A time 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 in your head cries out -

ENOUGH!

Enough fighting, 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 with new eyes.

This is your Awakening.

You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change,

or for happiness, safety , and security to come galloping over the horizon.

You come to terms with the fact He is not Prince Charming and You are not Cinderella

and that in the real world there aren't always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter)

and that any guarantee " Happy Ever After " must begin with you, and in the process

A sense of serenity is born

You Awaken to the fact that you are not perfect, and not everyone will love, appreciate or approve of who you are,

and its 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 self confidence is born of self - approval.

You stop complaining and blaming other people for things they did to you

(or didn't do for you )

and you learn the only thing you can count on is the unexpected.

You will learn that not everyone will be there for you, and that its 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 overlook their shortcomings and human frailties

and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You realize 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 in your psyche .

And you begin to sift through the crap you've been fed about how you should behave

how you should look, and 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 stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing,

and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you've outgrown, or shouldn't 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.

And you learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry, and martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. Romantic love and familial love. How much to love, and how much to

Give in love, when to stop giving , and when to walk away.

You learn to not project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship.

You learn you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable,

or important because because 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's situations and outcomes.

You learn just as you grow and people 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 facts that you will never become a size five

Or a perfect 10 and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your

and stop agonizing over how you "stack up".

You also stop working so hard at trying to putting feelings aside, smoothing things over, and ignoring your needs.

You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly Ok... And that it is your right to want things

That you want, and sometimes it is necessary to make demands.


You come to realize you deserve to be treated with love, kindness, sensitivity and respect,

and you will not settle for less.

And you only allow the hands of your 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 is really is your temple.

You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water, and taking more time to exercise.

You learn that fatique diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear

So take more time to rest.

And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels the soul, so you take more time to laugh and play.

You learn, that for the most part, you get what you believe you deserve.

And that much of life is a self- fullfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth receiving is worth working for, and

wishing for something to happen is different from working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn in order to achieve success, you need direction, disclipline

and perserverance.

You also learn no one can do it alone and it is 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 trough your fears, because you know, that

whatever happens, you can handle it, and to give into 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 Occassions you learn not to personalize things.

You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers.

It's just life is 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 right out of you, and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to admit when you are wrong and how to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we 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 we 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, to 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 to design your life you want to live as best that you can.



-- Author Unknown