Live Alive

It can be very easy to get bogged down by whatever seemingly unsolvable dilemmas life throws at you day to day. We all face challenges, problems, and times when we feel alone and powerless. It's in the midst of the chaos that we forget how to live and we forget what it feels like to be joyously and wondrously alive.

Though we may not be able to escape reality, we can season it. It's important to find things that bring you joy, no matter how simple they may be and even if only for a short time.

Now, I know what many of you are thinking, but I'm only nineteen. I don't have easy access to alcohol.

This post is an introduction to a series I'm writing called Live Alive where I share some of the things that inspire me, make me feel alive, and how they do so. Some of these may seem like the simplest of things, like profound morning walks, teaching myself how to cook with varying results, or rocking out to my favorite music when I'm stuck in traffic. 

I also realize that some of these things may reveal just how uninteresting and lame my life ay appear to be. But, hey, there's no such thing as an ordinary life. There's only your life.

Sometimes it really is the little things that help you live life the way it was meant to be lived. I invite you to come and discover some of what makes me feel most alive and I encourage you to hopefully find some little things that add joy and wonder to your lives as well.

Take time. Sniff the roses. Enjoy the ride. 

Live alive.

                                                                              

Not Of This World

Let's talk a little bit on the ever so fickle concept of fitting in. It is very easy for me to feel like a I don't fit in. That's a feeling I experienced living in Georgia, and it's definitely been magnified in California. I'm sure I'm probably a little weird by many people's standards, maybe a little soft spoken (A great quality for a blogger I'm sure), and I don't always make a huge effort to put myself in any form of spotlight.

Going from a small town to a big city is an overwhelming undertaking. It almost forces you to break out of whatever shell you've locked yourself in, because if you don't, no one will ever know you were even here. 

I've been in Los Angeles for four weeks, and I still feel a bit like an outsider. It's probably one of those things that's just in my head, kind of like how every car and driver hates me and wants to murder me. 

It's a strange and different culture that I'm trying to get used to. Not just Southern California, but city culture. It's a bit of an uphill climb trying to find my element and occasionally I feel like I slide back down. But, sooner or later, every mountain has to crest.
 
I keep telling myself that every person who comes to this city feels the same way at first. At one point or another, we all feel like outcasts. I have found, however, that there is a major difference between fitting in and feeling like you belong.

Right before I left for Los Angeles, I went to see the new Superman film, Man of Steel. The story of Superman has always intrigued me. A boy born not of this world sent to save it, to be a symbol of hope, and to help the people accomplish wonders. It's inspiring on so many levels.

I hate being just another dude saying that I'm just like Superman, but I have to believe that I'm in this city for a reason. Whether it be to bring hope to those who have none, or to just lighten someone's day with a smile.

I'm sure there's a part of all of us, myself included, that can relate to Clark Kent. Of course, Clark Kent's issue wasn't that he had slightly baggier jeans than everyone else. Though he totally got the hipster glasses down. He was an outcast. He was an outsider. But, he had purpose and destiny.

We all have a purpose and a destiny. It's different for every single person, and sometimes we have to stand out in a different crowd in order to fulfill that purpose. You have to choose to be your own person before you can change the world. The best version of yourself is the one that transcends the ways of the crowd.

I've found that it's okay to be overwhelmed and it's okay to be a little intimidated sometimes. As long as you don't let it stop you from fulfilling your purpose. 

As long as you don't let it stop you from changing the world.

                                                                              

Freedom Is Here

Sometimes, timing really is everything. I don't think it's by chance that I made this huge change in my life right around the time that we as nation celebrate our freedom and independence. It's such a profound time for us to dwell on what freedom means to us as individuals. That is, when we're not thinking about the stuff we want to shoot with Roman candles.

It's always a liberating experience when one separates themselves from the nest and chooses to live independently. But for me, it's more than just a new sense of independence in my life.

It's freedom from the old me... The lesser me.

I've mentioned before how this is a quest that I've embarked on. A quest for honor, purpose, and becoming the best possible version of myself. It's a journey to find out how I can become the me I am meant to be. 

In order to become that person, you have to leave the old and useless remnants of your past self behind. The parts that restrict you from fulfilling your purpose and keep you from truly living. 

You have to declare yourself rid of them. Declare yourself free from them.

Today, I declare my freedom. Freedom from anxiety, freedom from insecurity, freedom from fear's poisonous grasp, freedom from selfishness, freedom from the limitations I put on myself.

I declare the freedom to be the person I need to be. I am free to be a little more outgoing, to express myself, to be the bold and confident man I am meant to be.

To be truly free is an extremely peculiar matter. At first it feels a little strange running around without all the weight, maybe even a little bit vulnerable. A huge misconception is that freedom is comfortable, but it's quite the opposite. It's what we are designed for. We're designed to be a little uncomfortable.

Today, I am liberated. Today, I declare my freedom. Today, I celebrate my Independence Day!

Now, who will choose to celebrate with me?