My 5 Truths

I can't help but think about the fact that I will be 29 in a month.  To say that this week has been a time of reflection would be an understatement.  Monday night, I slept for a whole 90 minutes.  Not consecutive.  That's all I could get.  My brain refused to turn off.  I sat the majority of the night in self-reflection and analyzed my life, my goals, my intentions and mostly myself.

I got on my blog to write about it and noticed my dear friend Ty had written a similar post.  I recommend you go and read it here. 

What is it about leaving your twenties that is so terrifying?  Do you feel the same with each decade?  Will 40 be just as weird?  I feel like one of the most important parts of life is growth.  Growing in love, in perspectives, in beliefs, in self-awareness.  Self-awareness is your best friend.  True Story.  So more for me than anyone else, I wanted to write the Truths that I hold onto and value.  They represent me who I am today.  They represent lessons learned and failures and triumphs.  They are my truths going into my 29th year in this world.... but more than anything they are mine.

• Grow. - Grow, Adapt, Change.  Your beliefs are supposed to grow with you.  Learn to educate yourself and strive to grow in those beliefs.  What truths you held as a child, a teenager, an early twenty-something should not be the exact same as the truths you hold today.  Strive to grow.  As an individual.  As a friend.  As a partner.  Growth takes self-assessing and questioning of your beliefs.  Welcome it.  It will either place you in a more solid position or give you a completely new direction.  Work to always be self-aware.  We often go through life responding to people with our own energy behind it.  Someone once told me that being completely annoyed with someone is often because it is a mirror to something you hate about yourself.  Be aware and acknowledge these times.  It will help you to grow beyond them and reduce their impact. 
• Respect. - Yourself and those around you.  Respect is important to me because it is all encompassing.  Respecting someone can be as little as understanding or as much as showing admiration.  Strive to understand people at their core.  Gaining an understanding of what makes them who they are is the ultimate form of respect.  It can grant patience and provide true insights into those around you.   Likewise, respecting yourself is a two way street.  If you lack self-respect, other people will treat you as you treat yourself. 
  
• Reflect. - Where were you in life last year?  The year before?  Reflection is important.  It reminds us of our journey and the tribulations we have faced.  It reminds us of our strength and our tenacity of what we have overcome or accomplished.  Reflection is an important part of humanity.  The decisions of the past have determined our present and our understanding of those decisions and consequences determines are future. 
  
• Forgive. - Mostly yourself.  You haven't been perfect.  But neither has anyone else.  The past is just that... the past.  Learn from it.  Move forward knowing you cannot change it.  Forgive others.  They are often coming from a place that you are not aware of.  Their actions or words often say more about them than it does about you.  Someone once told me that refusing to forgive is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.  Harboring ill feelings hurts no one but yourself.  Forgiveness leads to a softening of the heart and opens it so other positives can enter.  A hard heart can lead to anger, dissatisfaction and ultimately disease. You won't ever have it all figured out.  Learn as you go and forgive yourself when it doesn't go as planned.
  
• Live. -  Appreciate.  Be thankful.  Be authentic. Take time to notice the positives.  There are always some there, even if they are hiding.  Give thanks every day.  Whether you believe in God, or energy or the Universe.  Gratitude shows appreciation and respect.  Remember that this is the only life you have so make it a point to be connected to that gratitude at least once a day. 
  
  These are my truths.  I would love to hear yours :)