A Raison D'Etre Part 1

Have you ever stopped to wonder for a second, "What's my raison d'etre?"

Just in case you're not familiar with the term, or French, it means 'reason to be.' It's used pretty freely in speech, and its true meaning is often overlooked.

And when you think it about for a minute, it's a penetrating question. You can't answer it sincerely without much contemplation: "What is your purpose?"

Earlier in November, I took place in National Novel Writing Month, a monthlong endeavor to write a novel, book, story, whatever you wanted to work on for a whole month, every day. And let me tell you, the idea is spectacular. Following through was a struggle, though. There were days when the words just flowed freely from finger to keyboard.

Then...there were most of the other days, when I got a paragraph or two, tops, which I was tempted to delete but couldn't; A golden rule of NaNoWiMo.

During one of my many road blocks, I took a break and spoke to a good friend of mine. During our conversation, the topic of our 'raisons d'etre' made its way in.

I hit a road block, again. That was twice in a night. You'd think there was major construction on this road I was on.  or Perhaps a detour up ahead.

As I stood outside the Dunkin Donuts, I had to ponder about what my purpose was; not because I wanted to concise answer for my friend, but because I wanted to hear it out aloud for myself. It's funny, so many things popped up in my head to say, but it was hard to separate them:
fleeting interests, random thoughts and ideas, ideas of what it 'should' be

Then it came to me: "Writing"

Even though I've been a dilettante, even though I have't written religiously in years, whenever I'm faced with expressing myself onto paper, or pad, or computer screen, I feel the most secure. It's the one thing that's stayed constant, as much as I've let it go, and pursued other things, it's always been a part of me.

And though I still have my doubts,
and my own pressures about saying the right thing,
about being blunt and honest,
about my actions,
whether or not my purpose changes as do the times,
whether or not my 'raison d'etre' will be something people will implore, applaud, or disregard,

I know that my writing will be there to remind me: C'est a toi.

So I ask, What's your raison d'etre?

To Chase or Not to Chase

Do you remember when we were young? When life was such a splendid thing, and we chased our dreams for countless days; and there stood not even a trace of fear or worry, just genuine curiosity and innocence.

I'm sure you had some bizarre, wacky dreams of what you would become when you 'grew up.'
A cowboy
a doctor,
a ninja,
a movie star,
an astronaut.

For me, I wanted to be a secret agent. Fluent in 10 languages, could see through walls, and would never get hurt, and would always save the day. I knew how to do anything to blend in to any crowd, could talk my way out of any bad situation, and was always one step ahead of my arch rival. A detective at heart, and overall badass mofo.

Can you believe jut how uninhibited we were? Such crazy fantasies that would manifest in our small little minds; infinite potential, infinite creativity, and so much fascination!

Then, as we all know by now, we grew up.

Dreams of epic crime-fighting and treasure hunting became distant memories, only to resurface when thinking about the good ol' days.

Our dreams, so vivid and captivating, became nonsense. I bet most of us laugh when we recant our own dreams when we were young.

Why?

A Lesson in Inspiration - Nick Vujicic

I dare you to say 'FML' after watching this video. 

It's truly inspiring just how someone who doesn't have what most of us take for granted lives his life with so much happiness and love. 

Think about the many blessing you & I have and ask yourself, "How happy are we to be alive"? 

I post this not to judge or scold, because I'm just as guilty as anyone for having those days where it seems that nothing goes my way and I lash out at everyone around me. This post is just a reminder to people ( myself included) that life is too precious to spend time on all the things that we see are wrong.

His name is Nick Vujicic. And I have tremendous respect for him. Learn more about his story and his cause here.

Why I W.R.I.T.E.

Previously posted on 12.7.2010

 

Ø      I write because I can. Ø

I write as a testament of my will to live and to express my love in every way I choose to

I write as appreciation to God for this given talent

I write to become better at it.

I write because it’s the only thing I know how to do to free myself

I write for the hell of it

I write for the heaven of it, too.

I write to humor myself,

to pep talk myself,

to inspire myself, to calm myself down,

to refocus myself, to remind myself, to declare my position,

to defend my own opinions, to express my joy, to cure my sorrorws, to heal my wounds,

 to capture the moment, to help others, to search for a better way, to create a story,

to live in that story, to learn something, to find a different viewpoint, to see the world,

through another shade of color, to embrace a new idea,

to believe,

to enjoy my time, to finish a deadline, to clear my mind, to empty my thoughts,

to reach out to someone, to endure, to refuel, to replenish my will, to satisfy my urges,

 to burn bridges, to build trust, to allow the passion to run through my fingers and put me on an instant high,

to hide, to reveal, to scorn, to acclimate, to suffer, to heal, to seek redemption,

 to love.

I write because I am.

Which means…to me atleast,

I am, because I write.