Maya Angelou lives on in her quotes. One of my favorites:
“You are the sum total of everything you have ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgo–its all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”
Guess I have lived long enough to truly appreciate the depth of this quote by a wise one.
Reading it and internalizing its meaning really gets one in touch with the imperative of taking inventory with the following questions.
These are intended to help you reflect and empower yourself to take control of the quality of life:
- Who and what fuels your fire?
- How do you refuel yourself?
- What do you allow to “fuel” with you?
- How do you fuel others?
Other than just reminiscing, I find that taking this inventory has everything to do with the character we build. It’s important to discern for ourselves and be accountable to ourselves for how we have chosen to live our lives.
“If money is gone, nothing is gone.
If health is gone, something is gone.
If Character is gone, everything is gone.”
Character is who you unwaveringly are when no one is watching, and is a set of behaviors which you have adopted so you can answer to yourself and others with a clear conscience and with clear intention.
Character is when YOU WALK YOUR TALK. You stop seeking approval of others and start seeking approval of your own higher consciousness. You do not compromise your character for any price or person.
So appreciating this all is a challenge, the challenge of living consciously, and we certainly owe it to one another to do so.
I believe there are no degrees of separation for kindred spirits. All parts within and without are connected or disconnected. Take inventory and watch the barometer reading often. You would never think of not checking your car’s gas tank or ignoring the refueling indicator light. What would happen? You would come to a halt. A complete standstill.
What is your emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual tank filled with? Is it on empty? Keep in mind, you cannot give what you don’t have.
So guard your reserve, pay attention, refuel so you have more to give to the people you care about.