have 365 lessons a year from now. I'm pretty sure I'd like to incorporate lessons that I teach my little ones (in school) as well as lessons that I'm happy to share with the rest of the world. Who knows? Maybe someone reading is having the exact same thing happening to them and is looking for some kind of answer. I know I often search for answers when it comes to matters of the heart and I find that reading, whether through a blog or a book or a magazine or newspaper article, always provides me with some sort of insight. I always walk away having been introduced to something new, or gaining a new perspective. Or sometimes, like with fiction books, I get to read about how something plays out, how a character deals with an issue, and imagine myself in that same scenario. Only, in fiction, you get to read to find out how it ends. In your own life, there is no scripture to guide you. You have to make those stories on your own. My hope is that perhaps through some of my own trials and tribulations in life I can write about how it went for me and what I learned and someone can take that and apply it to their own life.

Or not. It could just be an interesting read.

Or not. Perhaps no one will ever read my blog.

I'm okay with that. It has happened before.

So here it goes, folks.

Lesson #1: Just Do It


Very cliche, I know. But it didn't become the Nike slogan for nothin! I'm certainly one who has had to learn this lesson the hard way. Without getting into too much details just yet (hey, we just met each other!) I've had some regrets in life about decisions I've made in the past and most (okay, ALL) of those regrets stems from not having done something. Not being bold enough to do something that scared me. Not having the guts to say what I feel. Not taking that leap of faith.

I have absolutely NO regrets about things I went ahead and did, whether or not they were a success. Life is funny like that.


“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.” 
- Kurt Vonnegut


So, just as I preach I must practice. This blog is something I always thought to myself I should do but never sat down to write, for fear of not saying the right thing or not having something interesting enough to write about. But, I have plenty of really good stories that have provided me with a lot of insight in my 31 years and I think to myself, I would want to read about some of these stories! So, I sit down today and I start this blog. 

Done. Just Did It. 

In keeping with this spirit, I have tackled some things that I normally wouldn't do. Things that may scare me, or I just put off. Well, the time for putting things off is over. I was determined to DO 5 new things this week. Here are the things I have done in keeping with my Lesson #1: Just Do It. 


  1. I have been learning to play the ukelele. I have failed many times at learning musical instruments because I suffer from a perfectionist attitude. This time I thought, what have I got to lose? Absolutely zilch. So, I have two songs down and if I keep it up by the end of the year I should have enough for a solo coffee shop performance! 
    Guitar and Ukelele (or, as I like to call them, Papa Guitar and Baby Guitar)

  2. I have continued knitting. I learned how a long time ago but forgot. With my recent surge of just do it attitude I took it back up (with some help from the friendly folks at this knitting place) and have been plugging along. It looks to me like a blanket for a mouse rather than something wearable for a human, but if I keep up my can-do-ness it should turn into something formidable in the near future. So, I'm doin it. 
  3. I have bought tickets to attend my friend's wedding in Italy. I kept putting it off for fear of not having the funds, but my husband and I saved up for a few months and then, when our tax return came back, I thought...just. do. it. So now, we are officially going on a 10 day trip to Italia! 
  4. I took a new exercise class (Pure Barre). I know that's not such a big deal, but it was stepping out of comfort slightly because it was something I had never done before. And I made a pact with myself to attend every day of my 2 week unlimited pass. I only missed a couple days because I was so freaking sore I physically couldn't put myself through it. But I did it. You're welcome, tight new booty. 
  5. I have been decorating our house with fresh flowers. Spring has not sprung up here in Pittsburgh, PA but I thought about bringing a little spring into our abode. Normally I would say this is a waste because flowers just go and die anyway. But the color and freshness and beauty of them really do wonders in brightening the mood of the place, and, in turn, my own mood. 





 

I may try upping the ante on my trying-new-things and just-doing-it list (10 things next week?). But I had to prove it to myself that, as a lesson learned, I need to be following it. Who knows what thing I just might do to lead me onto something great? 

So, when you consider things that you want to do or try and then push it off or save till later or claim that it isn't for you...remember that the things you leave undone or unsaid will lead you to feel the deepest regrets later on in life. Trust me. 

Jump. Leap. Fly. Do. 



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