Reminders from Einstein

This season of my life has been a real challenge. I am generally a chronically optimistic individual. As a result of a lot of unfortunate, irrevocable events, I have found myself discouraged and these past few days, it's been hard for me to see my dreams as reality -- NOT OKAY. 

I recently came across some quotes from one of my favorite thinkers, Albert Einstein. His words have encouraged me to press on and trust that God has a bigger, better plan than I could ever have imagined... it is my responsibility to stay sensitive to the desires he's placed on my heart and recognize those dreams for what they are: beautifully inspired by the Creator of the universe... for me. :)

Okay, so here's what I discovered from Einstein's thoughts: 

1. Believe in your dreams.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."

Mt. Blanc 2009 -- I had always dreamed of going to Europe. 

Just one example of my imagination proving more important and accurate than my knowledge.

2. Trust your instinct.

“The only real valuable thing is intuition."

My best friend, Hannah, and I at the Garden of the Gods. God has given me a gift of intuition, I always describe it as, "I'm just a 'feeler'." However you describe it, it's good to be convicted of things and be able to recognize and understand truth in unfamiliar situations. Hannah has the best intuition of anyone I know, probably why I don't always go to her first, because she seems to always know best... and the fool that I am is not always initially interested in what's best.

3. Think outside the box.

"The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education."

I've always been a believer in non-traditional, non-conventional education. I think there's so much value in experiencing information and drawing your own conclusions from those experiences. 

4. Be compassionate towards others.

"A person starts to live when he can live outside himself."

My brother and his son -- 

it's been so much fun to watch him sacrificially love and care for his family.

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

5. Focus on the present.

"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."

6. Fail until you get it right.

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

I failed at line-dancing a good two years before I could dance to a whole song in confidence -- and then I was so excited I danced everywhere I went.

7. Be open to all possibilities.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

You can find some pretty remarkable things when you let curiosity take the lead!

8. Change your mindset.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Sometimes changing your mindset requires being resourceful!

9. Have no fears.

"The fear of death is the most unjustified of all fears, for there's no risk of accident for someone who's dead."

I'm not entirely sure there's a direct correlation between fears and me shooting a gun, but there is a sense of empowerment and capability after an afternoon at the shooting range!

Face life with courage and say, "I will not fear, because greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

10. Have faith in something bigger than yourself.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

^"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." --Paul, messenger, ambassador, and author of Ephesians 2.4-10

 "The gospel of grace calls us to sing of the everyday mystery of intimacy with God instead of always seeking for miracles or visions." --Brennan Manning, author of 'The Ragamuffin Gospel'

"You are saved, not because of what you do, but because of what Christ did. And you are special, not because of what you do, but because of whose you are. And you are his. And because we are his, let's forget the shortcuts and stay on the main road. He knows the way. He drew the map. He knows the way home." --Max Lucado, author of 'In the Grip of Grace'