On Gratitude and Making the Right Decisions

We don’t always get to choose when we make decisions. In fact, we rarely know if the decisions we make will have a positive outcome. Life is always a game with a 50/50 chance. Either you make it, or you don’t. Either what you chose works, or it fails. Most of the time, we just wing it and hope for the best.

But I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. When those moments arise where you have to shit or get off the pot, you find out who your support system is. Those people who quickly rally behind you because you simply can’t stop for a minute to catch your breath. It’s a good thing to be able to turn around at those minutes and collapse into the family you have pieced together.

That is Ohana.

Ohana is a Hawaiian word for family. It’s a nice word, but it’s more than family. It’s more than just a tribe, or blood connection. It’s the spirit of those around you that share in your joys and your sorrows. Those who take you for who you are, build a shelter around you, and ask for nothing in return.

Life is hard. It’s messy. It is full of rocky roads that if you pay attention, and stay open to the possibilities, can take you farther than you thought possible. This is what I want to leave for my kids. A sense that life hurts, but is more than worth it. What you get in the end is beyond wealth, or love, or happiness. It is the purest sense of connection possible. And for that I am grateful.

So as I get ready to launch my brand new website and face a very uneasy path, I want to share my gratitude with my Ohana. I can’t walk this alone, and I can’t do what I do without your help.