Life Lessons from Rafiki

Ah yes, the wise words of Rafiki in 1994. I was eight years old and already learning one of life's most important lessons. A stubborn Simba myself, I often dwell on the negatives of my circumstances or mistakes. The biggest hindrances tend to be the situations in which I simply make poor choices, knowing I'm bringing the consequences upon myself. You'd think by (almost) 30 years old, when faced with decisions (big or small), I'd at least be able to take the right paths. 

However, LOL, no.

There could be a giant, neon pink sign with flashing lights and the words "DO THIS!" and I'd do "that" instead. Even a trail of tacos leading to the prize winning decision wouldn't sway me at times. I'd just grab the tacos then walk back the other way.

Why do I do this? Why do we do this? We're all guilty at times. We follow our hearts, we run after the now, we do what makes us feel happy in the moment. Ignoring the implications or impending consequences, (or just the outright stupidity of it) we run fast toward what we want to do whether or not it's the best decision.

I think a difficult lesson to learn is how to move forward and not "beat yourself up" over things. You can't run away from what you've done, who you've hurt, what you've said. The past may even repeat itself... but at the end of the day, you've learned something. I learn something new every time.

Even if I have myself to blame, I also have myself to thank. I'm making it through this messy thing called life and for that I give myself a nice round of applause. Sometimes "wrong" decisions aren't really so bad. I'm happy, and that counts for something.