juliana ong

What I'm learning is that it is important to be decisive and go after what you want, but at the same time let go of wanting things to work out a certain way.

Some might describe this as not being attached to outcomes. I call this the willingness to let life surprise me, or the willingness to live in a world of 'maybe'.

The task of living is figuring out a way to build enough resilience to honor, respect and nurture your nature (to essentially cultivate values) so as not to abandon it when the culture endorses something different.

People who value choices over happiness never argue about it. They are proud of it. People who value happiness over having a life full of interesting opportunities get indignant over being accused that they made that choice.

Back when I was feeling a imless and lost I used to read and reread something Cheryl Strayed wrote about writing: The useless days will add up to something. The shitty waitressing jobs. The hours writing in your journal. The long meandering walks. The hours reading poetry and story collections and novels and dead people’s diaries and wondering... See more

And indeed, that IS the question: whether to float with the tide, or to swim for a goal. It is a choice we must all make consciously or unconsciously at one time in our lives.

surrendering is not a passive act, but the willingness to be changed; to accept and do the work, and then to leave a space where life moves through you.