When Shit Literally Happens

This one comes with a disclaimer:  If you do not get a good giggle out of "when nature calls scenarios," and some mildly crude bathroom humor then I encourage you not read any further as I never want to deliberately offend anyone.

Having said the above, I felt like switching up the tempo on this week's blog and tell you all about a funny story that recently happened to me and the life lesson's I learned as a result.

A few weeks ago I decided to spend the day at America's newest National Park, Pinnacles National Park.  It is about a 3 hour drive from Santa Barbara to Pinnacles.  Since I was only going to go for the day, I packed very light (camera's, extra pair of undies, socks, gloves and jacket for cold mornings).  My plan, which I came up with in about 5 minutes, was to drive up to the town just outside of the park, spend the night there, and then head into the park for sunrise and a day of hiking.

Sunrise in the park did not happen because the park did not open its gates until after 7am… no worries, I wanted to eat anyways.  My pre hiking breakfast of choice was Steak and Eggs.  It was delicious and left me feeling satisfied and prepared for the day.

Before embarking on my hike, I made a crucial decision - which pair of undies do I wear.  I had with me an old beat up pair of boxer shorts that was full of holes (for ventilation), but quite comfortable, and I had my favorite pair, favorite only because a 100 washes ago it used to read "Carpe Diem."

I usually wear my "Carpe Diem," undies for special occasions and significant events (You all are getting to know me in a whole new way now - hahaha) I decided while my Pinnacles experience was special, it was not quite special enough for the Carpe Diem undies.  So I opted for the "hole-ie ones."

My adventure begins…

I get to the park 5 minutes after the gate opens and drive over to where the hiking trail is.  I get there and it is me and the park ranger, no one else.  I literally have a National Park all to myself.  I am not going to lie, upon this realization I had a "Giddy with excitement moment."  After all, it is not every day you get to enjoy the treat of being in a National Park, let alone have the whole park to yourself.

It was chilly out so bundling up was required.  In addition I took a protein bar and water for supplies, and of course my cameras.

I set off on the trail.  The air was fresh and crisp.  The trail was beautiful.  The mountains were majestic.  The light from the sun illuminated off the rocks and trees displaying brilliant greens and purples.

My camera was working over time, my legs glided along effortlessly on the trail… I was like a little kid in a candy store, engrossed by the Heaven I was experiencing.

Like a little kid in a candy store… when little kids go to candy stores and eat to much candy, what happens?  They get tummy aches…

I had hiked for about an hour when I felt the first grumble from my tummy.  It wasn't just a grumble of discomfort, it was a grumble that was letting me know nature was calling.

Keep in mind I am in the middle of a National Park, one hour into a trail, I have zero supplies save for the clothes on my body, my cameras, a protein bar, and a little water.  I am panicked, I decide the only thing to do is to sit down in hopes that pacifies the rumble within.  I was having flashbacks of being on top of Mt. Whitney and having to take a 14,500 foot poop (see video below not of the poop, but of the Mt. Whitney experience).

Disclaimer #2 - Excessive bathroom talk will follow in the next couple paragraphs.  Read on at your own risk. :)

I sit and breathe.  Sitting, when nature calls, has been a strategy I have used, very successfully over the years, to calm down when the tummy rumbles.  If I feel something trying to "escape" at an inappropriate time, usually a little reverse pressure in the form of sitting, keeps the would be "escapee" detained.  Basic physics, right? :)

Note: I am sharing this all with you because this is the train of thought I was having while all of this was going on.  I want to be real and authentic. :)

Yes! Sitting and breathing seems to have worked.  Time to continue on my journey.

The sun has risen over the mountains, the colors are amazing, the air is so clean and fresh, my camera is working overtime, I… I… I think I really have to go to the bathroom, nature is no longer calling, nature is now screaming and yelling and kicking on the feakin door.

