Drifted.

What a cool word. Unfortunately for me (sometimes), I build things up in my mind with this huge cloud of significance that glows and feels and breathes – but only for me. I am going to put my thoughts on the word drift into a string of sentences so that you can feel what I feel when the letters d r i f t appear in front of me.

1.a- The act of driving something along.

How often do you feel like you are being pushed along? By expectations, finances, relationships and the like? Most of us never feel like we have enough control over our resources or time. We experience an incredible amount of influence and persuasion in our day, most of which is not positive or encouraging.

I want to introduce you to a thought…

would you consider being driven by feelings of fulfillment instead?

Fulfillment will look and feel differently for all of us. It is also a very complicated thing. For example, I am currently in my early twenties and I do have a lot to be thankful for. I have a good paying job in my field of study, I am married to an amazing man, I have pets that I adore, and we were able to purchase a new (to me) car and a condo in the past two years. We have our health, we have family that loves us, and soon my husband will be out of school. Truly, this is a lot to be thankful for.

But do I feel fulfilled?

My answer would be no, not really. I want a yard that is my own and that I don’t share with the four other units. I have big dreams for gardens and animals forts in my yard someday. I want a spare room so that my husband and I have a space we feel like we could start a family in and that I could decorate, because holy cow do I love to decorate. I want to make a difference in someone’s life everyday, and I just don’t get to do that at my current job. Selfishly, I want my husband to be out of school so that we can stop living paycheck to paycheck.

Deep down I know how fortunate I am, but contentedness has stalled even the strongest of desires.

You may also feel stunted in growth in your relationships, workplace, health or hobbies. You might not even realize you are missing out on something, something you dreamed about long ago.

We can be better.

I want you to know that there is always better. There is also guaranteed hardship, because good things are not often free or easy. Important things are never won without a battle. Driving yourself along begins in your head, in your habits, and in your home. With Drifted Way, I am going to fill your life with options for improvement. Because I wish I had someone or something that was prevalent in my life to drive me forward. The best part is: we get to do this together! With every post and email, I know I will benefit, learn, and grow from connections with you and the Drifted community.

1.b- the flow or the velocity of the current of a river or ocean stream.

Drift is a term often used to describe water, air, sand, snow anything that shifts and flows in nature. Good thing nature happens to be one of my FAVORITE things. If it isn’t yours, and you stick around, I think you might have a change of heart. I will be focusing a lot on the interactions and movements found in nature for the pure beauty of it and your ability to witness these things first hand wherever you may be. Think about today, your morning commute or your first peek out of the window to check the weather– what did you see? Where there branches or leaves swaying in the wind? Maybe a waterway flowing along the road?

Nothing tells nature to do these things. It is Innate. Built In. Designed. It is encouraged by everything from the slope of the land and the waves of the sea. Down to the chemistry of water droplets and physical properties of stone.

As humans, are we not part of this?

Lucky for you, we get to drift too. Even luckier, we have hands and feet! We are built, designed, and programmed to drift just like our favorite things in nature: we just have way more distractions and temptations. Our brains, those wonderful machines, can often provide us with too much information. 

We are going to take some steps back.

Maybe little ones at first,

But steps.

2.- Something driven, propelled, or urged along or drawn together as if by natural agency.

Times are tough right now (doesn’t every generation say that?) and there are plenty of important things to pay attention to. Take a second to think about what drives and urges you to act, and drop a comment below. I want to be able to provide resources, support, science based information and a community for us as we tackle these issues. It is natural to feel stuck, unfulfilled, and unsatisfied. I am not alone, and you aren’t either. I hope that you think of the word drift next time you feel pulled to move or called to act.

This time, lets d r i f t with it and see what happens.