Skeletons

I often wonder how I’ve come to certain positions in my life. How I’ve arrived in the places I’ve been, the place I’m at. What good fortunes and bad luck had to take place at the time they did to influence the path, and alter the trajectory. The more I reflected on these thoughts, the more I came to understand a simple truth.

“It isn’t the good luck or misfortune that shapes us, it’s how we decide to handle it when it comes. How we choose to respond is the defining factor of how it effects us. Our attitude towards the situation, and our actions that follow, in my opinion, are just as important if not more important than the event itself.” - R.C.

When I finally came to this realization, I was filled with thoughts of how I could have done things differently in the past. Not as regret, but as both lessons learned and opportunities missed. Turning my gaze forward, I reflected again on how I could implement this realization into my daily life. So I decided to tie these thoughts into my decision making process, and turned it into motivation.

Every decision, every choice, every action has consequences. Understanding the gravity of each choice can bring us a sense of hesitation, thoughtfulness. Knowing that with every option that goes unchosen, we leave a version of us behind. A version that chose the other path, now a skeleton of the former self. These are the skeletons of the possible people we could have been. They lie in a pile of bones, a mountain of unrealized potential, constantly being added to with every choice we make, and every turn life takes.

Who were these people? What would they have become? What died with them? What knowledge, thoughts, and ideals, what creations and contributions? What doors were left unopened? I often wonder, what dreams, passions and loves had to be sacrificed as a consequence of producing the person I have become? What would they say if they stood before me?

For me, the weight of these thoughts doesn’t decay like the dead. It hangs on, as if the spirit of all the skeletons are placed on my head and hung around my neck. A constant reminder that they want to be heard.

We owe it to them to do our best in what we’re doing now, for us, in their honor. Be intentional with your thoughts and actions, understand the consequences of your choices, and become the best version of you, who you were born to be. The world will thank you in ways you can’t imagine.