I try to sit and breathe - to late!  No amount of breathing and sitting is going to save me now.  I am over an hour away from the nearest bathroom, I have no supplies, you might say I am SOL (Shit out of Luck).

I realize I have two choices: Choice #1 regress to my diaper days and, well, poop myself, or Choice #2 find some bushes.

I should mention that the only reason I considered choice one is because I was terrified that I would be breaking some law by pooping and leaving my poop in a National Park.  Also, I can't stand littering, especially when it is in a National Park.  While "do-do" is biodegradable, I still was concerned.

Anyways, option 2 won out as the most logical, and hygienic choice.

Before I can find a place to go I need to make sure I am alone.  Don't want to be caught with my pants down, literally, in the middle of a hiking trail.  Even though I felt like there was no one around, I was still a little nervous as I hadn't 'really paid attention for last 20 minutes since I entered poo poo crisis mode.  I am at the top of a mountain and I can't see the trail very well, luckily I came up with a solution.  I pulled out my camera, set the zoom to max, and scoped out the trail - very spy like.  Thankfully no one was around.

Next was finding a spot to go.  I have a  couple logistical issues I have to take into consideration.  #1, I am on the top of a mountain which means it is mostly rock, so I have to find some bushes to give me the appropriate "cover."  #2 I am not very flexible, so to do "#2" discreetly I need to find a place that is angled so I can fully squat ass to ankles.  #3 I need to do all of this quickly as nature is still kicking and screaming.  Lastly, #4 what am I going to do once I go?

I find a spot on the side of a cliff.  I say a quick prayer that I won't lose my balance and be found at the bottom of a ravine with my pants around my ankles.  As I assume the position I quickly review notes from previous reading sessions of the "What's Your Poo Telling You," book (see below picture.)  I am hopping against hope that luck will be on my side and I will produce a "Clean Sweep" poo (See explanation below).  Unfortunately the plop plop I hear tells me that I must have pooped out a "Soft Serve." (explanation also below).

Ugh, now what?

Thankfully the relief I experience allows me to think a little more clearly.  Do I try to find some leaves to wipe with?  Do I use my undies then bury them and leave them?  What would you do?

Using my undies and leaving them was out - I refuse to litter.  Leaves was a no go as well - California is in the middle of a drought this means everything is dry, dry leaves hurt! This was my mess, I got myself into it and by golly I was going to get myself out of it.  I decided on a three part strategy.

Part 1 was to bury the evidence with dirt, leaves, and rocks.  That was the easy part.

Part 2 and 3 was a little tricker.  I decided if I pulled my undies up (loose fitting boxer shorts) in a certain way, and then quickly pulled my pants up after, I would be able to trap my boxers in place, and create enough of a "barrier" that would keep everything in until I got back to civilization and could properly clean up.

It took a couple tries, but I was eventually able to execute parts 2 and 3.  Time to head back.  I start on the trail, I walk on the trail, I check the map, I walk for another 10 minutes, double check the map and realize I was going the wrong way.  Damnit!  Thankfully It only cost me about 25 minutes which was much better than the 3+ hours it would have cost me going the wrong way. (Note to self: always pay attention to where you are walking, especially when time is of the essence).

I hiked back to the bathroom with ease.  I actually quite enjoyed the hike because I was laughing so hard about the events that had transpired.  About 10 minutes before I made it back to the bathroom I ran into a couple on the trail.  They were asking me about the trail ahead.  I told them it was beautiful, to enjoy themselves, and I encouraged them that no matter what, "Stay on the trail."  After all there are "dangers" when you go off trail.  Hehehe

Arriving at the bathroom felt like winning the lottery - it is funny how much you can learn to appreciate the little things when the unexpected happens.

I cleaned, I changed, I tossed the hole-ie par of undies and put on the Carpe Diem ones as I felt like surviving this experience was cause to celebrate.

I had some decisions to make.  Hiking the trail I wanted to hike was out, I wanted to check out a couple other spots in the local area, and I needed to get back to Santa Barbara that night.  I decided I had better hit the road.

