You've been invited

I don't have much time to read (or maybe as Laura Vanderkam writes in 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, it's not my priority right now!). That's why I love to search for new quotes. It's like a quick fix: you instantly get some food for thought, discover new writers/thinkers/artists/interesting people and it can totally change your perspective without having to get through a whole book. And don't get me wrong, an excerpt will never replace the work of someone, but some sayings are powerful enough to change your view of the world in a few words.

A few days ago, I found one of these awe-inspiring quotes by Bob Goff that I shared on Instagram. It has put me in a different mindset since then, and I felt like sharing it again here since it might change your perspective as well.

"There is only one invitation it would kill me to refuse, yet I'm tempted to turn it down all the time. I get the invitation every morning when I wake up to actually live a life of complete engagement, a life of whimsy, a life where love does. It doesn't come in an envelope. It's ushered in by a sunrise, the sound of a bird, or the smell of coffee drifting lazily from the kitchen. It's the invitation to actually live, to fully participate in this amazing life for one more day. Nobody turns down an invitation to the White House, but I've seen plenty of people turn down an invitation to fully live.

Turning down this invitation comes in lots of flavors. It looks like numbing yourself or distracting yourself or seeing something really beautiful as normal. It can also look like refusing to forgive or not being grateful or getting wrapped around the axle with fear or envy. I think every day God sends us an invitation to live and sometimes we forget to show up or get head-faked into thinking we haven't really been invited. But you see, we have been invited -- every day, all over again."

Ok, I agree, maybe a lot of us would turn down an invitation to the White House these days, but other than that aren't these words just freaking awesome? I've been waking up every day since I read them visualizing this super cool invitation slipped under my bedroom door that says: Live fully today! Another amazing day has just started! And just like that, I get up of my bed and I nod to myself. Yes, I accept the invitation. I'm going to show up. And believe me. I'm not a naturally optimistic person, a beatific, enthusiast goes-with-the-flow. But this trick... It works. It just does. And whenever I feel down during the day, I'm quickly reminding myself that I've been invited. That I said yes in the morning. And I look around. So many blessings and reasons to be grateful... After all, as Eckhart Tolle puts it, “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”