We’re Always Getting Ready to Live But Never Living

“We’re always getting ready to live, but never living.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

I picked up this little, tiny, tiny book at the library last week called “The Law of Attraction Plain and Simple: Create the Extraordinary Life That You Deserve” by Sonia Ricotti. I can’t explain what made me grab it and check it out. I don’t read self-help books. I typically read fiction; I’m not a big nonfiction reader simply because so much of what I teach is nonfiction, so fiction offers me that escape. I also write a lot of fiction, so I learn from others who do as I do.

But this little book spoke to me as I stood in the quiet library and perused it. As a blogger, I’m always looking for things to share, little tidbits I pick up from here and there, and books are a phenomenal source for blog inspirations. The particular quote I noted above from Emerson is the featured quote in Risotti’s wrap-up chapter entitled LIVE LIFE: ENJOY THE JOURNEY. All the chapters in the book are helpful, but this last one pulls it all together and has action steps. As I can often find myself not living in the moment and instead thinking of what’s ahead a lot, I sometimes miss what’s happening.

It was a conscious effort for me to attempt this notion last year, but I’m not sure I’ve conquered the simple, yet challenging task yet. I’d been noticing that I have trouble enjoying things as they unfold, and I needed to stop all the noise in my head and just focus on the here and now. I practiced this over the summer, as my son graduated from high school, as we took two amazing vacations, and as I packed my first child off for college. As Ricotti says about enjoying the journey, “It takes practice, awareness, and time to master.”

She goes over 10 steps in her book, very simply outlined, that can help us put on a more positive hat. From managing your thoughts and feelings (second step) to letting go (fifth step) to forgiving (sixth step) to choosing friends carefully (ninth step), the book forces you to do a quick evaluation of your life, your philosophy on life, and the decisions you make in your life for better or for worse (and if they are the worst choices, she asks you to re-evaluate them…maybe those decisions helped in an unconventional or conventional way that you haven’t recognized yet).

As an example, years ago I hated to fly on commercial airlines. People thought I was afraid to actually go up into the air–that it was a fear of heights or soaring that I didn’t like. In fact, I love that feeling of being up in the air. What I didn’t like was the knowledge that I was trapped on an airplane with no means of escape if I wanted to get off. Call it claustrophobia if you want, but that’s why I didn’t like to fly. When I put my fear back into the universe and in God’s hands and realized I can’t control the plane (and there’s the biggest problem of all–that I couldn’t CONTROL it), I began to cope, and I flew. I’ve flown to Europe, the Caribbean, Aruba, California, and all over the United States because I tossed that fear back where it belongs and faced the fear time and time again. This notion harkens back to her chapter on Choosing Your Thoughts and Feelings (chapter two), and that you have the ability to control what you think and feel.

I’m not going to say that self-help books are my new go-to, as fiction is my true love, and that my time reading diminishes during the semesters when I have tons of grading, but sliding one in here and there can be beneficial.

However, I woke up this morning feeling positive and ready to share these thoughts with you. If you need a little boost or refocus, you may want to check this book out.