I was a little bummed, but decided to make the best of it.  I stopped in a cool little town for lunch and enjoyed a delicious salad.

Being nourished I jumped back on the road only to be greeted with traffic - ugh!

Reminding myself I had resolved to make the best of this situation, I got off the road and headed towards the coast.  I could drive out towards the ocean and wait out the traffic while enjoying the sunset.

Easily one of the best decisions I have ever made, as I was treated to the experience captured in the pictures below.  And yes, those are dolphins jumping at sunset. :)

As I was standing there watching the sun set into the Pacific I replayed the "shitty" experience I had just had and thought that there were a few powerful life lessons in there worth sharing.

#1 Shit is going to happen in life, period.  You may or may not be ready for it when it does, but you can be certain, it will happen.  What you can be ready for is choosing an empowering attitude that will help you get through it and continue to move forward. (see video below for more on this).

#2 If things do not go as planned, don't waste your time moping about the botched plan, improvise and create a new plan.

#3 Traffic sucks, if the opportunity is there and time allows, pull off the road and enjoy the sunset, some fresh air, or just a change in perspective.

#4 This is the most important lesson of all: Always, ALWAYS bring an extra pair of underwear. :)

Thank you for reading,

Enjoy the pics and videos,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

Shit happens Video

Mt. Whitney Hike Video

An Easy way to Save Some Serious Money

I get a lot of questions about how to make more money and how to save more money.  Recently someone shared with me the below formula.  I like this one because it is simple, easy to follow, can be increased for more aggressive savers, and is doable and achievable by everyone.

Obviously I am a few weeks behind the start date, but it still does not mean you can't start now and still have a  hefty chunk of change saved by the end of the year.  

As you are disciplining yourself to put away the money I encourage you to get in the habit of making it a daily practice.  This way when you get to the week that you are saving $35, rather than trying to come up with the entire $35 in one day, set aside $5 a day.  Also, plan ahead.  If you foresee it being more challenging saving the $50 for a week invest a little more during the smaller weeks… put away $4 instead of 2 and $8 instead of 4, etc…

I hope this strategy proves to be a helpful and profitable one for you.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

P.S.

I'll have another blog up soon as I have a bunch of great pictures I am excited to share with you all :)

Memories from Haiti 2010

I remember being a little kid, sitting in school, feeling like the days crept by and summer vacation seemed like an eternity away.

I can remember so many different adults telling me to enjoy the time while I can because when you get older time moves a lot faster.

I did not believe them then, but I sure do now… I cannot believe 4 years has passed since Reach Out World Wide made its inaugural mission into Haiti to help with the Earthquake recovery.  In honor of this anniversary, I thought it would be fun to share with you all a few memories I have from those days as well as the days leading up to Haiti.

I have included several pictures below with a little story that goes with each.  I have more pictures from Haiti on my personal Facebook page if you ever wish to check them out, here is a link ( Jesse Brisendine Facebook page ).

Paul first told me about his dream to start a charity called Reach Out World Wide on June 21st, 2009.  I can remember the exact date because it was the Sunday after my friend had committed suicide, and Paul chose then to share his dream with me in hopes that it would lift my spirits.  

Periodically over the next 7 months leading up to Haiti, whenever Paul and I would hang out, ROWW would always be a topic of conversation - how it would run, what it would grow into, and the difference it could make in the world.

When the decision was made to go to Haiti, as fate would have it I happened to be in Costco, and so I immediately started running up and down the isles grabbing what I thought would be essential provisions: calorie dense food, medical supplies, and toilet paper.  I remember my heart was beating so fast; I was nervous, but more than anything I was excited because I knew I was going to get to be a part of something very special.  

