Remember playing Hide & Seek as a child?
The goal was to disappear.
The problem is…
Some adults never come back out.
As children, we played a wonderful game called Hide & Seek.
Someone would count.
Everyone would run.
Doors would close.
Closets would open.
Bushes became fortresses.
Beds became secret hideouts.
And the challenge was simple.
Hide so well that nobody could find you.
There was excitement in the game.
Adventure.
Laughter.
The thrill of remaining undiscovered.
But eventually the game ended.
Someone found you.
Everyone came back together.
Life moved on.
Unfortunately, some adults never stop playing.
They simply change the rules.
WHERE WERE YOU?
WE LEFT WITHOUT YOU.
Some people hide behind fear.
Some hide behind excuses.
Some hide behind work.
Some hide behind anger.
Some hide behind comfort.
Some hide behind their past.
Others hide inside their own minds.
The hiding places change.
The behavior remains the same.
To withdraw from life.
To withdraw from people.
To withdraw from possibility.
To withdraw from yourself.
And the longer you hide…
The easier hiding becomes.
To hold things in.
To withdraw into yourself.
To disappear emotionally while remaining physically present.
This is not living.
It is existing.
You do not get to experience life fully if you lock yourself away.
People never truly get to know you.
The real you.
The dreams.
The ideas.
The gifts.
The talents.
The wisdom.
The humor.
The kindness.
The heart.
All of it stays hidden.
And when that happens, something unfortunate occurs.
You begin believing that hiding is who you are.
DON’T CONFUSE LIFE WITH YOUR DESTINY.
There are many false lives created from false beliefs.
Some were handed to us.
Some were forced upon us.
Some we adopted without questioning.
The result is that many people settle for less than the life that was waiting for them.
Life becomes routine.
Predictable.
Safe.
Small.
But your destiny was never meant to be small.
As I wrote in Pearls for the Soul:
“The world does not need another person hiding. It needs the gift that only you can bring.”
— Richie Naggar, Pearls for the Soul
LIFE IS MORE THAN FOOD, SHELTER, AND CLOTHING.
Those things are necessary.
But they are not enough.
Life is also adventure.
Discovery.
Purpose.
Growth.
Contribution.
Connection.
The everyday moments of living.
The conversations.
The risks.
The laughter.
The learning.
The sharing.
The becoming.
That is where the rewards are hidden.
Not in avoiding life.
But in participating in it.
The little things matter.
A smile.
A conversation.
A kind gesture.
A new experience.
A chance taken.
A lesson learned.
The nuggets are everywhere for those willing to notice them.
THE MOTHER LODE IN LIFE IS REALLY YOU.
YOU ARE THE PRIZE.
People who build businesses often discover something fascinating.
The money becomes secondary.
The real reward was creating something.
Watching it grow.
Seeing it work.
Participating in the process.
The journey itself became the treasure.
The same applies to life.
The reward is not talking about living.
The reward is living.
I AM LEAVING NOW.
WHERE ARE YOU GOING?
I AM GOING TO LIVE MY LIFE.
That answer contains great wisdom.
Mountain climbers do not dream about climbing forever.
Eventually they climb.
Writers eventually write.
Artists eventually create.
Builders eventually build.
Dreamers eventually act.
The adventure begins when you do.
When our family planned vacations, the anticipation became part of the experience.
We would discuss it.
Prepare for it.
Imagine it.
Count the days.
Then finally…
We would be there.
Living it.
Experiencing it.
Participating in it.
That is the difference between talking about life and living life.
OPTIMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE.
SEEK QUALITY…
NOT QUANTITY.
The Japanese understood something beautiful.
Eating was not simply eating.
It became an experience.
Preparation.
Presentation.
Attention.
Appreciation.
Presence.
Ordinary moments became extraordinary moments.
Life works the same way.
The quality of your experience often depends upon how present you are while living it.
So here is the point of the post.
Come out.
Come out wherever you are.
Stop hiding.
Stop waiting.
Stop postponing.
Stop shrinking.
Be found.
Be seen.
Be known.
Share your gifts.
Share your talents.
Share your heart.
Share your life.
Because in the end…
The greatest gift you leave behind will not be your possessions.
It will not be your accomplishments.
It will not be your titles.
It will be that people actually knew you…
And not merely knew of you.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
Been expecting you