I would like to be a flower which blooms to full glory and dies, than being a tree that never blossoms.

I would like to be a spark that burns with a brilliant blaze for a moment, than being a light which cannot show path to anyone.

I would like to be a superb meteor which carries a magnificent glow, than being a sleepy and permanent planet.

I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.

I am born to Live. Not to Exist.

Do you think these statements describe you? In what ways?

Or are you content to just exist? What does that mean to you?

Do you think these statements describe you? In what ways?

Or are you content to just exist? What does that mean to you?

I HOPE they describe me. I want to LIVE.

Well, when I read that...then yes, I agree with the first entire part of the quote!
At the bottom, though, "I am born to live, not to exist"...
To me, that means living for now and not caring if you are forgotten once you are gone.
I would prefer my friends/family remember me and that I make a difference somehow in this world...
However, I won't know when I'm gone so I'd rather live for the moment!

I will always strive to do more than exist...enough has never been enough for me.

I want to be more than a memory, the mom behind the stove, cleaning, driving them to practice....I want to be a part of life, not just living in a routine of life. My friends, my family, my children and my husband always come first. I love deeply, laugh freely, smile easily, fight fiercly, but no matter what I do, it's living life to the fullest and with the people I love because there is one thing I know, something that I feel confidence in because I will always want more......we may not always have it all together, but together we damn sure have it all...


THAT is what that quote makes me feel.. :D

Wow. What a great post! Joy, I've been thinking about this same concept a lot lately. I tend towards philosophical pondering by nature. Any way, I see my DB, who's out at sea, challenged by his job, making a difference, having experiences that are not routine and not boring. He really lives to the fullest.

Me, I feel like an anchor. I ground him, I ground my kids, and I add stability to my boss at work because I'm predicatably reliable.

However, even knowing I shine a quiet light to lead my boyfriend home, somewhere inside me, I desire to burn brighter, shine and not just glow dimly.

I can't figure out what dreams I have left in me to fulfill. But once I am aware I hope to throw myself into the chance to live to the fuller. I just don't know how to be more than I am. I feel somewhat held back presently.

I can't figure out what dreams I have left in me to fulfill. But once I am aware I hope to throw myself into the chance to live to the fuller. I just don't know how to be more than I am. I feel somewhat held back presently.


I think we have all felt this way. To me, taking the first step is important. Everyday is another opportunity to be more than you were yesterday. To me it's not just fulfilling or dreams and goals but to also better ourselves daily.

Another quote that helps me through those days



The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

i want to live and leave my mark on the world

80 views...

Amazing that so few people respond. :no

Kinda feels like unless it's about :dramasign, it's not worth a response these days. Just my opinion of course.




:dunno

I am fine with just existing. I'm not really here looking for something greater than my daily happiness and I am certainly not trying to leave my mark on planet earth :dunno

I don't know how to describe what I want to say where it will look all well put.

I know in my early 20's I had more of a flame........it's been getting much smaller, the closer I get to 40 :P

That's a great quote. I feel the same way about life. I don't want to just make it from one day to the next doing the bare minimum. I want to look back and know I made a difference in people's lives and lived everyday like it was my last.

80 views...

Amazing that so few people respond. :no

Kinda feels like unless it's about :dramasign, it's not worth a response these days. Just my opinion of course.




:dunno

now i kinda don't want to respond to it at all. at first i thought here is something sorta "feel goody" and now it doesn't.


but yeah. those statements apply to me. i would rather live life to the fullest and strive for happiness than to simply settle for anything less than that.

Joy,
It's a wonderful topic of conversation. It doesn't matter how many views vs posts there are to me. In a way, the 'looks' are really significant, because whether others speak up or not, they are thinking. Any thread that inspires thought is an important one.

I agree with you regarding attitude being everything. It often predicts our success or failure. After coming through a tumultuous divorce, where I lost so much ($$$). I realized the only thing I could control was my attitude. That was a critical lesson learned at a high price (again, $$$).

Getting back to the question of settling. Overall, looking at my present relationship, one of us is the Yin and the other the Yang. So, if he is off pursuing his dreams (which I feel strongly he is, & he admits the same), it seems that the only response I have is to keep the home fires burning, watch the kids and remain stable for the balance.

