What Moves You?

There are so many things that we use as “motivation” in our lives. We all have a small group of things, goals and objectives that we each set for ourselves that drives us to be better. Carrots that we each put at the end of the stick.

Financial goals: A somewhat elusive numerical target that we can measure.
Physical goals: A run? A bicycle? Lose some pounds? Typical “New Years” stuff.
Personal goals: Becoming a better person. A truly subjective goal.

The things I am getting ready to talk about is something much deeper than these resolutions. Down inside the recesses of your soul stirs a dream that will make your heart skip a beat when it crosses your mind. Something that will make your knees fold at the mere thought of achieving it. Something that moves you to tears, knowing that what you are doing really matters. The happiness that comes from knowing that the world is a better place just because you drew a breath.

What is this crazy, emotional concept?

I don’t know what yours is.

I am just starting to learn what mine is.

Here is what I know. I need

Something that will set my soul free,
Something in my life that leaves a mark in this world,
Something that makes my heart ache when I am not working toward it,
A dream to match my gigantic ambition,
To be a person that I can be proud of,
To do what I want to do, not what I “have” to do.

There came a point in time in my life when I decided that I wasn’t becoming the person I should be. I thought that I was successful in most senses of the word. I had a little money. I had a few people who I commanded respect from. I had a few people that I would call friends.

Turns out, I was poor.

I had a broken spirit. I didn’t trust anyone with anything. Especially with my heart. What money I did make didn’t seem to be enough. A never-ending quest, if you will. I buried myself in food, hence the abundance of weight. I didn’t care about myself, hence the smoking. I soaked my ills with alcohol. I figured the poison would kill my woes.

I really didn’t care if I lived or died.

Hell, once I even tried to end it all. Fortunately I’m ignorant when it comes to guns. Hence my ability to write this to you.

I’ve hurt so many in my life. Some that mean the world to me. Even in my transition to become a better man, I’ve injured the innocent. My hopes are that by becoming who I am supposed to be, that I can learn to properly fill the roles that I vacated.

Over the next few weeks and blog posts, we are going to discover what moves each of us.

I’ve heard from so many of my friends about how things seem so bleak in their lives. Like something is missing. Like no matter how hard they try, things just don’t seem to work.

My heart feels your pain. I’ve been there.

So you ask, “Eric, what moves you?”.

You do.

I see myself in each of you who are in the middle of the struggle called life, thinking that there isn’t much hope.

My message to you? There is hope.

It comes in the form of your God-given dreams, and making moves toward achieving what moves you…