Saturday, October 18, 2014

people leave

It's been a while because real life always takes priority over things like blogging and the last 2 months have been a lot of real life. So much has happened and sometimes putting things into words is easy and sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's therapeutic and sometimes it feels better to keep it inside and ponder for a while. Sometimes it's easier just to share with the people close to you and sometimes you just need to share it real loud.

This morning I was thinking about life in general as I drove home from a geology field trip up in the canyon and I realized something. For at least a solid year I've been counting down until this moment when in my mind I've decided no one else will leave. All my friends going on missions will be gone and that includes a LOT of people. That moment in my mind is only a few months from now and has been building up for almost two years and suddenly it dawned on me that this moment isn't real.

Sure the friends I have now who are leaving will have left and the friends on missions will begin to come back, but that doesn't mean people aren't going to still leave and that doesn't mean they're coming back to me.

Hopefully I can explain this in words like it works in my head but people are always going to be leaving and the important thing is that we love and enjoy and celebrate the people we do have in our lives when we have them and put forth the effort to keep those we want in our lives in them.

I've met so many new people and been exposed to new things. I've made new goals, new interests, and found new things that I love. I've realized that above everything else relationships are everything. Good friends are priceless and memories, for me at least, aren't nearly as meaningful without friends or family.

I've also learned a lot about being independent. It's important to keep in mind what's best for ourselves.  Along with that it's important to ask for God's counsel in things and let the things that you love and believe motivate and direct you. You can chase down everyone else's dreams for as long as you'd like but it's your own dreams you're going to be passionate about and that passion is a step on the journey to success. That success is measured in a million different ways depending on who you ask but for me right now that success is happiness and peace. That's what is important.

So focus on yourself, your dreams, your goals, your life, but do it in a way that allows you to reach outside yourself to serve. Not judge, not fix, just serve and love.

& here's some pictures because real life has lots of real pictures and people are my favorite kind.