Earlier this afternoon I heard these words come out of the radio:

“Spend all your time waiting for that second chance…”

I had to grab a pen & paper and write it on a scrap of paper before I forgot –
there was too much that it triggered to let it go.

Do you know what “all your time” is ?
That’s your Life.

Do you know what “waiting” is?
It’s that time you spend not taking action.

Do you know what a “second chance” is?
It’s usually that thing you let fear take away -
or allowed failure to run off with the first time.

Many of us spend a great deal of our lives allowing
fear and failure to take away what which we desire.

We imagine so often how those missed opportunities
might have turned out differently if only…
Well if only things had been different.

And of course we can say that because they remain just that;
missed opportunities; that second chance we never got.

It’s almost… as if a second chance was expected.

Not long ago I was given an all too familiar reminder that
this Life of ours – the one we’re living moment to moment,
was not a dress rehearsal.  It’s the real deal.
The lights have been on, the cameras rolling;
and we’ve been living out the script of our truths.

I found it a bit ironic when I received that message,
because I’m the one always “reminding” others
that there is no dress rehearsal in this Life -
and yet the face that looks back in the mirror every morning
is the one who continues to live as if this is just a practice run.

Trust me, and you may have grown wise to this,
but there’s a reason I’m my most avid reader.
I point the finger at you, and 3 more point back to me.
And yes, I am my harshest critic – just like you are to you!

Ah, but enough about me –
back to that second chance.

When you think about it (or when you don’t)
the odds of scenarios and circumstances occuring
the same way twice are staggeringly against you.

So this second chance we’re hoping for…
Good luck with that.

Here’s what you should consider and focus on:

Your next chance -
because that IS
the first chance.

Always.

What an amazing realization to grasp !

No more waiting around for a second chance at anything,
because we have before us the opportunity to create
a first chance at any given moment of any given day
to anything we set our hearts and minds to.

We always have,

and we have been – always.

To say that is good to know
would be an understatement.

Now, stop practicing your lines and preparing to be “perfect”.

You’re on.