What I am about to write is no easy task. However, this is something that I offer you as a means of friendship. This is something from me to you, which, actually, this is an offering. This is from me to you as an explanation to the way I relate to the things you say. I wanted to send this because to me, this message is worthwhile.

Here’s to a moment of honest introspection. Here’s to an honest inventory because at some point, and I’m not sure when or if this happens the same way for everyone else, but at one point, there comes a time when a decision is made. There comes a point where the realization of how things are and how we want them to be are incredibly different.

There is one thing I know that I’ve always known, which is the one thing we want is happiness. The one goal we have in this world is to be happy. We spend hours and days, weeks and months, and even years to find happiness. And even if we don’t, either way, we work on this behalf in one way or another. Either we work to be happy or we worry that we won’t ever be. 

Master Sun Tzu once wrote, “Victory is reserved for those willing to pay the price.”
This means victory comes with a price. More importantly, victory does not come without loss or without pain. It takes everything to walk across that finish line in whichever form the finish line may be. 

We often hold ourselves to unrealistic standards. And I’m not sure why.. The truth is no one is perfect and mistakes are common, but still, so many of us become our own worst critic. We can be our own worst enemy.
I suppose this is why there is comfort in the simple idea which says “it’s okay not to be okay.”
At least for the moment, the idea “It’s okay to not be okay” alleviates the pressure we put upon ourselves. This allows us the permission to stall the irrational ideas we have and unplug from the thoughts that punish us the most.

And there’s the labels we put on each other. There are labels in our society and labels we give someone to wear like a generic description that says, “This is me.”
I used to buy into this. I think we all do. I think we all have our own biases and beliefs.

First thing to do is breathe because here it is now, Tuesday morning, and the sun has yet to show itself. I’m up now. Sleep and me have not always seen eye to eye but life says “Ready or not, here I come.”
So here it comes.
I have a cup of coffee beside me. I have you and me and my trusted keyboard, which I type on with purpose. My fingers punch the keys with dedication.

I was reminded by a new friend about an old lesson that I learned while going through a tough time. I remember this well because I thought the worst was about to happen. I figured everything was about to fall out from under me and at that point, there was no redemption.

There are problems we talk about on a daily basis and they have been tackled for decades or even centuries. Yet, still, they remain. We have been searching for ways to overcome sadness and the lamenting tortures of heartache and the brokenhearted moments that are long gone, but for some reason, we hold them closely. And although painful, we keep this in our grips as a reminder of what happened.

I have written about a lot of different things throughout the years. I’ve told you my secrets and my dreams. I’ve told you about my past and the hopes I have for my future. And for myself, I have spilled my thoughts on different pages to either rid me from my demons or restore my angels so that I could find some kind of sanity. One could say this is part of my plan. This is my therapy. This is my voice and my true self without any window dressing. But more, this has become a connection between us that has led me to more introductions than I could have possibly believe.