Rebuilding the Foundation

What is your foundation?  

I've lived a long life and have experienced a lot of change over the decades.  I won't be going into the details in this post and plan to try to get away from mentioning specific details about others in my posts, particularly because life tends to change, so much. However,  my life has generally had a lot of changes in it.  So, while I have many different types of experiences and things I have learned over my life (see my updated About Me page), one thing that has been very true in almost every year of my life is my ability to bounce back from being broken down.. sometimes down to almost nothing.  I guess you could say I took the book of Job and made it a lifestyle.  But, going through all of that, I have learned many things that are important in rebuilding your foundation that might be useful to others.

1.  Aside from God, your foundation is YOU.  I'd even wager that even God would have you make your foundation be yourself, as he knows that you must develop that perspective.  Your foundation is not your friends.  I have, over my life, had SO many friends that came and went, either from my moving, their moving, people getting married, political differences, and much more.  Your foundation is not your church, though church is important.  Again, I've been in many churches.  Some are only there for you when you are doing things for them, though there are very good exceptions I have seen.  Your foundation is not your romantic partner.  Again, those do not always remain, and people are always changing.  Your foundation is not your work or your industry.  I've been at so many jobs, where you work so hard for them that you are facing great stress, only to have them move on to another worker to use and forget you, after you have left.  After all is said and done at the end of your life, you have you sitting there.  As you look back, you will be struck with the question... did I do enough to love myself in this life, or did I just give it all away.  Loving others IS important, but loving yourself was the first presumption Jesus gave, when He gave the love commands, 

2.  Your foundation are the bits and pieces of things that make you happy.  There was a famous author that told people to follow their bliss, as a means of finding out what they should do.  This was not a path to seeking a life of pleasure and avoiding responsibility, because often what you desire comes with work.  But, you should not be following the desires of others as a guidepost to your own life.  What do YOU like to do, music you like to hear, things at which you like to see, shows you like to watch, books you like to read, hobbies, sports, etc.  What moments in your life do you feel... ahhh, I'm in heaven, right now.  Those things are signs to you to follow, as you chart your course in life.  If you do not know the answer to that question, that is a sign you need to take some personal reflection time.

3.  You never lose everything.  I know it can not feel like that.  You feel like you have nothing left in the world and cannot imagine how you will rebuild.  But, I've felt that way and rebuilt, many times.  All you do is lose distractions.  You lose the things that cluttered your mind or path.  You learned what is important to yourself.  I know there has been change, but change is not death.  It is rebirth, too.  In Tarot, the death card is both the end of one thing and the beginning of something new.  You can always begin, again.

4.  Your past is not gone.  It is etched, forever, in time.  The good that you had in the past is still good... and in the past.  You may revisit some of those joys in the future, and often they can come in new ways.  However, those moments of joy and love and more that you had... were good and joyful and loving.. in the past.  They still remain so, in the past.  More importantly, the YOU that existed in that time was good, and you were not foolish to be how you were in those times.  You did a good joy with what you knew to do, at the time, and should be proud of yourself.  

5.  Lastly, one of the most important parts of your foundation cannot be seen.  It is the invisibles that make you who you are.  It is your love, creativity, curiosity, passion, wonder, hope, and more.  If you don't bring those into your future, you will be leaving some of the best parts of you behind.

So, take time to assess your foundation.  Do you have work to do on it?  Good.  In my opinion it will always be changing and should always take time of work.  But, it will be one of the greatest things to maintain as you channel your way towards a happy life.