Escape (Pt. 2)

In June I wrote another post that I titled “Escape” in which I talked about not being able to escape the reality I found myself in. I talked about no matter how much I wanted to leave I couldn’t.

However, that simply wasn’t true. What I needed was to change my mindset. What I needed was to escape the way I was thinking and feeling. As simple as those words are to write, it’s not a simple thing to accomplish.

What I needed was the flexibility of my work schedule to allow me to take advantage of the time I didn’t spend at work. What I needed was the mindset of saying “yes” to opportunities that came my way. What I needed was to embrace my new normal. What I needed was to not dwell on what had been, but to grasp on to the possibilities that were presented in front of me.

It should not be left up to others to determine how we feel, how we live, how we exist. Instead, it is up to each of us – individually – to determine how we feel, how we live, how we exist. It is up to us to decide how to react to others around us – especially when things don’t go as we expect them to.

I know that we have all heard the saying that only we can create our own happiness. And that saying sounds terribly cliche and could evoke some eye-rolling. However, as eye-rolling as it might be, it is as true of a statement as you can get. It truly is up to us – up to me to decide how I feel. That’s not to say that I don’t ever feel sad or mad or frustrated (trust me, I do), but that is to say that I can decide to stay there or not.

I choose not. I choose to hold on to the memories of the things that bring me joy. I choose to say “yes” to the opportunites that present themselves to me. I choose to explore the world around me to find an escape in what already exists. I choose to escape to the lake when I can. I choose to escape into the book I’m reading. I choose to escape with the cup of coffee I’m drinking. I choose to escape into the sunset on my back deck.

I choose to escape from the negativity and travel into the positive.