I was on Facebook looking to see what had been posted and I came across a share that was a video of two tiny kittens. One kitten was curled up sleeping in a shoe and the other one was trying and trying to do the same in another shoe. The tenacity of this little creature made me smile and it warmed my heart. Here was this adorable little thing trying, falling over, but not stopping until finally, he got into the shoe. I’m sure he was exhausted but he was curled up so a nap was probably warranted at that point.  

What if we went through life like that little kitten? What if we didn’t know we couldn’t do something and just kept trying? Do you think that kitten stopped to think I don’t know if I can do this or did he just see the shoe and it looked like a good spot for a nap?

During my life, I have gone through segments where I was surviving. You know surviving the job, home, finances, and me. You see I had forgotten life is about experiences and the journey. There is no real destination to get to. How rich do you think your life would be if you lived for the experiences that made your heart sing? What if in every minute of every day we looked for that which gave us joy. What do you think life would be like if we lived like that?

I use to think life was about making sure everything looked the way it was supposed to look. You know the supposed to which is your interpretation of what society, friends, and family have said is important. Have you ever stayed in a job because you thought you were supposed to because you thought it was expected? What happens to our journey when we live like that? For me, I became shut down, stressed out, and I retreated within myself. I also amped up my inner chatter to make sure I understood that I was a failure because everyone else was making life work.

What I learned through living like that is every day is a trudge. You trudge through your life. The experiences of life are happening but you can’t see them, can’t appreciate them, and they feel like another piece of evidence that you are unworthy. When I started looking at life like a journey and all these experiences were things to learn from, be grateful for, and enjoy, my journey became more full, more rewarding, more joyful, more peaceful. I was no longer battling life but living life.

So I go back to the kitten I described in the beginning. How do you want to go through your journey? Experiencing all there is not caring if you fail and have to try again or try many different ways, and maybe even find out that what you thought you wanted to be wasn’t really but because you tried all these experiences you found something else totally awesome. We have a choice on whether we trudge and survive or enjoy and thrive. I’m going to let the kitten remind me it is the experiences that make life awesome so for me I’m going with the second option … ENJOY and THRIVE.