I got this from a friend of mine that I worked with at Pappadeaux's. He read it at some big thing for his fraternity. He found it on the web and it is annomomus....no idea who to give credit for writting it.

It was sorta "in my face"....made me look at things in a different way. Paradigm shift, I guess you could say.

I actually carry a copy of this in my purse. I have a large part of it committed to memory. Some things...I have already learned...some I have yet to accomplish.

Just throwin' it out there for y'all.

The Awakening

A time comes in your life when you finally get it, when in the midst of all
your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice
inside your head cries out ENOUGH, enough fighting and crying or
struggling to hold on. And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum,
your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your
tears, and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world
through new eyes. This is your awakening.

You realize that it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change
or for happiness, safety, and security to come galloping over the next horizon.
You come to terms with the fact that you are not her Prince Charming and she
is not your Cinderella. In the real world, there aren’t always fairy tale
endings, or beginnings for that matter, and that any guarantee of “happily ever
after” must begin with you. In the process, a sense of serenity is born of You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect, and that not
everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are, and
that’s okay. They are entitled to their own opinions and views, and you learn
the importance of loving and championing yourself, and in the process, a
sense of newly found confidence is born of self-approval. You stop __________
and blaming other people for the things they did to you or didn’t do for you,
and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.
You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they
say, and that someone will not always be there for you, but most importantly
that it’s not always about you. So, you learn to stand on your own and to
take care of yourself, and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self reliance.
You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they
are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties. In the process, a
sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness .

You realize that much of the way you view yourself and the world around you
is a result of all the messages and opinions that have been ingrained into your
psyche. You begin to sift through all the crap you’ve been fed about how you
should behave, how you should look, how much you should weigh, and
where you should live, what you should do for a living, who you should sleep
with, who you should marry, what you should expect of a marriage, the
importance of having and raising children, or what you owe your parents.
You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view, and you
begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.
You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to
discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have
bought into to begin with. In the process, you learn to go with your instincts.

You learn that it is truly in giving that we receive. There is power and glory
in creating and contributing, and you stop maneuvering through life merely as
a consumer looking for your next fix. You learn that principles such as
honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the
mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.
You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not your job to save the world,
and that you can’t teach a pig to sing.

You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility, and the importance
of setting boundaries and learning to say no. You learn that the only cross to
bear is the one you choose to carry, and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

The you learn about love, romantic love and familial love. You learn how to
love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving, and when to walk away.
You learn not to project your needs or your feelings onto a relationship. You
learn that you are not more intelligent, more lovable, or important because of
the man or woman on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn
to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be.
You stop trying to control people, situations, and outcomes. You learn that
just as people grow and change, so it is with love. You learn that you don’t
have the right to demand love on your terms, just to make you happy. Also,
you learn that alone does not necessarily mean lonely .

You look in the mirror and come to terms with the fact that you will never
have the perfect build. You stop trying to compete with the images inside
your head or agonizing over how you stack up. You stop working so hard at
putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over, and ignoring your needs.
You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly okay and that it is your
right to want things and to ask for the things that you want. Sometimes it is
necessary to make demands.

You come to the realization that you deserve to be treated with love,
kindness, sensitivity, and respect, and you will not settle for less. You allow
only the hands of a lover who cherishes you to glorify you with his or her
touch. In the process you internalize the meaning of self-respect . You learn
that your body really is your temple and you begin eating a balanced diet,
drinking more water, and taking more time to exercise.

You learn that fatigue diminishes the spirit and can create doubt and fear so
you take more time to rest. Just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels the
soul, so you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that for the most part in life, you get what you believe you deserve
and that much of life truly is self-fulfilling prophecy. You learn that anything
worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to
happen is different from working toward making it happen. More
importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success, you need direction,
discipline, and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone
and that it’s okay to risk asking for help. You learn that the only thing you
must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time....fear itself. You learn to
step right into and through your fears, because you know that whatever
happens you can handle it, and to give in to fear is to give away the right to
live life on your terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of
impending doom. You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get
what you think you deserve, and that sometimes bad things happen to
unsuspecting, good people. On these occasions you learn not to personalize
things. You learn that God isn’t punishing you or failing to answer your prayers . It’s just life happening. You also learn to deal with evil in its most
primal state, the ego.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy, and resentment must be
understood and redirected, or they will suffocate the life out of you and
poison the universe that surrounds you . You learn to admit when you are
wrong and to build bridges instead of walls. You learn to be thankful and to
take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that
millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator,
clean running water, a soft warm bed, and a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself, by yourself, and you try
to make yourself a promise: to never betray yourself and to never settle for
less than your hearts desire. You hang a wind chime outside your window so
you can listen to the wind. You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep
trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility. Finally, with
courage in your heart and with God by your side, you take a stand, you take a
deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

Saphy

GREAT! This is what I've always meant by God helps those that help themselves. And, it's not about "you" as so many worry their doing things like this sometimes may be. It's his will and way through "you".