The twentieth century was Hell on Earth for many people. Millions upon millions suffered unspeakable horrors; from the two wars that ripped through land, home and soul to the depressions and famines People say the lucky ones died quickly. Some slowly starved to death, some became ill, some died at the hands of criminals, others committed suicide, and some came through only to realize they lost themselves somewhere along the way.
The life in the 20th century was absolute misery for many people. Human reek and stench filled the nose, moldy food filled the mouth, unpaid bills filled the hand, and the absence of productivity filled the mind. Yet, for the people who held the promise of hope, all the time lost and all the pain endured was another mark that would become a defining moment in their life.
Still there are those who suffer and probably always will be. If someone doesn’t have a few terrible moments to look back on, they won’t consider the amazing blessings they have before them as a reason to have for gratitude. Emotions such as deep depression and anxiety will grip the masses and keep them from enjoying life, erasing the possibilities of their happy pursuit and replacing it with loss, loneliness, and fear.
Drugs help to keep chemicals balanced in the brain and counseling has it’s place in the struggle to comprehend and cope, but nothing is as effective as living everyday through gratitude. Good days and bad days, even those times history recalls as hell on Earth, manipulates the equation of life and changes the outcome of each and every moment; so much so, that the memory of a once hellish moment factors into the present and changes what one feels about then and now.
If you are depressed, if you are lonely, if you are anxious, I ask you to do this. Be grateful. For the sun, for the shade, for the breeze, for a cool drink and for the thirst that makes the cool drink so refreshing. I urge you to take a step in a new direction. Just for a short time, say thank you with your voice. Out loud, say, “I am grateful,” and name something.
Five minutes from now can be different. You can be different. You can do the thing that you so badly want to try. You can do that thing you think you can’t, once you press yourself to reach farther than you are, and for those five minutes you will be a super human because you are doing what you thought was impossible.
No matter the life, no matter the station, no matter the family you were born into, you can be the person you want to be. Whether you want to be an artist, a musician, a writer, or maybe you’ve been dreading the crowd at the local store, you can do it. All of it.
You are capable of amazing things because you are an amazing person. You are a unique person and all your dreams are front and center, waiting for you to believe in yourself enough to claim them. The only thing that stopped you from being the person you’ve always wanted to be is the fact that you’ve not thought it possible. Something, or possibly someone, made you believe that you weren’t worthy of the dreams you have, that whether or not you will achieved your goals depended on someone else. Well, you are worthy and whether or not you reach your dreams depends on you.
Five minutes, right now, will change your life forever. Write that story, draw that picture, play that song, face that crowd, become that person you want to be. Being a Super You will get easier five minutes at a time.