Forward

I have this daily desk calendar. It may be a Barack Obama calendar. *ahem* OK, so it is a Barack Obama calendar. The page for each day contains a quote from our president. My mother-in-law got it for me for Christmas, and I'm enjoying it so far. Obviously, some days' quotes are better than others. Like today.

"Our future is what we build it to be."
- Barack Obama, March 23, 2009

I'm not one to believe in destiny. Well, I guess that's not entirely true. I sometimes like to believe there is a plan for our lives. I like to believe there is a purpose.

But I also don't believe that we can sit idly by and our lives will unfold as they should. Perhaps there is a current leading the way, but still, I'm the one steering the ship.

I hate to hear people complain about situations in their lives. I'm not innocent; I do it, too. But when someone is miserable in their current state of living, my question is always, "Well, what are you doing to change it?" I know that often times, change is not easy to come by. But if the "American Dream" has taught us anything, it is that anything is possible.

Conan O'Brien actually said something to this effect on his last show on Friday. He said,

"All I ask of you--especially young people--is one thing. Please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism. It's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen."

It's not a unique message, but it's a good one. You have to work hard. You have to push through. You have to make some tough decisions. You have to put in the time and effort. It's not usually fun. In the end, though, you will end up in a better place. Maybe it's not exactly where you hoped you'd end up, and maybe you didn't achieve exactly what you set out to achieve. But you will have made changes in your life and you will be better for it. And if you're not, keep working and keep pushing, because change will come again.

Lately, we have made moves to make some pretty significant changes in our lives. At this moment, for these particular changes, we've done all that we can do. It is during the "wait and see what happens" period that I believe in the plan. We've played all of our cards and now our future is in the hands of something or someone else. And it is now that I turn to the mantra, "What is meant to be will be." We've set the wheels in motion. We've made the choices, and now we wait for the outcome. If this doesn't work out, we'll press on and try another route.

Because the future will be what we build it to be.

I hope it's a good one.