Over the next several days Paul and I made runs to REI, the military surplus store, several different sporting goods stores, as well as various medical facilities.  Paul wanted to make sure we were prepared for anything, and that we would be self sufficient; meaning that we would not require resources or supplies from any other agency.  In short we could fully take care of ourselves, which would make us more effective and able to help others.  

This is also the reason that you will see us all wearing "military style" outfits in the pictures below.  You see at the time, the media was reporting about how people, desperate for help, were showing up at various aide areas with machetes and having confrontations and taking supplies.  We felt that if we looked like American Military, people would be less inclined to mess with us and try to steal from us.  

Our "costumes," ended up becoming a running joke for us all while in Haiti because we never encountered anything remotely violent while there.  I felt like we were G.I. JOE and we had showed up to scare off COBRA, but COBRA didn't get the memo to come.  hahaha.

Anyways… before we could get into Haiti we were in the Dominican Republic at a shelter helping to pack up supplies to be sent over to Haiti.  The below picture captures just a small amount of the activity that was going on and the effort that was being put into helping the Haitian people.

It was time to cross the boarder and we wanted to check supplies one last time, see picture below.

At the center of this picture was my proud contribution to our supplies.  Toilet paper :)  There is nothing scarier than to be stranded without toilet paper.

The below picture was from the helicopter ride into Haiti from the Dominican Republic.  This was the first time I had ever been on a Helicopter.

Much of Haiti looked like the below picture… absolute total devastation.  This picture is powerful because it shows how in need of help much of the world is, especially after a major disaster strikes.  All of us can always do a little more to help others.  Whether is is going there directly, donating money, or raising awareness about charities, like ROWW, all of these actions make a difference in helping others in need.  

The spot where we set up camp looked like this when we go there.  People sleeping out in the field, bunched up together, with a small tent or two to help with the more severely injured.  

I will never forget the below moment: the guy giving the thumbs up, came up to me and said, "Sir, sir will you record my picture please."  I happily obliged and took this picture, which I still have on my wall today.  I remember thinking, "I bet he has never had his picture taken before..."

One night  we were woken up by a bunch of big semi trucks that showed up filled with supplies.  In addition, two UN mobile medical trucks also showed up.  It caused quite the commotion.

In the above picture I am wearing "Dog Tags," Paul and I got these made to commemorate ROWW's inaugural mission.  The below picture is a close up of them.  I have been wearing them this week to honor ROWW,  Haiti, and remind myself of my experiences there.  In addition, I have been wearing these camouflage pants a lot the last seven weeks as they remind me of Haiti and of Paul.

Note: you will see on the id's that it says "REACT."  REACT was the original name of ROWW, but we later learned that there was some legal mumbo jumbo that would prevent us from using the name "REACT."  Because of this "legal stuff," ROWW became ROWW.  :)

There were more wounded than we had supplies to accommodate so we had to make do and use things like mattresses, as pictured below, as makeshift stretchers.  People would be moved from the initial assessment area to a separate section of the field based on the severity of their injuries.  

Like I said we did not have a lot of supplies/modern technology to make certain jobs easier.  So this left us to do things the old fashioned way and make a human assembly line.  You can see me below holding the box.  There are probably another 6 or 7 people inside the truck on the left, as well as another 6 or 7 completing the line going into the building on the right.

This guy (pictured below), and I did not share a language, but really formed a bond and mutual respect for one another as we unloaded this massive truck.  The entire process took over 3 hours in the nearly 90+ degree heat.  After we finished we exchanged high fives.

When we got to the spot that we camped at in Haiti, everyone was sleeping out in the fields.  Eventually we were able to get ahold of a bunch of tents.  The below picture is the beginning of setting up "tent city."  As they say: "Team work makes the Dream work."

Below is a picture showing the fruits of our labor.  When we first arrived at this spot we were 5 friends who wanted to make a difference and help people who were less fortunate.  When we left we were Reach Out World Wide, a group of people who knew we could make a difference.  

