Hello world! For those of you who are new, welcome to the Luminstruct blog! I am currently working on a "365 Word Project" where everyday I will be posting a reflection on a word and today's word is "Inside".
As it gets warmer outside, I have found myself wanting to spend less and less time inside and more time soaking up the sun's rays. So in honor of the beautiful Spring weather, I will devote this post more toward the inside of our hearts and less toward the inside of a room! I feel like a lot of these posts have been comments and scribbling about self worth and beauty on the inside, but that's just what I'm about, so get over it! :)
Although I am sure I will share my thoughts on "outside image" tomorrow since the word is "outside", I really want to drive home the fact that we are all beautiful on the inside. I'm imagining you are already starting to come up with a list of people who may not fit this description and this is absolutely true, but some of us may have just lost it along the way or have yet to find it. Although I was going through a lot of development during my early years in college, I know I hadn't yet found my inner beauty. People who knew me back then would argue otherwise, but I believe back then I was a shell of a man who didn't know what he stood for, what he wanted, or what he valued about himself. There were many times I did things I did not agree with, just to make friends, and I desperately wanted to be accepted by my peers so much that I began to turn into someone different. It wasn't until I became an RA when I found out my true calling in life and began to pick up the pieces and form the man I am today. I still don't know what I want in life and may never will, but I do know what I stand for, and I find value in that.
I've mentioned the famous comparison game in previous posts where you look at others and wish you were more like them. Even today in one of my one on ones, my RA was talking about how she wish she was more like a friend of hers. It's remarkable to hear others say things like that, especially when you believe that individual is someone who is beautiful and has so much going for them in life, they just don't see it themselves. I know we have an animal instinct where we will always go through life wanting more than we can grasp, it was even Michelangelo who said, "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish", but see this more as a challenge. Set as many lofty goals as you can and then let yourself have them! The trick is that they should never be based directly from what others have, but first start with what you want in your heart. Once you start down this road, you will begin to get to know yourself and what is on the inside so much more and your work/projects will become you. As someone who is constantly consumed by work, I do not desire this fate to any of my friends, but I do wish that you could find your own personal motivation and what you love.
The people who are most happy in this world, are the ones who become consumed by their joys, they are in touch with their emotions and they work from the inside out. Before you can change the world around you, you must first set the foundation within you and be proud of this foundation. For the take away video, I have included the last episode to a YouTube series called "World's Worst Musical." To summarize, the main character decided to take some time off work to follow his passion of songwriting, but can only come up with terrible songs that he thinks would never be accepted as actual musicals. This episode is when he finally realizes that maybe all he can do is write the world's worst musical because that is who he is. He then takes this idea, runs with it and creates something much bigger than himself. It's a little hard to explain, but my closing remarks are these: Follow your heart and let it turn you into the person you secretly want to be, this is the beauty within. All great art must start from the heart. "Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts." (Aladdin)
As it gets warmer outside, I have found myself wanting to spend less and less time inside and more time soaking up the sun's rays. So in honor of the beautiful Spring weather, I will devote this post more toward the inside of our hearts and less toward the inside of a room! I feel like a lot of these posts have been comments and scribbling about self worth and beauty on the inside, but that's just what I'm about, so get over it! :)
Although I am sure I will share my thoughts on "outside image" tomorrow since the word is "outside", I really want to drive home the fact that we are all beautiful on the inside. I'm imagining you are already starting to come up with a list of people who may not fit this description and this is absolutely true, but some of us may have just lost it along the way or have yet to find it. Although I was going through a lot of development during my early years in college, I know I hadn't yet found my inner beauty. People who knew me back then would argue otherwise, but I believe back then I was a shell of a man who didn't know what he stood for, what he wanted, or what he valued about himself. There were many times I did things I did not agree with, just to make friends, and I desperately wanted to be accepted by my peers so much that I began to turn into someone different. It wasn't until I became an RA when I found out my true calling in life and began to pick up the pieces and form the man I am today. I still don't know what I want in life and may never will, but I do know what I stand for, and I find value in that.
I've mentioned the famous comparison game in previous posts where you look at others and wish you were more like them. Even today in one of my one on ones, my RA was talking about how she wish she was more like a friend of hers. It's remarkable to hear others say things like that, especially when you believe that individual is someone who is beautiful and has so much going for them in life, they just don't see it themselves. I know we have an animal instinct where we will always go through life wanting more than we can grasp, it was even Michelangelo who said, "Lord, grant that I may always desire more than I can accomplish", but see this more as a challenge. Set as many lofty goals as you can and then let yourself have them! The trick is that they should never be based directly from what others have, but first start with what you want in your heart. Once you start down this road, you will begin to get to know yourself and what is on the inside so much more and your work/projects will become you. As someone who is constantly consumed by work, I do not desire this fate to any of my friends, but I do wish that you could find your own personal motivation and what you love.
The people who are most happy in this world, are the ones who become consumed by their joys, they are in touch with their emotions and they work from the inside out. Before you can change the world around you, you must first set the foundation within you and be proud of this foundation. For the take away video, I have included the last episode to a YouTube series called "World's Worst Musical." To summarize, the main character decided to take some time off work to follow his passion of songwriting, but can only come up with terrible songs that he thinks would never be accepted as actual musicals. This episode is when he finally realizes that maybe all he can do is write the world's worst musical because that is who he is. He then takes this idea, runs with it and creates something much bigger than himself. It's a little hard to explain, but my closing remarks are these: Follow your heart and let it turn you into the person you secretly want to be, this is the beauty within. All great art must start from the heart. "Like so many things, it is not what is outside, but what is inside that counts." (Aladdin)
Take Away:
Tomorrow's Topic: "Outside"
