THRIVE

 "But it's a pineapple plant,"my husband admonished, "It isn't meant to survive the winter." He stood holding a pathetically looking floppy palm I had planted from a pineapple eaten earlier this summer. Just a few days ago it was on my front porch looking every bit the way a pineapple plant was meant to, however I had forgotten to take it inside during one of the nights when temperatures sneaked unexpectedly below freezing.

Image via Wikipedia

Now my plant looked a little lifeless and if it had feelings probably in shock and disappointment because someone who had not forgotten to water and fertilize it all Summer and Fall and simply disregarded its existence when she was no longer spending time curled up with a book or some other activity on the porch.

                         Image via Wikipedia

I gave it water and put it in a place where it will get wonderful sunshine even if the outdoor temperatures are not creeping upward and today it looks better than yesterday and I suspect with a little love and care it will be back to its tropical self in a few weeks.

I can't help but think how much of our lives are like that pineapple's. We nurture and take care of the things that matter and then sometimes we just forget to pay attention to something we once enjoyed. This is especially true of the things that bring us joy and pleasure;things that allow us time to rejuvenate our lives and put them in perspective. They may be our hobbies or the causes that get us fired up or instinctively bring out our best gifts. 

One of my friends shared that she had long forgotten how much see enjoyed collecting children's books since her own children are grown. Then she discovered a favorite book she used to read to her brood in a book store and decided to begin a collection for her grandchildren. She is enthusiastically invested in finding the parts of her past she loved and passing it along to someone else. I also know a man who used to love to do stand up comedy but long ago gave it up to take a job in corporate American and raise a family. After attending a theater performance recently, he decided to join a theater group and is getting ready for his first comedy gig later this Spring. He told me he feels enthusiastic about life in a way he hadn't imagined his return to performing would create. He still has a day job, but now he has a day joy as well.


I started this blog over two years ago sharing the stories of people who lived with purpose and my own feelings about how each of us was gifted to make a difference in the world. Looking at that pineapple plant just existing, barely surviving made me realize how we too have a choice whether we survive or thrive. Sometimes we go through our lives convinced there is no time, no money, no support and no opportunity to really thrive and like that pineapple plant we exist and go through the motions but we don't look as beautiful nor feel as special or even resemble what we truly could be because we are just surviving and we have lost or abandoned or long given up the things that make us thrive.

There is a huge difference between surviving and thriving. One is existing in spite of and one is existing because of. Many of the people who I wrote about in my first book not only survived but learned how to really thrive often in amazing circumstances. Everyone of them has made an amazing impact on my life. But countless individuals who live relatively ordinary lives like you, like me, have learned how to not just exist but truly thrive. They are able to discover what is amazing about each day because they have figured out their "amazing" they have to offer and they contribute it with enthusiasm, joy and a spirit only something truly thriving can exhibit. 


I hope my current followers and new readers will want to jump on board an adventure everyone should take.We get but one life. Living it just surviving is like see the Grand Canyon or Aurora Bourealis in black and white instead of color. It's critical to find your fire and add it to your life to turn your surviving into thriving and later this week FINDING YOUR FIRE  will make its debut as the blog that takes life to a whole different level.Image via Wikipedia

I don't know about you but if a pineapple can survive the Winter given the right circumstances to continue to thrive how much better could your life be given the right circumstances to get it thriving? 
Got an idea but don't know how to get it started? Tired of being stuck in the same old same old? Wondering what your real purpose really is? Always dreamed of something but never really made it come true? Still thinking that someday you will do something that makes the world a better place or even your life a more substantial life? Then come visit Finding Your Fire...soon LIVE and with a DRIVE TO THRIVE and grow and bring you along. Why should you just pass through when you can choose to go on life's greatest adventure?

Come visit...Tell me what you think and become a spark or an explosion in your little corner of the world.

Are you surviving another day or thriving your best life possible? What do you really wish you could do to make a difference and why are you waiting?