"Love. Cherish. Inspire. Dream." Those were the words written on the ring my boyfriend slid on my finger. I looked at it, the silver design that was just my style, and I took in the words. He could not have picked something more fitting for me, and my life.
You see, for a long time, i've been working through, in my mind and by my actions, figuring out the direction of my life. I'm 21, in nursing school, working toward that dream, but I feel like I am called to be so much in my life. It's just the process of trying to pinpoint specific things that I need to do that is difficult. Lately, I also have had the opportunity--and I do not take this lightly--to give advice, and to help people in various ways. Another thing to add to the mix is that I love to write, but I don't get a lot of opportunities to write with the schedule that I have.
So, I've been thinking lately...how can I incorporate my crazy life, my love for writing, and helping people into a central place? That's when I had the idea to start a different blog. I already had one blog that I just posted on every now and then, but I wanted something to actually work on. A way to reach out, a way to express my emotions, even help myself on my path of growth.
And so, here we are. The purpose of what i'm about to write, so whoever reading can understand where I am coming from, and what to expect. I will be posting one or two times a week, and if anyone has anything they'd like as a new topic, just comment.
Anyways, so i'll start with Love. Cherish. Inspire. Dream. What do these words mean to me? Love--it's more than just an over-used four letter word. Love is knowing that you would do something for someone else for no gain of your own, just to make their life a little easier. Love is caring for someone more than you care for yourself. Love is more than just a fleeting feeling that comes and goes with your mood for the day. Perfect love is one that according the Bible, "casteth out fear". I won't lie, it took me a while to grasp this. As a teenager, I heard love talked about, but I did not really understand it. I said I loved people that I really didn't. (And I don't mean just dating relationships) The feeling I had, though, was empty, meaningless, and if I lost that supposed love, the only reason I got upset was that my pride was broken. I didn't date a lot, but there were times I stayed with people I didn't even really want to be with just because I didn't want that broken pride feeling, and I didn't want to be lonely. That is not a good place to be. I determined that in my life, I wanted more than that. I wanted to love people, care for others, make others lives even just a little easier. Love is something everyone needs in their life, but so many people have lost what it really is. It's so much more than a feeling.
What about the word Cherish? I looked it up and it means, "to value something highly, to protect it". This made me think about all the things in my life that I need to value highly, things that I need to protect. I need to value my relationship with the Lord. Without a daily, committed, personal relationship to the Lord, nothing else matters. I need to value the wonderful people God has placed in my life. I need to value my dreams (which we will get to soon). I need to value my goals, my education, my home, my daily blessings. I need to protect my values, protect my mind, protect what I stand for. It takes daily action, but it is necessary.
Inspire. What inspires me and who do I inspire? For the first part of that question, I think it is very important to choose wisely what inspires you. I know it may sound selfish, but you can't just let anyone or anything inspire you. I have learned from some reading that you will only be as successful as the five people closest to you. That's why in school if you study with five people that are failing, chances are, you'll be failing, too. So why do we constantly surround ourselves that are failing life? I don't think there's any problem allowing ourselves to be picky with the friends we keep, the people we are inspired by, and the people we want to teach us something. That is a double-edged sword, though. If we are determined to be that picky with our own influences, we owe it to ourselves and those around us to create in ourselves a certain standard that others can be inspired by. And I don't mean just avoiding being what you see as a failure. I mean not being just a mediocre member of society. It's kind of like the concept that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing--all it takes for you to be, well for lack of a better word, blah, nothing, average, in your own life is to do nothing. Don't work on improving yourself, watch the average six hours of television a day, be mediocre, and that's what you will inspire--mediocrity.
The final word is dream. What is a dream? A dream is something that people have given their lives for to even get just a chance to accomplish. Sadly, many people gave up on dreaming a long time ago. They see dreaming in the same way they see Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Fairy-tale like coincidental occurances that only happen to you if you are the star of a Disney movie. Dreams are not like that though. They may seem impossible, but isn't that the good part about them? You can work through struggle after struggle, and accomplish something. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment. It's the feeling I get every time I finish a semester of nursing school. I get that feeling because I know I've worked my hardest, and I reached a milestone. The dream may not be realized yet, but I got a step closer. Small accomplishments give you some drive to go on a few steps further. I'll share a couple of my dreams now. I will become a nurse. I will go on a medical missions trip and help those in need. I will inspire at least one other life. I will get published. I will achieve a certain level in the business i've been doing. There are others, but I thought just a few will give an idea of what my dreams involve. Notice also I say, "I will". Because I have faith and belief that it will happen.
Everything I write will have one of these themes I just mentioned. These are four priniciples that define and help guide my life. I hope, too, for all of you who read, you find something helpful and learn to Love, Cherish, Inspire, and Dream. Keep these before you, and become the best you that you can possibly be.
