strength – Promoting Passion

Promoting Passion Week 62: Blue Sky Days

brookeshaden — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 14:39:58 +0000

My life is built on the foundation that I have control over my actions, reactions, and thoughts. I take extraordinary pleasure from that control. I love to test my limits, see what pushes me and what scares me, and live according to my own rules. The reason why I believe in this philosophy so strongly is because I believe in imagination. I believe that reality is what we make it, that we can choose to see or hide.

I’ve heard people counter the idea that with imagination we can create anything we want. Someone once said to me:

“I know that imagination is nice, but it won’t make the gray clouds outside go away.”

And I remember thinking about how very wrong that person was. Yes, the clouds will still be there no matter how much I will them away. But the way I see them can change, drastically, in an instant. Instead of wanting them to go away, I can accept them. Instead of seeing them in bad light, I can learn to love them. And instead of casting doubt on the power of my thoughts, I can believe in them to the fullest. Gray clouds are just blue skies in disguise.

We can see through the darkness if we bring our own light. We can imagine and create and believe and see the world as we want to see it. If I didn’t believe in this, I would not be living the life I am living, and that is a life I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. We build our own fortune. We carve our own book of words to live by. We write the song of our life.

Art allows us to manifest these desires and visions. It allows us to spread our messages. It gives us power where once we felt nothing. It gives us hope where once we saw despair. And above all else, it gives us a voice. It allows us to speak through universal words that contain a thousand different meanings.

Imagination is the life-blood that flows through the veins of an artist. I believe all people to be artists. We do not manifest our art in the same ways. We do not all see the artist in ourselves. But it is there, sometimes sleeping silently, but always there, waiting. It is up to us to wake it.

What is your relationship with IMAGINATION?

Promoting Passion Week 39: Strength & Weakness

brookeshaden — Mon, 22 Sep 2014 11:57:59 +0000

Strength vs. Weakness.

What are yours?

Why do I ask? Because understanding these simple (albeit hard to discover) things about yourself will give you the foundation with which you can build the life of your dreams. If you understand your strengths, you are more likely to capitalize on them. You will understand yourself better, make choices that are suited to you and how you want to live your life, and you will gain confidence. Understanding that everyone has something amazing inside is the first step to loving yourself fully. Weaknesses are just as important. In the same way that we must love ourselves to find personal success, we must also recognize that we are constantly evolving.

Do not beat yourself up for the areas you are lacking, but instead identify them and draw up a game plan to fix them.

I’ve got some major flaws. One is my disorganization. Another is my forgetfulness. I am sensitive and I’m scared…and I could go on and on. But having weaknesses does not make a person weak. Identifying what those weaknesses are makes one strong, and figuring out how to change your weaknesses can make you invincible.

If you are honest with yourself, no one can tell you something that you don’t already know. Think about how powerful that is! So this week, find the strength in your weakness. Figure out how to take control of your life. And celebrate what makes you awesome…because you are.

Reach Greater Depths

brookeshaden — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 14:01:32 +0000

Reach greater depths. Do not allow yourself to be defined by where you are now, but instead by where you are going. The journey is dark, yet when a shining light brightens a dark room it seems more powerful than the same light added to a bright room. Any light, no matter how dim, will guide you through the darkness. When you realize that light must come from within, not from those who may walk beside you, you are infinitely powerful....