By: Cheryl Garza
Bryan, Ohio
To Survive or Thrive. It’s a Choice. I hope I survive this!” I’ve said that many times, haven’t you? There was a time I had to take speech class twice and faced the final audience with great fear and trepidation.
Did I mention raising children at a young age? Then there was losing all the loved ones of my family my born family? Closing a business. I and I’m sure we could go on and on.
I’ve survived them all and much more and learned something important. Surviving is not what life is about. Life is about THRIVING! And thriving is a choice.
We live in a world of rapid change, and change is uncomfortable. In the past century, then industrial age, we followed a well-defined lifestyle: go to school for nine months out of the year, learn a trade or profession, get a job and work for the same company until retirement, retire to a warm place and do crafts or play golf and until health prohibits it, then move into senior years into a nursing home or assisted living.
If you worked hard and followed the rules, you survived and lived a good life. Jobs were plentiful, and the economy grew. We graded our success by the stuff we accumulated in the size of the house we accumulated it in. Then life changed.
This new century, the information age, is fast paced and constantly changing as we look to define it. Schooling is electronic more and more is done from home all year long, lifetime careers are no longer built with the same company, retirement is more about re-trending our “tires” and moving into a new job path then about playing for the last 20 years of my life.
Nursing homes are being replaced by senior communities with staged healthcare. We need a new grading scale. Here is mine THRIVE: –Trust –Hope –Reconcile –Invest –Value –Encourage – Age and experience have taught me to TRUST that things will work out.
It’s never as bad as it seems at the moment, and if you watch for it, you will see the good that comes from something that seemed pretty not so good…most often.
HOPE comes from a strong faith in something much bigger than us. I prefer to call that God, Guadalupe, Higher Power, Divine Loving spirit. Connecting to the love and the energy that’s inside of us and choosing to name it is always your choice and that’s where the power lies.
Call it what you want, but know that you are not the ultimate answer, there is something more, something bigger! Relationships are valuable treasures, much more valuable than the stuff and money can buy. If yours are out of sorts, RECONCILE them.
INVEST in people, not things. Make new friends. Renew old friendships. Eating dinner together with your family around the family table. Turn off the Internet, TV, iPad, and play games.
VALUE your time more than money. ENCOURAGE others there are so many ways that bring out their greatness that helps them to thrive at the highest is the greatest gift you can give to someone.
Words are very powerful and meaningful. I hope you choose these words to keep your thriving. Remember, life is not about merely surviving. Life is about thriving. The choice is yours. The minutes are ticking away….THRIVE!
We are all really just seeking wholeness and connection to the Earth and to oneself and each other, God, Guadalupe, Angels, Spirit Guides, Divine Intelligence. My greatest hopes and prayers are that we can all share an encourage each other to live a happier, healthier, Vibrant life!!!
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Cheryl L Garza A Lady With Alot Of Zeal and yearning to empower, guide, encourage and share all HOLISTIC Wholesome Living with youth-adults. Highly educated, extremely passionate, determined and driven with no doubts… I choose to make the rest of my life the BEST of my Life, I wish that for all as well… Sharing Love & Kindness… spreadingwellness@yahoo.com 567-239-1960
