Eight Tries...

Last week was filled with the practical tasks of learning Photoshop, studio recording, song writing, packing, traveling, scheduling and booking.  All the while, the haunts of last week’s “Fear Factor” blog lingered.  I realized (as if I didn’t already know) how fear can permeate every aspect of life, and TRUST becomes a critical aspect of moving forward.

Just as I had to jump out of a tree last week and trust that a cable would catch me, this week I had to trust that things would fall into place, that I would manage to get everything done, that my ideas would be good enough for the second verse of the new song, that my advice would be useful to a friend, that I would make it driving through that torrential downpour that lasted four and a half hours last night, that Russ would get to and back from Paris safely, that I would finally figure out how to get the text right in Photoshop if I tried just one more time, and countless other instances. 

To be without trust is to be without confidence.  To live without trust is to live with worry and fear, and THAT can be paralyzing.  

In relationships, lack of trust can be devastating - and what about trusting your instinct or your ability to make it on your own, if you know the relationship isn't right?

This week I say, “Go for it!”  Jump out of the tree, try something new, take that chance.  What’s the worst that can happen?  We fall?  We fail?  So what? 

“Fall seven times, stand up eight” – Japanese proverb

“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.” 

– Bill Cosby

WE CAN DO THIS!  LET’S GO!  JUST GO!  (This will be my mantra this week.)

“I ask myself: are defeats necessary?   

Well, necessary or not, they happen.  When we first begin fighting for our dream, we have no experience and make many mistakes.  The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.   

So, why is it so important to live our personal calling if we are only going to suffer more than other people?   

Because, once we have overcome the defeats – and we always do – we are filled by a greater sense of euphoria and confidence.  In the silence of our hearts, we know that we are proving ourselves worthy of the miracle of life.  Each day, each hour, is part of the good fight.  We start to live with enthusiasm and pleasure.  Intense, unexpected suffering passes more quickly than suffering that is apparently bearable; the latter goes on for years and, without our noticing, eats away at our soul, until, one day, we are no longer able to free ourselves from the bitterness and it stays with us for the rest of our lives.” - Paulo Coelho, “The Alchemist”

Here’s bidding you all a week of eight tries, and the joy of eventual triumph...

Namaste!

T