Just Start - Taking The First Step

Any journey, big or small, starts with one first step. This is an invitation to move from our head to our heart, to move from thought into action. This contemplative talk is designed to help you realize how worthy you are to take the steps necessary to move into the world with your unique gifts and talents. Today is the day. There is a community of people waiting to receive your message.

Transcript

Hi,

My name is Joe Summers,

And I'm here with you today to share a message on taking action.

In my own life,

I've noticed,

Especially when I'm doing something that doesn't have a clear path,

That sometimes I have a hard time taking that first step.

Historically,

I've gotten lost in my mind.

I tend to create this imaginary barrier that sometimes I'm unable to cross because I'm thinking about the entire journey,

While I also have this realization that I need to take the first step.

Instead,

I ideate this long,

Arduous journey that prevents me from taking that initiative.

I tend to get lost in the story about the steps of the journey,

And it can prevent me from beginning.

And I've done a lot of thinking about this,

And a little while ago I wrote down a message for myself whenever I confront this type of thinking.

And I come back to it from time to time,

And I wanted to share the message with you,

And share it with anybody that's currently dealing with a moment in their life where they're experiencing doubt,

And anybody who's tentative to take that first step.

Anyone who has a little bit of doubt about an initiative that they want to take,

Something that they want to accomplish,

And maybe they just don't know how to start.

The answer is always simply just to start.

Just start with that one small step,

And when doubt does creep in,

And you don't want to take that initiative,

You can always refer back to this message,

And hopefully it'll help.

What's the best gift that you can give yourself,

Your friends,

Your family,

And your community?

A you that is fully engaged in the present moment,

Unperturbed by the cacophony of what's going on in your respective background,

Unwavering in your commitment to the true purpose of who you are.

This is what meditation can help us to accomplish.

Present awareness.

Awareness of your mind,

Awareness of your body,

Awareness of what it is that you feel,

Awareness of how you take in and observe the world.

Let your insecurity guide you.

Listen to it,

And let it be your teacher.

The best teachers in life are oftentimes those who act or speak in such a way that demonstrates clearly to us what we don't want,

Who we don't want to be in this life.

It's often said that the most irksome things about others are things that we innately feel and dislike within ourselves.

Sometimes our fears are viable and necessary for our own survival.

Oftentimes they're not.

Our ego is the internal voice that speaks up first and loudest.

It screams,

You can't do this,

And then lays out all the potential roadblocks and pitfalls of following your heart.

And its aim is to keep us safe,

Keep us separate.

Our ego wants to keep us in a place that is known,

Comfortable,

And familiar.

On the couch when we wanted to work out,

Staying in that relationship we know is unhealthy.

Remaining in that career that we understand no longer serves us,

And is literally sucking the soul out of our body.

This voice,

This fear,

It's a facade.

The inherent issue with the ego mindset is that nothing in this life is a sure thing.

Everything is fleeting.

Everything is passing.

There's no such thing as permanent.

Ego keeps us in a place of stagnation and sameness under the ruse of safety.

When we truly understand the essence of impermanence we realize there is no safety.

It keeps us from sharing our unique gifts with the world.

It leads us to choose fear of what bad things might happen over the potentiality of the good that may come about as a result of following our heart.

Don't let the idea of the ice cream cone prevent you from tasting it.

Every day it melts away just a little more.

Oftentimes we live primarily in the mind,

Paralyzed by our thoughts and fears,

Unable to move forward.

It's just one more day we say.

In this one day,

We are rejecting the sweetness that the world has to offer,

While also starving the world of the sweetness that we have to offer.

Let's get around to enjoying that ice cream cone before it melts away.

Tomorrow isn't promised.

It's time to start playing ball in this game of life.

Because life isn't waiting for us to come along.

The phenomena of life are occurring each and every day,

Whether we want to join in or not,

Whether we want to participate with our own unique skill sets and talents or not.

The problem is that so many of us take our ball and go home once we feel any semblance of resistance.

This person might not approve,

My friends might judge,

People are going to think I'm weird.

Remember this,

Everyone is weird in their own special way.

The question is,

Do you want to be weird on your own terms or on the terms of the world?

These messages from the ego are just the ego keeping us right where we are,

In our heads,

When we should be vibrating in this life from our hearts,

In our home,

When we should be out in the world.

Trusting our soul's purpose in this life is not an easy thing to do.

I'm not trying to downplay that it is in any way.

Courageously being yourself in this world that's burgeoning with conformity and comparison is something that's difficult,

But it's also something we must do in order to live with purpose.

Don't let this world be robbed of the diamond that is within you.

The courage to be yourself isn't always easy to muster.

Believe me,

I know.

But it's worth it.

And you're worth it.

And you're enough.

As humans,

We tend to start and stop.

We sometimes experience these periods of supreme confidence,

Where we seem to feel on top of the world,

And then suddenly the rug gets pulled out from under us,

And our mind devolves into this dreadful self-doubt.

The reason for these vacillations is that because for some of us,

Actually for most of us,

We have this attachment to outcome and results.

And if you take a step back,

You realize that there are innumerable variables that will impact your efforts and the desired result of your actions.

And I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

You're going to fail along the way.

But if your intention comes from a pure place,

A place that's intended to help others,

A place that's intended to help move society forward on some level,

Your heart's purpose will be met.

And it will be met in the physical world.

You're going to confront an internal dialogue that says,

I'm not blank enough.

I'm not smart enough.

I don't have the resources.

I don't have the bandwidth.

I don't have the time.

You're going to think,

I won't be accepted.

What I have isn't enough.

Who do I think I am?

Why do I think I'm special?

That anyone would want to listen to me?

You might think that my message won't resonate with the world.

But the fact of the matter is we never truly know anyone completely.

We never truly know what's in someone's mind,

What they're thinking about.

People may say one thing and think another.

But what we can do from a personal point of view is that we can be clear about what our intention is in the world.

And we can move towards that attention through right actions.

My mom told me something a few years back that I've thought about a lot ever since.

She said that every person's life,

If you really knew it,

Would be worthy of a best picture.

If you think about it,

If you spend just a few minutes with anybody and listen to their story,

Every single one of them are fascinating on some level.

The human experience is so full and so rich with wonder and triumph and struggle,

Grief and loss.

And they're all pretty magnificent.

And yours is no different than any of those.

Yours is one of those incredible stories that contributes to the amazing tapestry of what makes this experience on earth such an incredible one to behold.

Your story is one of the stories that makes life so livable for others.

Your story,

Your unique story,

Is worthy of sharing.

Your authentic voice is worthy of hearing.

Who knows?

It just might make someone's day.

Or maybe it could even save someone's life.

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Thank you 🩵