If Not You, Then WHO?

     There are so many phrases and ideas that get handed out to us all day to day without much explanation or background. Things that become accepted to the point where they become cliches over time. Not all of these thoughts are without merit, if explored in a more complete manner that makes sense to us in the real world. 

     Live the life you imagined. Sounds so easy when you say it..... cliche as it may be. It's a Hollywood staple, right? There is some truth to it, as I have found. The key to living the life you imagine doesn't just deal in the life outside of you, but inside as well. (Like a Karate Kid speech....)

      The first thing I have found is that you have to be willing to keep your imagination grounded in reality. If you always wanted to wear a Mech suit with the Robotech Force, there isn't much you can do about accomplishing that dream. (Yet. I'm sure iMech is in the R&D phase as we speak) Another large part of the reality is focusing on what you can control. As one of my favorite sayings goes, "Paint the picture, then put yourseld in it." Once you can picture where you want to be, do what it takes to put yourself in that reality. Woo the girl. Move to Asia to become a Buddhist monk. Recognize what it is you want and do it.

     Which leads to step two. Material wants can be precise (I want a Maserati), but conceptual wants allow for a large degree of leeway (I want love - my vision right now id Jessica Alba, but other women can love me too. Right?) Limiting your want to a particular form limits you on how grand you can dream. I can find joy in so many places - friends, fun, possesions, youtube - and when my imagination was to find happiness, I found it in all it's forms and became the dream..... If I had only imagined the joys of strip clubs, how would I have ever fully appreciated The Best in the World (at What I Have No Idea). (Shout out from a bloging Jerocholic! Froot.) The point is, we as a society these days focus on only certain things to satiate our desires, but so many things can give us what we really need, if we are only willing to look.

     We have to know what we are really searching for. When I went in search of a wife, the initial idea was a desire to no longer be alone. Through more time of finding what it is I really wanted in life through the years, it wasn't that I just didn't want to be alone, it was that I wanted someone to play and share life with. Perception and the ultimate desire that drive our imagination need to be understood in order to complete the circle. If I had gone forward just "not wanting to be alone", I could have wound up with any number of unsatisfactory match ups that didn't fill my true void - to enjoy life with another. I could have gone into Ward Cleaver land and been sufficiently mentally nuetered and emotionally unfullfilled. Know what it is you truly want, and then go find ways to get it.

      It's not the depth of our imaginations that limit us; but the level of difficulty we saddle ourselves with and rules we use to excuse not doing the work to find our passion and purpose. Paint the picture....