A time comes in your life when you finally get it. When in the
midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere
the voice inside your head cries out - ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or
struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum,
your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears
and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world through new
eyes. This is your awakening.

You realize that it's time to stop hoping and waiting for
something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to come galloping
over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that he is not Prince
Charming and you are not Cinderella and that in the real world there aren't
always fairy tale endings (or beginnings for that matter). And that any
guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with YOU, and in the process a
sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect, and that not
everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are and it's
OK. (They are entitled to their own views and opinions.) And you learn the
importance of loving and championing yourself, and in the process a sense of
newly found confidence is born of self-approval.

You stop bitching and blaming other people for the things they did
to you (or didn't do for you) and you learn that the only thing you can really
count on is the unexpected. You learn that not everyone will always be there for
you, and that it's not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and
to take care of yourself and in the process a sense of safety and security is
born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept
people as they are, and to over look their shortcomings and human frailties and
in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You realize that much of the way you view yourself, and the world
around you, is a result of all the messages and opinions that have been
ingrained into your psyche. And you begin to sift through all the crap you've
been fed about how you should behave, how you should look, how much you
shouldn't weigh, what you should wear, where you should shop, what you should
drive, how and where you should live, what you should do for a living, who you
should sleep with, who you should marry, what you should expect of a marriage,
the importance of having and raising children, or what you owe your parents.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view.
And you begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand
for. You learn the difference between wanting and needing, and you begin to
discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or should never have bought
into to begin with, and in the process you learn to go with your instincts. You
learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility, and the importance of
setting boundaries and learning to say NO. You learn that the only cross to bear
is the one you choose to carry, and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love, Romantic love and familial love. How to
love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving, and when to walk away. You
learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You learn
that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable, or
important because of the man or woman on your arm or the child that bears your
name.

You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as
you would have them be. You stop trying to control people, situations, and
outcomes. You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is with love and
you learn that you don't have the right to demand love on your terms, just to
make you happy. And, you learn that alone does not mean lonely.

And you look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that
you will never be a size 5 or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with
the image inside your head and agonizing over how you "stack up." You also stop
working so hard at putting feelings aside, smoothing things over, and ignoring
your needs.

You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly O.K. … that
it is your right to want things that you want and that sometimes it is necessary
to make demands. You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with
love, kindness, sensitivity, and respect, and you will not settle for less. And
you allow only the hands of a lover who cherishes you, to glorify you with his
or her touch and in the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect.

And you learn that your body really is your temple. You begin
eating a balanced diet, drinking more water, and taking more time to exercise.
You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear, so
you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our
soul, so you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, in life you get what you
believe you deserve and that much of life is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You
learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for, and that wishing for
something to happen is different from working toward making it happen. More
importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success, you need direction,
discipline, and perseverance.

You also learn that no one can do it all alone and its OK to risk
asking for help. You learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great
robber baron of all time: FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through
your fears, because you know that whatever happens you can handle it, and to
give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living
under a cloud of impending doom. You learn that life isn't always fair, you
don't always get what you think you deserve, and that sometimes, bad things
happen to unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to
personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer
your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to deal with evil in its
most primal state -- the ego.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy, and
resentment must be understood and redirected, or they will suffocate the life
out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you. You learn to admit when
you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful
and to take comfort in many of the simple things you take for granted, things
that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: A full
refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower. Slowly,
you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself, and you try to make
yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever settle for less
than your heart's desire. And you hang a wind chime outside your window so you
can listen to the wind. And you make it a point to keep smiling, keep trusting,
and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side, you
take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin, as best as you can, to
design the life you want to live.

"There is more to life than merely increasing its
speed."
-Gandhi

Author Unknown

Thanks for sharing Ishaad!!