Posts by Allan Lacoste

When thinking about time, what constitutes being long? Ask a child and you may get answers such as “a few minutes” or “an hour”. The older we get, those reflections turn into days and weeks, and by the time we’re adults, it transitions to months and years. But in the grand scheme of creation, decades and centuries fail to leave even the slightest notch on the proverbial bedpost. Standing in a meadow full of flowers time seems to stand still, and in reality, we don’t even realize we’re staring at the root of our very existence. The floral display in the field stands as beautiful for but a small time, but their lives serve a greater purpose. As the flowers give way to life by reproducing and ensuring the survival of the animals and insects that depend on them, we are responsible for the same regarding our planet. Does everyone notice every flower? Perhaps not, but they notice the breathtaking effects it has on the nature around us. Will the future remember every person? Perhaps not, but they can enjoy the world that we took the time to nurture so they can experience it too. At the end of the day, at the end of time, we’re all just flowers in a breeze.

Frustration happens. It’s part of being human. The morning, each afternoon, during the evening, and every night are all times when these feelings creep upon us. Rejection. Disappointment. One can drive themselves crazy, even behave irritably, while cowering to the stresses that tower before us. Many self-defeating reactions alienate and nullify positives in life and bring out the worst in people. Or we can transform frustration with patience. And master it. Patience doesn’t mean passivity or resignation, but it does mean power. Patience is an emotionally freeing practice of waiting, watching, and knowing when to act. Being instinctual while being intelligent. Calculating. Patience is a form of compassion, a re-attuning to intuition, a way to emotionally redeem oneself when one becomes lost in a world filled with frustration. To frustrate means to obstruct or make it ineffectual. Frustration is a feeling of agitation and intolerance triggered when arriving at a lacking need. It’s an inability to delay gratification. Without patience, we are our own worst taskmasters. But with patience, we can step back and refocus ourselves. Patience gives us the liberating breath that reminds us of our mental freedoms. Our physical limits. To be fully alive we must not become slaves to frustration, but masters of patience.

Eating healthy and exercising regularly has always been detrimental to assuring our well-being but the older we get, the tougher those things become. Whether it be due to having a family to look after, a busy career, or just always being on the go, most of us eat when we have time and we don’t always make the smart choice concerning our diet. With an excess of time being a mere pipedream, hopes of regular exercise for a lot of us are simply that, hopes. With that said, I heavily implore you to take care of your physical body as often as you can and while it is important, I want to also encourage you to be concerned about your soul and mental health. Do the things that make you happy. Challenge yourself and keep that positive vibe nestled around your being. Sure, none of us will live forever, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care for your body any differently. But perhaps more importantly, take good care of your soul, for that is the power that we truly don’t fully understand.