Wow, What A Ride!

Here I am, verging on my 38th birthday, and what exactly have I done with my life?

Can I honestly say that I am living a truly noble and holy life, a life that is worthy of the God that created it?

Have I used all of my talents to make this world a better place?

As darkness falls across this world, with all of its hatred and injustices, can I say that I have railed against that darkness like a beacon in the night?

Have I filled each and every moment with the joy that comes from exercising my abilities for the betterment of mankind?

The answer to all of these questions is no.

I have done none of these things.

At this point in my life, I must say that I am just plain old tired.

Tired of trying to be something I’m not.

Tired of feeling like this world won’t let me be me.

Tired of believing other people instead of believing in myself.

With each passing day, I grow weary of this world and my inability to be the person God intended me to be.

And so, I make a pledge.

This pledge is to my creator, my wife, my children, my parents, my sisters, my friends and to myself:

I pledge to live every day with overwhelming passion.

To stop worrying about things that in the grand scheme of things just don’t matter.

To stop and take it all in, to be completely present in the moment as if it were my very last.

To be the spark that ignites the bonds of change in this world, an immovable force that will not rest until my work here is done.

To live my life according to HIS rules, and not anyone else’s.

To turn this life into a story worth writing, a movie worth watching and something that my grandchildren’s children will tell their grandchildren about … not because of how much money I made but because of who I helped and the example I left behind.

To stop listening to everyone else and to start listening to the voice in my head that says, “Speak up! Do Something! Be Better! BE YOU.”

To stop being afraid and to start being alive.

To be the miracle we are each supposed to be, to do things no one ever thought I could do and only He knew I could do.

To guide my actions not by what others tell me but what my soul says is the truth.

And finally, I pledge to live according to the following quote by Tom Peters. I will repeat it every day when I awake and before I go to bed. I will hold it in my heart and I will make it my reality for THIS is what God intended:

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body—but rather a skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, ‘Wow, what a ride!’ ” – Tom Peters

Comments

[Aaron Kipfer]

Awesome post. Exactly how I feel - and I'll be turning 30 in January. Thanks for the encouragement...I want to say "Wow, what a ride!".

[sweet14739]

This is seriously the Motto to live by hanging in my house. Though it does say with chocolate in one hand and a martini in the other. :) I love your blog and stopped reading because you stopped posting for so long. ( I should talk) But since you wrote this almost 2 months ago how is it going? Are you living up to your promise? Ever since my cancer I swear I repeat "mountain? or molehill?" 100 times a day when things aren't going according to plan. So, how is it going?

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