. . . it should not be handed to you.

During a recent lengthy discussion with a friend, I had the chance to air some of my opinions about life: life is what we make it, and it’s up to us as individuals to make it work for us. However, we are programmed at a very young age to believe life should only be lived one way. This became evident to me when my friend stated, “I hope my daughter makes it.”

What exactly is “making it”? I spent a great deal of my life in the mountains, on my own and happy. I had no demands and no expectations, so I was making it just fine. In fact, I will remember that time of my life fondly for the rest of my life. I escaped the confines of society and released the hold of what I considered to be unreasonable responsibility. Baby Boomers were taught that in order to make it, we needed to start working right out of school, purchase a house surrounded by a white picket fence, get married, and raise a family with 2.6 kids, one dog, one cat, and a hamster. To me, that sounded like “losing it,” and before I could go any further in life, I needed to find out what life was really about — my life, not the life society tends to base existence on.

Now I am learning, by listening, that young people who are their own souls do exist. They are not against society as I was, but they want to exist as themselves, with their own minds and their own definitions of “making it.” I have had several conversations with friends who say their children are living the way I used to live. Surprisingly, hearing this brings a great deal of pride to the surface, because I know these individuals will grow into wonderful human beings at their own paces, in their own times. That is not to say that the young people who choose to follow society’s path will not. The truth is, they will probably have an easier time in life.

Bottom line though: live your life your way. Do whatever it is that makes you happy, earn your own living, and buy your own things, then take care of them. Life shouldn’t be handed to you. If you grow to exist solely off the efforts of others, you will miss life’s lessons and the fun of learning them. Take some risks, step up to some challenges, improve yourself by trial and error. Live where you choose to live and enjoy being wherever you are. If you need a change then make the choice. Happiness comes from within you. When  you resolve to believe it is there, then you will know what it means to be truly happy.

The life you live is in your hands, you make it however you choose;

To make it in a positive way, seek the tools that you can use.

🙂

BawB