Please Remember!

  We all do wonderful and sometimes-not-so-wonderful things. The terrible thing is, the negative things we've done are often all we can think about!

   People can be so hard on themselves! I know that half the time I worry that I am not good enough to be the person I want to be. The crazy thing is that all our faults are in the past. There are no faults in the future, only opportunity!

  We won't know how far we have come from our faults until we are tested again. If we are always telling ourselves we are not enough, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. When it comes time to prove how much we've grown, it is easy to fail again because it is comfortable! If we don't expect great things from ourselves, why would we possibly be motivated to do them? Change the voice in your head! Know that you are capable of weird and wonderful things!!

  When muddled and confused, it is best to talk to Christopher Robin. He had the most muddled and confused friend, and he was constantly helping him realize his own worth.

  I wrote this post for one of my dear friends. She is one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring people I have ever met, but sometimes she forgets. Dearest, always remember, you are braver, stronger, and smarter than even Christopher Robin could have imagined!

Far Better Things

 So, it has been almost exactly a month since my last posting.

 Actually, about 20 minutes after my most recent post, I got a phone call telling me my grandfather had passed away. This was extremely sudden and heartbreaking news. Less than a week later one of my dear, close Aunts was put into a coma with the hopes that her health would improve after a recent diagnosis of Lymphomal cancer. About ten days later she passed away.

 If someone had told me on July 1st that I would lose two beloved family members within the month, I would not have believed them.

 Life is short, and nothing, except death, is certain. People are only in our lives for a very small period of time. We have to cherish every single moment we have with them. There is someone in your life today that you are taking for granted. Let them know you love them. Tell them what they mean to you. In less than two months I lost two completely alive and healthy people.

 Two weeks ago I was grieving with my dad's family, this week I will be grieving with my mom's. If not for the love an support of each other, we would all be a mess. I want to say how grateful I am for my amazing parents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. We are comforted in knowing that our loved ones are in a better place. They are together waiting for us. They are the far better things.

-Grandpa and Aunt Therese, I miss you both. The world is less without you here, but Heaven is so much richer. I love you- 

 

Climb

 People are amazing. Constantly, we are doing incredible things. People built a wall that is visible from space! They figured out a way to see the stars and visit other planets! For generations we have made beautiful art and amazing music. Our accomplishments are not by accident. We try hard and fail, then try harder. Every day we get closer to our goal. The whole time having this incredible incentive of accomplishment dangling in front of us. We all aspire to be better versions of ourselves. We see it in our future that we will be successful.

 Every day we have to climb a little higher, a little closer to being the person we see in our ambitions. If it was easy, everyone would do it. It isn't easy. It is hard. That is what makes it rewarding. Sitting at the top of the mountain is our reward. And, when we finally reach the peak and hold in our hands that thing we want more than anything...we will know that we climbed a mountain to get it.




{you've no need to move mountains when you are strong enough to climb them}

Ship Shape

 Let's say that I can see ten years into the future. Let's say I describe a typical day in your life. Wouldn't it be absolutely terrible if it sounded exactly like what you were doing today? Could you imagine ten years going by with nothing changing? It would be a waste of ten years! In the moment, change can be so scary; starting a new school, new job, new town, new life. But if we don't change, we can't grow.

 People are made to change and grow! We have a sense of wonder inside of us. It is in our nature to be wanderers and travelers. People want to go and discover new ideas and places. They want to learn and broaden horizons.

 Grace Murray was this incredibly successful woman. I believe she retired as an Admiral in the US Navy. She was a ground breaker. She had no fear in following her sense of wonder and letting it change her. I love what she says here. She could not be more right. We are ships. It is our fear of change that keeps us anchored in port. But, that is not what we are built for. We are made to be adventurers.

 {go out with wides eyes and discover. see something new. grow}

Get Your Butt Outta Oz!

 I spent a significant amount of my life in Northeast Kansas. Since there isn't much out there, people really only say one thing when I tell them that. So, let the Dorothy jokes commence....

 But seriously, I LOVE the Oz books (not a huge fan of the Judy Garland movie). There are like 12 or 13 Oz books...something like that. I have read most of them I think. Turns out, they are all free on Apple Books. So, if Oz is your thing, be like me and download them ALL! :)

Ok, here is Oz in a nutshell. Dorothy got sucked up into a tornado and dropped into Oz. She was lost and alone in this crazy, trippy place. Add Munchkins and Wizards? Poor girl must have been so, super confused! She journeys through this place trying to meet up with The Wizard. They make this poor girl go mess up a Wicked Witch before they will help her get home. Then, when all is said and done they tell her that she could have left any time she wanted. All she had to click her feet. In order to get home she literally had to use her own feet. No magic, balloons or any of that crap worked as well as Dorothy looking within herself and gettin' it done!!

 Kind of shitty on the part of Glinda and The Wizard to make her do all this running around before they tell her how to get home. But, let's put ourselves in their shoes (ha. ruby slippers joke). A girl from Kansas shows up. Of course you are going to try and get her to get rid of your Wicked Witch! Kansas girls know how to get stuff done!!

 All that aside, how awesome is it that in the end she did it herself? She didn't need a spell or a magic wand. She had the power all along. She just didn't know it. And guess what, boys and girls!! We've all had the power all along. We just have to learn it for ourselves. So, get out there and be fantastic. Get some stuff done and get your butt outta Oz!!

Dance, Dance!

 I was flipping through my Pinterest, and this picture really stood out to me. There was someone else in the room and they commented on how ugly the girl's feet are. They questioned why someone would take a picture of such ugly feet. They thought the person should want to hide them!

 It's funny...when I saw this picture, I had the opposite reaction! I thought it was one of the more beautiful pictures I've ever seen. Maybe some of you are disgusted by this as well. But, when I look at this all I can see is a person who loves something so much that they have let it consume them. They have lost regard for their physical well-being, and have immersed themselves in their art.

 I write about things that make me happy, or inspire me to live a more beautiful life. This is, without a doubt, one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen. I know people who dance, and it is just incredible the way they push their bodies! Dancing is what happens when you allow yourself to be physically overwhelmed by the music around you. To see a dancer move...you see the love and feeling in their soul pouring out through their limbs. It is a gift they give us, we get to see their love in motion. The music touches their soul, making the emotion well up within them.

 Here's to all you dancers...you are simply the best!

{trying to stay motivated is hard! i want to be good at this. i want to touch people with the words i write. if being good at something were easy, everyone would do it. stay motivated! that's all i can say to myself!}

Scars

 When we experience something it changes us. