all things considered

A thought occurred to me last night during our family prayer time. It's simply this:

Love is responsibility.

In the giving, in the receiving, in the nurturing of it, there should be a deep sense of accountability.

Things fall apart, when all we do is point fingers at everybody else but ourselves.

around the edges

One of the greatest things about being dad is... I'm learning to be a more well-rounded man.

Thank You Audrey Stella.

double-edge sword

Free will.

Man's greatest gift and greatest curse. It's the one thing that can make you a better person and the worst person at the same time.

So be careful when swinging this double edged sword around. It'll either maim or protect the precious things in your life. From self-esteem, faith, relationships, career path, happiness, fulfillment... well pretty much everything.

So don't just choose because you can. Aimlessly swinging this sharp blade simply because it's in your possession. That's dangerous and exhausting. Choose because it means something. Swing that sword like you know why it's in your hands in the first place.

Is your name Victor?

Just something I was thinking about last week...

Are our lives constantly shaped by circumstances? Or are we living in a way in which we shape our own circumstances?

Or to put in even simpler... are we living from the inside out? or the outside in? Are we digging deep into our souls to respond as best we can especially when isht hits the fan? Or are we being constantly pushed around by the things on the outside of us that we can't control?

I know life is not meant to be easy or comfortable. By accepting this simple fact, I've taken half the stress out of my every day life. I'm not saying I'm free from heartache, disappointment or anything bad for that matter. What I do know is that I should always choose wisely how I react, how long I dwell on negativity, how much I complain, and how much looking into the past for 'what-ifs.' Basically... how long do I want to be a victim for?

From what I've observed and gathered, victims really live from the 'outside in.' While victors (or people who want to be victorious!) live from the 'inside out.'

For myself, I'm really trying to win at this life thing. I've only got one chance to win, because I know no one else can win it for me.

*now play "Lose Yourself" by Eminem* and read this again as it plays.

gumption

Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

I heard this reading at mass the other day, and it got me thinking about the immediate future. I've been more than seriously considering pushing through with a vision that has been in my mind for the past 2 years. A lot of circumstances have changed since then (as in... I'm now a husband and a father), but still this vision has been even clearer and even more specific since it was conceived.

The vision is bascially a small business. I don't want to give away too many details, but let me tell you... it has the potential to be more than a business, but a community that empowers, connects and engages people. Because in the end, a true vision completely involves people as opposed to a business which is really just concerned about the bottom line.

Now that I'm a family man, and a hopeful entrepeneur, it makes a lot of things uncertain. As a true man who wants to provide for a family, a new business venture can be unstable financially. But if I don't follow this vision, I might be living the in-between job longer than intended...and never showing my kids that dad had enough gumption to believe and achieve.

Basically, if I never take the chance, I'll never reap the blessings. If I never take the risk, I could never fully tell my children "To follow their passion, and their hearts" simply because I never lived those words.

So please say a quick prayer for me, that in the end, I'll make the right decision at the right time. In fact say a prayer for anyone seriously and sincerely on the quest for living an abundant and passionate life.

Life isn't always cut and dry, but our actions should be.