I'm the anchor in our world. He's the kite and he's soaring now. I'm happy for him, too. There's no resentment, there is understanding and acceptance. I still hope to pursue my own dreams one day, but it doesn't feel 'my turn'. It's his turn. But when it's my chance, I hope to take flight as well. And, the more I think about it, so many of my dreams involve him being next to me, which I cannot have today. He's deployed.

My quest now is to determine what dreams I still have left to fulfill. I'm 42 yrs old. It's different now than in my 20s or even 30s. Some options have been eliminated.

If you've read this far (sorry I'm so long-winded!), don't think I'm depressed. Just melancholy today.

Joy,
It's a wonderful topic of conversation. It doesn't matter how many views vs posts there are to me. In a way, the 'looks' are really significant, because whether others speak up or not, they are thinking. Any thread that inspires thought is an important one.

I agree with you regarding attitude being everything. It often predicts our success or failure. After coming through a tumultuous divorce, where I lost so much ($$$). I realized the only thing I could control was my attitude. That was a critical lesson learned at a high price (again, $$$).

Getting back to the question of settling. Overall, looking at my present relationship, one of us is the Yin and the other the Yang. So, if he is off pursuing his dreams (which I feel strongly he is, & he admits the same), it seems that the only response I have is to keep the home fires burning, watch the kids and remain stable for the balance.

I'm the anchor in our world. He's the kite and he's soaring now. I'm happy for him, too. There's no resentment, there is understanding and acceptance. I still hope to pursue my own dreams one day, but it doesn't feel 'my turn'. It's his turn. But when it's my chance, I hope to take flight as well. And, the more I think about it, so many of my dreams involve him being next to me, which I cannot have today. He's deployed.

My quest now is to determine what dreams I still have left to fulfill. I'm 42 yrs old. It's different now than in my 20s or even 30s. Some options have been eliminated.

If you've read this far (sorry I'm so long-winded!), don't think I'm depressed. Just melancholy today.

Thank you. I guess I was kinda dissappointed with so much depressing things going on, and drama, and just down right cattiness, it would be nice to do some actual self reflection and discussion... :sigh

I think we all get that melancholy feeling sometimes, and wanting more makes is something but it's so hard to know how to get there or what it is we want. I know I feel that way ALOT. I have some health issues that get me down alot, and it's hard to try and make everyday a "good" day, and not do the bare minimum, and I look at quotes like these and my children and I make myself just do more, not just for me but for my children.

now i kinda don't want to respond to it at all. at first i thought here is something sorta "feel goody" and now it doesn't.


but yeah. those statements apply to me. i would rather live life to the fullest and strive for happiness than to simply settle for anything less than that.


I'm sorry I made you feel this way, I was just dissappointed about the response and could have worded it better. I think I'm going to take a step away for awhile.

Re: Drama at SOS -
I spent a considerable amount of time in the Boxing Ring today. I was trying so hard to understand someone's POV. This *person* seemed to exist to rile up other people's passions, trying to force them to think differently than they were. I held myself back from responding because I felt I would be sucked into this drama. The thread sure didn't need another voice. The ladies were covering the bases well enough without me.

The *poster* made me realize that drama does sometimes have a purpose. First, it unites the majority, creates bonding (I saw posters who have gone at eachother's throats previously unite over this particular issue), and for me anyways, reading all this cyber drama made my own time today pass much more quickly. So, drama can have its upsides.

Going back to your topic. I think the best thing I can do presently is to use the deployment time to gather my thoughts together on what my dreams are. Articulate them. You can't accomplish something if you can't name what you want.

I won't lament the fact that someone else (like my DB) is accomplishing his goals/dreams. Ultimately, we each are accountable to fulfill our own self.

If you have an illness, I would use that time to reflect what I would do on the days I felt better and stronger. Draw up your battle plan of action. I did that during my long bedrest when PG with my daughters.

And, lastly, I'll add that watching kids is a dream in and of itself. Even though it's easy to take it for granted. So many ladies are dreaming of having the kids we both already have. Sometimes I have to catch myself from dismissing the importance of simply being their mom. They were and they are an answered prayer and a realized dream. Like your wonderful quote stated earlier, it's all in one's *attitude*.

(HUGS)