What difference did ROWW make on its' inaugural mission?  To give you an idea: when we first arrived in Haiti the area we were based out of had about 40 people there all sleeping outside, with minimal supplies.  By the time we left there were over 400 people, tents to house most of them, a well stocked supply room, and an accelerated system of treating patients.

Every single human being has the ability to make a difference in the life of another.

The below picture is me, one of the doctors, and a few of the kids who helped out as interpreters.

The original 5.  From left to right, Lucas, Dave, Me, Brandon, Paul.  Also pictured a couple doctors who were there volunteering as well as a few new friends.

Four years later Reach Out World Wide has grown by leaps and bounds from our initial trip into Haiti, AND, as long as you all continue to support it, spread the word about it, "share" it with your friends and family, ROWW will keep on growing.

Paul had big dreams of what he envisioned ROWW becoming.  He and I would have those "Rocking Chair" talks… You know the ones where you imagine that you are old men sitting around in your rocking chair talking about the "good ole" days.  When we would have these talks, we always talked about how cool it was going to be to see how much ROWW had grown and to know that we were there at the beginning.

With Paul gone, it is now up to us all to pick up where he left off and keep ROWW thriving so that it can continue making the global impact that it is.  Each and every single one of us has the ability to make a difference.  Remember the smallest of gestures, a smile, can change someone's life.  

I hope you all enjoyed this trip down memory lane, I certainly did.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

http://www.jessebrisendine.com
http://www.facebook.com/1year1000challenge

Progress

When we are little kids we get so excited about the teenie tiny-est amount of progress.  Simple things like crawling, going pee pee in the potty, and taking a few unsupported steps are huge milestones, major progress and all out causes for celebration.

Then, then… we get older. Unfortunately as we age the joy in the small steps of progress fades.  What replaces it is an expectation, an expectation that we can just show up, put in minimal effort, and expect maximal return.  The expectation is like showing up to run a marathon, expecting to do it in 2 1/2 hours, but you have only run one 5k race to train for the marathon.  9.99999 times out of 10 you are going to fall short of this expectation.

This inevitably creates a problem…

We have become a I want it and I want it now culture.  When we do not get what we want, rather than stepping back and asking ourselves the tough questions: "what could I have done differently?  What do I need to do differently to become successful?  How can I make this happen?" we instead label this unrealized expectation as "failure," and chalk it up as "one more reason why I can't _____ (fill in the blank.)"

I often think what could we all accomplish, how much more successful, happy, fulfilled, could we all become if we had held onto that slow and steady wins the race mantra we had when we were little kids.  How could we ever fail as adults if we celebrated the itsy bitsy progress like we did when we were kids?

The reason this has been on my mind is because for the last 6 weeks I, as many of you know, have been mourning the unexpected death of my best friend.  I had a friend ask me the other day "how was I doing with everything?"  I stopped and thought about this question…

You see there was a small part of me that wanted to answer: "shitty," and make my response all about my loss.  I stopped myself because I realized that if I answered this way then I would be discounting all of the progress I have made over the last six weeks.

Instead I finally spoke up and said, "honestly I am doing great."

My friend looked a little flabbergasted at my response.  His expression said "how can you be doing great already?"  So I shared with him the following:

I believe all human beings are made up of multiple "parts."  These parts come in the forms of personalities, needs, wants, thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, talents, passions, etc... If I separate my life into two parts right now: Part 1 is Jesse not focusing on the loss.  This Jesse is doing really great.  He is happy, he is healthy, he is making a difference in the lives of others.  This Jesse feels he is living his life on purpose and is motivated to empower others to do the same.

Part 2 is also Jesse, but it is Jesse when he is focusing on the loss of a very special friend.  This Jesse is sad, he misses his friend, he cries when he recalls certain memories, he hurts when he, out of habit, picks up his phone to call his friend to share something that happened today.

Both parts make up of the whole of who I am and my current reality.

