The Brick Walls

"The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough." -Randy Pausch

You'll see more updates over at my other blog, One Quarter Mama, but I was reminded of this quote recently when I received news that my hubby and I would be disqualified from adopting this year because my father died. The agency requires we wait a year before going through the application process after a "traumatic event" they say.

It's just an annoying set back, but it just seems over the past three years we've been trying to do this, there's always something! So I have to remind myself, the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how much we want something. We just have to keep finding ways around them, over them, or just bash right through them! 

There will always be brick walls in your life. Keep the faith that if you truly want something, you'll always find a way around. Randy would be proud :)

The Brick Walls

Don't Be Afraid to Live

I found out just yesterday that an old friend of mine died and I was able to get to the wake in time to pay my respects. I'm still processing all this, so I won't go into too much detail about it, but I spent a sleepless night trying to make sense of her death. I wanted purpose and a meaning or lesson to come out of this death. In the end, what I came up with was that, in essence, she wasn't afraid to live.

So many of us are scared of death, which I think is perfectly normal, but so many of us are simply scared to live life to its full potential. We become paralysed by the unknown and bogged down by all the "what ifs?" that we never take the plunge and fulfil our wildest dreams. I truly believe we can accomplish many, if not all, of our wildest dreams if we work through our fears and make a plan of action.

I'm not saying that my friend was never scared or had doubts - that would mean she wasn't human! But despite those fears, she plunged into life fully and because of that, was able to make a difference in her world.

The only lesson I could glean from her death, and it's a painful way to be reminded, but one I think does her memory justice, is to work through our doubts and fears and stop being more afraid of living than of dying.

In honour of her, please take a moment today to think about what you want out of life and work through whatever fears are stopping you. I'm sure her spirit is up there watching and would gladly help guide you along.

In loving memory of Jasminder Kaur Virdee December 11, 1980 - September 18, 2010

Don't Be Afraid to Live