You know those weeks when nothing seems to go according to your plans...those weeks when you feel like you're trying so hard but despite your best efforts, things repeatedly go awry? Recently I had one of those. Among the several to-do's on my list, was shooting some photographs for the blog while back home in Trinidad & Tobago. However, it appeared that circumstances were conspiring against that idea at every turn. I felt exasperated, frustrated and frankly, on the verge of tears. Self pity's pesky voice was prodding me to whine about things not going my way. It was incredible really. There I was on one of the most gorgeous beaches on a Sunday evening and I was being a grump about not capturing enough photos at said beach before nightfall. To say that my perspective was warped would be an understatement.
Time and time again, life reminds me that there is such a thing as trying too hard. Tenacity is all well and good but one downside of tenacity is that in becoming attached to an outcome and pursuing it relentlessly, we tend to stop enjoying the process or the present moment. This in turn results in becoming so fixated on what we imagine to be problems, that we don't see the good right in front of our faces. Sometimes we really do need to chill the fu€k out.
I'm of the thinking that a successful life is more than merely achieving goals. Surely, life isn't meant to be a constant struggle or a never ending list of to do's and challenges to surmount. I believe that a successful life entails surrender and a good amount of playful abandon. Remarkably, once we surrender, knowing that we've done enough, things tend to work themselves out. So get out of your way. Feel the sand beneath your toes. Let the sun kiss your skin. Listen to the waves. Swim. Go with the flow.
Photographs of me by Theon Graham; photos of scenery by me.
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