I believe, in some cases, there is an unconscious expectation that when one has experienced a tragedy, that the person allows the tragedy to dictate how they think, feel, and act.  This explains the flabbergasted look on my friends face… after all how can I be great after 6 weeks.

Part 1 is doing great part 2 is healing and experiencing all the emotions that come with the healing process.

I often think of the mantra "slow and steady wins the race" while I am going through the healing process. The race, in this instance, is not a physical race to the finish, but rather it is a journey to get to a place where there is full acceptance of what has happened and a complete integration of the impact and legacy that Paul has had and will always have on my life.  This process has no deadline or no time limit on how long it will take because ultimately I decide.

One of the most challenging aspects of the whole process is to begin to let go of the pain.  When we experience a tragic loss, the pain that we feel in the aftermath almost becomes a way to keep the person alive.  After all, when we feel pain at an intense level it validates to us the impact that a person had on our life as well as the depth of love we felt for that person. We become fearful of letting go of that pain because if we let go of the pain, do we let go of the person as well?  Do we let go of the love we shared, the memories we made and the impact they had on our life?

Enter in progress and making the transition from experiencing the loss (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually,) to living in such a way to honor the person... this is where I am at now.

I still have my moments of sadness, I still have some very sleepless nights, I still have those times where I pick up my phone to call or send a text, I still have the aches and pains that come with loss; I have all of those and more.

I now also have the happiness that comes with knowing that every thing I do going forward in life will be influenced by the impact that Paul had in my life, the memories we made and the experiences we created. Thus he will always be a part of my life.  The same goes for my friend Gabe and the same goes for my Dad.  After all, without Gabe and my Dad I would have never done the 1000 Challenge and would not be typing this to you today.

When I adopt a perspective like the above, how can I  not be happy?  After all, if I choose not to be happy then that is a reflection of those who I loved and lost, is it not? 

I believe it is also a sign of progress. :)

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

2013 Recap and My Wishes for Everyone in 2014

It is 2014 and there is an abundance of opportunity and possibility staring you in the face.  Will this be the year you seize them?  Will this be the year you resolve to keep your resolutions?  Will this be the year you make all your dreams come true?

I hope so AND I believe that You are fully capable of it.

To cap off 2013 and help bring in 2014 I recorded a video for you all.  In this video I recap my 2013 the highs and lows, and offer some insights that, if you apply them, will help you make 2014 your greatest year yet.

I hope you find value in the video (if you do, please share it with others), and I sincerely hope that this year is nothing less than magical for you.

As always, please share your thoughts below.

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

Moving Forward

It is funny… in a blog that I have titled "Moving Forward," I have found myself stuck the last few days on what to say here.  Even as my fingers move around on the keyboard, I am still not sure what is going to come out.

I have had moments of insight the last few weeks, profound, (or at least what I believe are profound,) thoughts that I want to share with you all.  I have taken notes as they come up so I do not forget them, but then there is the whole "how do I introduce this," dialogue that I have with myself.

Do I just lay it out in bullet points?

• profound thought A
• profound thought B
• etc…

Eh, that doesn't really have the effect does it or seem that profound?

Death is an interesting process.  I use the word interesting because I find it interesting how one event, someone's passing, can create a different experience for so many people.

Death brings up more of a variety of thoughts and feelings then probably any other event in our life.  With death comes the full spectrum of our emotional experience.  We have anger and fear at one end and on the other we have joy and love.  In between there are emotions such as sadness, frustration, happiness, guilt, and so on.

Most fields of psychology will say that the grieving/mourning process follows "x" number of steps.  I am not sure I completely agree with it being as clear cut as that.  From a teaching experience there is a need to compartmentalize our thoughts and emotions into steps.  It gives teachers something tangible to pass onto their students.  It also gives those of us going through the process something tangible that we can work with and towards.

However, from an experiential standpoint, as someone who is going through the mourning/grieving process now and has gone through it in the past; I tend to view it more as a vast open field that is filled with hidden "emotion bombs."

