You’re Going to Need a Sedan

You get one precious life to do with as you please. (Mostly) For the sake of this post, I’m going to call it a journey. What do you want that journey to look like? No matter what you decide to do or where you decide to go, you get to be the driver. I recommend you get a sedan because it’s important to bring people along with you.

I’m going to recommend you take three friends with you.

The first friend is Peace. If you go places, do things and spend time with people who bring you real, inside job, peace you will have a much more fulfilling journey. If you accidentally invite someone along who adds stress or makes you think about leaving them on the side of the road, they aren’t your person. Try again. Peace can look like a lot of things but you’ll know it when you feel it. And you’ll know it when you don’t. Definitely invite Peace to go with you. But don’t let Peace drive. They’ll be so blissed out and relaxed they may just fall asleep at the wheel.

I also recommend you invite Gratitude to accompany you on your journey. It will remind you to see everything and be appreciative for all the little and big things you see and do on the way. However, if you let Gratitude drive it will be a very slow ride. No flower, bird, art supply or ice cream stop will go unnoticed. And you will certainly have to stop and appreciate those things. (Salted caramel with chocolate swirl - just sayin’)

Your last passenger should be Joy. What is the point in going on this life journey if you don’t have Joy? Joy will remind you to savor the good stuff, and will find the best part of the not so good stuff. Letting Joy drive is like handing the wheel over to a drunk driver. Joy will be impulsive, look at every shiny thing that goes by and so distracted that you could drive off the side of the road. All while enjoying the view with the naivete of never predicting the crash.

I ask you again, what do you want from this journey that is your life? Take hold of the wheel, drive it in the direction you want to go. Keep Peace with you to get you through the stressful moments. Keep Gratitude with you to appreciate how far you’ve come. Keep Joy with you help you be present in the moments that light you up. All of this only happens when you take the wheel. The alternative is to be the passenger and let whoever has a clue about where they want to go drag you with them. It might be a nice place but it probably won’t be where you were hoping to end up.

Like I said, on this journey (that you get only one of), be the one behind the wheel. Bring your friends but be in charge of the map.