Your Future Is a Blank Canvas
A vision is a glimpse into the future
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
– Melody Beattie
The future is bright for those who can see the possibilities before they become apparent.
Without the hope of possibilities, your mind would shut down, and you would become a walking zombie.
My husband has been struggling to find a full-time job in his field for roughly the duration of the current pandemic.
He has humbled himself and is now making only about a third of what he used to bring home. Some days are easier than others to stay positive, but it sometimes takes a toll on us.
After working all day in his labor-intensive job, he’s completely exhausted and still has the pressure of looking for a job in his field.
Sometimes the blows are just too much like how my mother-in-law is slowly slipping away. I can’t even imagine how he’s feeling. I try to be empathetic, but I see my mom every day. It’s hard for me even to imagine how he must feel.
How does my husband keep going? He’s creative, and I imagine he’s painting a brighter future right into existence.
He’s an art director by trade but a humble servant like all of us.
So, when life knocks us down, do we stay down? No.
“It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up.”
– Vince Lombardi
Getting back up again
If you don’t like yesterday’s outcome, mix up a different color palate.
We must keep fighting. To keep going, we must see the bigger painting and know that even that masterpiece isn’t final until the last stroke.
If throwing in the towel isn’t an option, then how do you keep going when you’re ready to give up?
It’s okay to take time to tend to your wounds like a boxer in a fighting ring. Some punches in life can knock us completely out, or some can leave us with severe internal bleeding. Even those black eyes and that occasional tooth that gets knocked out can be devastating.
“You don’t lose if you get knocked down; you lose if you stay down.”
— Muhammad Ali
It’s okay to sit with your feelings in the shadows for a short time, even hanging on the ropes for a bit.
But then you must get up again and add some bright colors back into your punch.
Blending colors
The colors are the possibilities all around us. Without imagination or the occasional bout of dreaming, we’d lose sight of the possibilities. Dreaming is a form of planning.
Gratitude creates a vision for tomorrow. We must express gratitude even in the hard times. We must learn to roll with the punches.
We all have different beliefs, so if praying isn’t something you believe in, that’s okay, but I know praying keeps my husband and me going.
Praying is our pep talk in the corner of the ring. I must admit, I’m not always the best cornerman. But we are all human, and our comeback can be even stronger.
Our comeback
Let’s face it; there’s nothing more tremendous as a comeback. Seeing someone with dreams, watching them when they are knocked down, and then getting another chance. Yet the waiting can be one of the hardest parts.
A daily vision filled with gratitude changes things during the wait. Sometimes all we can do is to be thankful. Sometimes life is just one big waiting match.
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
– Romans 8:25
For now, the fighting and waiting patiently in the ring continues, but we’ll soon be saved by the bell on the door of opportunities. What color is your door painted?
“I don’t know if God is a sports fan or not, but I do know this: He loves a good comeback.”
— Lane Kiffin
And He’s the ultimate creator
I want to thank one of our successful writers, Alberto García 🚀🚀🚀 for sharing his grandfather’s seventeen life lessons that have helped me time and time again. Thank you, Alberto, for sharing these words so freely:
Thank you, Trista Signe Ainsworth and team, for a publication like Thank You Notes to allow me to share my gratitude even in the hard times.
Thank you for your continued support by being a Medium member or becoming one soon:
