Have a choice

The world will always give you something to feed. Fear will ask for your attention. Anger will ask for your energy. Negativity will knock on your door and sometimes arrive without permission. But I have learned that I cannot control everything that happens around me, yet I can choose what I allow to grow inside me. If I spend every morning feeding resentment, I should not be surprised when my heart becomes heavy. If I feed gratitude, kindness, hope, and love, perhaps even an imperfect life can begin to feel beautiful.

So I choose love. I choose happiness—not the kind of happiness that pretends sadness does not exist, but the kind that searches for light even while acknowledging the darkness. I choose to laugh. I choose to forgive where forgiveness is wise. I choose to appreciate the people who stand beside me. I choose to look at the sky and remember that life is larger than the problem occupying my mind today.

There will always be things I cannot change. People will misunderstand me. Some expectations will not be fulfilled. Sometimes I will disappoint people even when I never intended to. I will make mistakes because I am human. But I refuse to let those moments turn me into someone I am not. I can learn without becoming bitter. I can apologize without destroying my sense of worth. I can change without losing myself. And above everything, I can choose what I feed.