I decided

not to get old before my time
(I'm thinking there are better things to do)

to reel my errant thoughts in, time and again, back to what is true
(a daily/hourly/minute by minute task so it seems)

to go slow and be grateful
(ever learning on the 'slow' part)

to assume that I don’t know what another soul is experiencing
(how on earth could I?)

to let go
to let it be
to Be

I decided

to put my faith in the good
to delight in the fountain trickle, the lavender fragrant, the loving embrace

I decided

that life was beautiful after all

that even after pain, loss, fear, and shame
there existed still
beauty enough to overwhelm a thousand lifetimes

I decided

it was good to be just me
that what 'perfect' actually looks like in life was very different than I had supposed

I decided

to smile more
that perhaps the secret to a well-lived life might be in loving who I am

I decided

for however long I’m here
to fully embrace
every inch
of this remarkable experience
(which means free-falling into life from someone who has spent an inordinate amount of time gripping the steering wheel)

I decided

to love with all I’ve got

I decided.

Note—Just so we're clear, I have NOT perfected doing/being the aforementioned things. I am as they say about art—a work in progress—but I HAVE decided!

The Heart Knows, Oil – 12 x 24, oil on canvas

So now I am wondering what have you decided so far? Leave a comment below!