Have you seen those that purchase and wear the most expensive and finest clothing brands, yet regardless that their shoes probably costs as much as your rent or their necklace as much as your car, they still look CRAZY?
Have you also seen that older gentleman in fly khaki pants, a vintage track jacket with a cool hat and patterned socks that is the epitome of “cool” yet most of their fit was recycled, vintage or from their fathers father? I mean their total outfit probably costed them a school Physical Education class, a borrow from their father and $1 from “Jet Rag(LA thrift store)” on a Sunday. Value isn’t limited to how much something costs but value is found in the wealth of our vision; Our perception and sense of “style” or how we put things together. The gift of seeing is beyond the price of a “thing.” WE determine what something is worth in the first place so why have we allowed our creative value to now be determined by “things” or the appearance of some-THING? Why have we lost our ability to create what we wish to see or even worse why can we no longer SEE what we are looking at? It doesn’t make sense that I say we can’t “see” what we are “looking” at but a big part of seeing is the ability to foresee. If we lived only for what we see we would never make plans for the tomorrow we haven’t yet seen. We wouldn’t invent, invest or invite whats next. We would be trapped in time and ultimately our lives would be wasted. Our ability to see is what gives us the creative edge to proactively do life and to live it more than just reactively.
I have great wants and needs. I desire much from this life but those things without me have no value. Without the person to determine their worth or use them they are just “things” and lose value becoming obsolete. Therefore I am the currency of every invention, desire and dream and my faith becomes the bank. How big I can see determines how much value I find and my life will spend. I can’t always control what I’ve been given but I can control what I receive. Instead of complaining about lacking what I want I take what I have to build it. Even my trash is my treasure.
NOTHING WASTED
Holiday feasts are always a treat. The amount of food prepared often exceeds what can and SHOULD be consumed in a days time. Especially in American culture. Thanksgiving is one of the holidays where one person eats for a family of 79 and in doing so the following days are still fat with leftover food. So much food is leftover…..LEFT-OVER. Left(there)-over(more). Do you throw it away? The turkey that was once a succulent perfectly brown and golden steamy trophy on a plate is now far from glamorous after being cut into and torn apart. The soup, hot sides, the macaroni and cheese are no longer steamy but have been refrigerated and the desserts have probably sat out overnight. What’s left; is there anything actually LEFT(there)? Whatever you’re willing to carry OVER.
Leftovers. Of course some things lose their nutritional value and simply can’t last beyond a day but much can withstand a few days. Many will use that same turkey and turn it into a turkey sandwich, quiche or soup the days following. How it’s used may have altered from its first use but it’s still turkey, it’s just reinvented. Nothing is wasted when you understand the power of reinventing. What have we thrown away that just needed to be reinvented? What have we called trash that was really treasure once re-created? What did someone give us that we judged by appearance and therefore missed an opportunity?
A small ghetto in Dharavi, India packs 1 million people in .8 of a miles radius. In that small area 80% of the countries recycled goods are produced and there and a whopping equivalent of $7.5 Million US dollars a year and an estimated over 1 Billion US dollars since its calculation. This is mainly from taking what’s left and making something more, leftovers. They truly embody the saying “one mans trash is another mans treasure.” Today don’t focus on what you’ve got but SEE what you can have, WASTE NOTHING. Even your pain can produce purpose if you keep a positive mindset and adjust your perspective.
USE WHAT YOU HAVE
Stop complaining. Life is hard but use it as motivation to become strong enough to breakthrough it. What you have, who you are is enough to exercise, build and shape into what you want. You’re capable of breathing through what’s in front of you, you just need to workout. Every test is a weight and when you use it as a tool it will make you stronger instead of crush you. Most obstacles stop us because we’ve stopped growing and therefore lack the capacity to overcome. GET BIG and don’t worry that you start small. We all do. Shaquille O-Neal was born a small little baby just like all of us were but he grew into a giant in skill and stature. Don’t complain about where you’re starting, instead grow from there.
RECYLE AND CREATE
Stop making excuses. Get creative. I know you wish life just gave you everything you’ll ever want today right now, but then it wouldn’t be life. Life is and will forever be a process. One that tests, one that develops and one that requires love regardless. Everything goes through seasons. Don’t mistake the process for bad news when really its just a necessary period to grow you where you’re going . And regardless of what you see know more can come, either in the cycle of time or the beauty of your creative mind. If you’re tree gets chopped down build a house or fuel a fire. If the wave of your life crashes, catch the next one but whatever you do don’t dwell in the past when you’re future is waiting for you to build it. Maybe you’re thinking “but I’ve never caught a wave in the past” and I’m saying don’t let it deny your future. As long as there is an ocean there can be waves. In time they will crash upon the shore of your dreams but you have to stay in the water. Paddle again, swim, float, kick and fight off sharks. Start over, take whatever you have and catch the next wave. Don’t doubt the ocean because your wave hasn’t come. Waves only exist because there is an ocean. Let what you desire confirm that what you want/need is on the way instead of doubting what you have because you haven’t received what you wanted. Most are waiting on a wave but instead I’m building my ocean and I know that in time I’ll ride it.
You have what you need to get what you want but you’ll never find it if you don’t first see it. Your trash can become your treasure.