Own up to yourself

There are things in this life that no one can take away from you. People will try, but they are still yours to keep… yours to fight for. These are attributes and life philosophies that are sometimes hard to hold on to but even harder to come by. Those in this life who own these things should wear them on their sleeves. Among these are traits that separate people from an abysmal and dismal race with nothing left to give…. where everything is for the taking.

What are these things I speak of? There are many more, but I’ll say one’s:

1.       Mind

2.       Achievement

3.       Resolve

4.       Experience

5.       Knowledge

6.       Spirit

7.       Values

The things about a person that make them unique. To add a layer, no one can take your:

8.       Altruism

9.       Forgiveness

10.   Unconditional love

11.   Sense of self

There is a set for strength and a set for care, both of which are empowering.  What these things have in common is that they are all things that are owned…. they are for the offering or sharing… they can be given to the world. Remember: What is once given can never be taken away.

What can be stolen from us?

1.      Power

2.      Control

3.      Material possession

These can all be taken away without warning. I believe we spend the most energy, time, and resources trying to achieve or accumulate these, and what is worthy of mention is they typically have a shorter life. To state the obvious, we are never guaranteed:

4.      Life

This can also be short-lived. While I realize this may all sound fairly trite, to me, it is eye-opening that so much of our existence is spent attaining what we can never be sure to keep. This takes away from life, which is precisely what we are trying to improve. To truly grow and feel empowered, one must give what is self-replenishing, rather than tear at the threads of his own manufacture. We must also take what accomplishments we do have and accept that progress is a perpetual concept; to gain ground does necessarily mean that you are done gaining ground.

For the high achievers, you should resign yourself to the fact that no amount of progress will make you wholly content – at some point, you have to settle for what you’ve achieved or accomplished, which no one can take away from you.  Realize that success can be much like greed and other addictions, where you chase it so far that you’ve lost pieces of yourself along the way.  Remember: be true to your roots, and own up to yourself.