Tag: Shine

No Reese’s in the Puzzle Pieces

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No One Puzzle Evolves Solo (NOPES)

NOPES have a tendency to be negative, overtly pained, and extra stuck in a puzzled state of life. Humanity made a quick slip to level NOPE. This is a puzzle for NOPES.

Forget Hope and Change; it’s NOPE, NO CHANGE. Most people in the general population feel (or felt) like NOPES at some point in life.

In 2015 and 2016, I was Extra Stuck

For two solid years, I was pinned down on a regular basis, but nothing permanent.

My former employer failed at getting my signature on a confidentiality agreement. The devil is always in the details. That’s why I started Devilish Smirk.

Most times, I was pinned down due to varying degrees of violations against me, including me holding myself down. That last part was me being nice.

It takes a key wit to make people, who fuck with your life on purpose, a little nervous.

There were a few times I didn’t mind the pinning. Now that I’m single, perhaps there will be opportunity for more, but I digress.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

Something Changed in 2017

I spend 68 days in St. John and it changed my life.

While I was on St. John, I had an experience like never before. While walking along the water’s edge of Salt Pond, I stopped for minute to stare at the moon’s reflection in the pond. I laid on the sand and stared into space.

I closed my eyes and made eye contact with my mind’s eye and heard everything I watched within, and my mindful awareness shot to the sky. 

Upon opening my eyes, I could see the darkest, but brightest, star-filled sky above appear close enough to touch. I felt connected to it, as a part of me slid up into the darkness, somewhere in the cosmos.

It felt like a ride.

I started to shake my head and laugh quietly to myself. Physically, I was still on the beach.

No, I wasn’t on any hallucinogenic drugs that night. I didn’t even have a drink that night.

All at once, bits and pieces of mostly mental garbage disappeared from my life.

  • I wasn’t stuck in (or under) anything.
  • Nothing was stuck to (or in) me.
  • I was solo.
  • No longer did I feel like a NOPE.
  • I placed the “N” in NOPE, at the end.
  • NOPE = OPEN
  • I felt OPEN and, for the first time in my life, at peace.

I felt a deep sense of relief from my twisted burden of some kind. Without anything extra on top, I realized I wasn’t stuck.

I was free to open my mind and explore the infinite possibilities all of us are given at birth.

The Puzzle OPENS!

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

A Puzzle is Born

The puzzle pieces didn’t come out of a box. You did, and so did I.

And this is what I looked like:

A switch flipped and everything brightened a tiny bit. I could see further, in all directions, than the day before.

My eyes opened and I woke up.

For the first time, I saw the world through the eyes of a human puzzle without limits.

I elevated myself.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

I am Travis, and I am Puzzled!

First, the Bad News

Life is no ordinary puzzle. It isn’t built in a day and takes more than a week. Life can, however, fall the fuck apart in a day. 

Everything falls apart before you can piece anything back together.

Life is designed to, literally, frustrate the hell out of you. There aren’t solutions to your life’s puzzle in the back of any book.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

It’s Time for Good News

Life is a puzzle without borders. No frame will ever contain the full picture.

An effective strategy is building your beast from the inside out. Slow, steady, and future-conscious are three thoughts coming to mind.

Regardless, you have a lifetime to create your life’s masterpiece.

Congratulations! You get to use your imagination.

Imagine that.

The pieces are there, all around us, every day.

Humanity’s Collective Piece

Humanity has great potential to change the world and has never been more equipped to succeed.

Carry this piece proudly and make a difference while you can. If you smile, someone else will smile. Smiles are contagious. It’s great when more people smile.

Life is a Work in Progress

As long as you navigate this planet, remember that life is no ordinary journey. Life operates on simple terms.

The only rule you need to know in life is The Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.” That’s it! It’s called the golden rule for a reason.

The more people you treat kindly, the more people you impact, and the brighter your light shines.

About that Puzzle 

The Final Piece

The final piece is one we all have in common. It’s the same piece we’re all missing until the end. Yes, I’m talking about death.

What happens after is anyone’s guess.

Death will provide the last piece to your puzzle.

I sure hope Death has that missing peace.

“Death puts the Rest In Place.” 

 

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The Project of a Lifetime

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The Truth About Life

A life without friends isn’t much of a life, and making friends is a crap shoot! Lucky us! Welcome to the Ca-si-no, I’m not your friend! It’s gambling, except when placing bets, we use mental currency, not cash, and it’s amazing what your mind can afford.

People are bought all the time, but nobody can buy friends. By definition, that’s not friendship; that’s business. 

However, once you are fortunate enough to cross paths with, and connect to a new soul, a unique adventure begins.

The Fire in Your Soul

The concept is simple. We all have a fire in our soul, and that fire is the source of your inner light.

If you feel your fire (or at least know there is one), continue to read.

If you don’t feel your fire (or don’t believe you have a soul), continue reading, and pretend you do (because you do).

Soul II Soul, from Mine to Yours

Inner light isn’t visible to the naked eye. It could reside in another dimension for all I know. Here’s what I believe about the light that leads me.

  • My light has no color.
  • My light has been with me my entire life.
  • I did well feeding it in my early 20’s.
  • There was a decade thrown in there where it burned slow and steady.
  • I thought it was bright enough.
  • People wanted to dim my light.
  • There was a period where it flickered more than usual.
  • I’ve thrown gasoline on it a few times.
  • In 2014, I packed my light and moved to Arizona.
  • By early 2015, the fire in my soul became a smoldering pile of ashes.
  • In 2016, I could have easily thrown myself in a box, on a shelf, next to Denver and Marco.
  • In 2017, I was struck by lightning – twice.
  • I learned it could never be bright enough.

Even a hurricane couldn’t put this Dark Phoenix out.

Not all Fires are Created Equal

Fires are either built or caused. Building them is preferred, unless, of course, it’s arson. Accidents happen. Nature happens. Regardless of how it starts, playing with fire doesn’t hurt the fire.

People wanted to dim my light.

The safest way to build a fire is to start small, using kindling as a base. Once the base is ablaze, you can begin to throw the big wood on top.

The bigger the fire, the brighter the light.

You don’t need several advanced physics degrees to understand simple physics. With a little TLC, even the tiniest coal can reignite to glorious levels. However, the devil is always in the details.

There are three conditions:

  • Fires need to be fed.
  • You are responsible for your fire.
  • The brighter your light, the more attractive you become.

Like a Moth to a Flame

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Inner light is the eternal beacon of your soul. Carry it proudly, for life, as if it’s your very own Olympic torch. If the Statue of Liberty can do it, so can you.

Are you burning an eternal flame? That’s a question you can answer only for yourself. I believe it, and I live my life accordingly.

Making friends is easier to do when you allow your true self to make first impressions. Anything else is a waste of time. Show up to your own life.

Now, go get some trees and start chopping.

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