These bombs, whenever you step on one of them, cause their respective emotion to explode inside of you.  

Imagine if you will… You have just lost someone you love and you find yourself walking through a vast open field.  You are not really thinking or feeling anything, you are just kind of "numb," and feel an "emptiness."  As you are walking along you step on one of these hidden emotion bombs.  This one happens to be anger, and when you step it, suddenly this angry feeling explodes inside of you and fills up that "emptiness," and takes away the "numbness," you were experiencing just a few minutes before.

As you travel through the field the anger stays with you.  It may have caused you to run now instead of walk.  It may have removed the caution with which you were moving forward because you are now blinded by the anger inside of you.  This continues until you step on the next emotion bomb.  This one happens to be sadness.  When you step on sadness it explodes inside of you.  This new explosion is so powerful that it is able to push the previous explosion (anger) out of you and now you are able to fully experience sadness.

The process repeats itself over and over again.  You keep traveling through the field and you keep stepping on different emotion bombs.  Anger, sadness, happiness, joy, fear, frustration, excitement, etc… they all show up at some point.

This is the best way I can describe how I have felt the last few weeks.  Like I am going through the field, stepping on different bombs from time to time.  What sets off one bomb may be clear, what sets off another one may be a mystery, but none the less, the bombs go off and the feelings are there.

I understand that it is important to allow myself to acknowledge and feel those feelings.  Some of which I may not necessarily want to, but I need to because it is all part of my process.

The field has no end to it because the field is ones' journey through life.  What can end is the presence of the "emotion bombs." They will gradually dissipate and eventually disappear completely as you go through the mourning/grieving process and as you allow yourself to heal.

Allowing yourself to heal… 

I believe that one of the greatest tragedies to ever befall humans is the tragedy that we choose to hold onto so much of the hurt, the loss, the let down, the failures, that we prevent ourselves from ever fully healing.  Thus robbing ourselves of being able to experience those feelings of happiness, joy, pleasure, elation, etc… at a higher level and more consistently.

We experience tragedy in life, we get hurt, we experience pain, and then we never move past it, instead we choose to hold onto it.  The hurt and loss becomes our new reality and we humans have sadly become experts at forming an identity around hurt and loss.

Why do we do this, why?  

I have a theory, but that is for another time and place; another blog.

As previously mentioned, I do have some thoughts/insights that have come to mind the last few weeks, as I have tip toed my way through the "emotion bomb" field, that I would like to share with you all:

I am going to go for the bullet point approach here :)

• What will it take to get people to a place that they celebrate life with the same intensity that they mourn death?
• It is so important to say and do what's most important while you have the breath to do so.
• I have felt sad a lot the last few weeks.  A lot of times people think of sad as a negative feeling, but in situations such as this, I disagree.  I believe sadness is an important emotion to allow yourself to feel in times of loss.  I believe sadness is the yin to the yang of love.  Thus sadness is a way of reminding you the depth of love you felt for the person you lost.
• Sadness continued:  Just because you feel sadness does not mean you have to become sadness or let it control your life.
• How you choose to live your life after you have lost someone is ultimately how you choose to honor that person.
• Whenever you experience loss you have a choice: choose to let the loss define you or choose to define the loss.

As I continue to move forward I have thought a lot about how challenging life can be at times.  It has been my experience that every challenge I have faced, every tragedy I have endured, has ultimately made me stronger and more capable of fulfilling my purpose on this Earth.  I believe the present one will prove the same.

For now, I will leave you with a phrase I have been thinking about quite a bit over the last few weeks.  These words of wisdom come from one of the great thinkers and philosophers of modern time… Rocky Balboa (aka Sylvester Stallone). 

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward."

I guess what he is saying, is that we have a choice… :)

Enjoy the pics,

Carpe Diem,

Jesse

http://jessebrisendine.com/healing-from-loss/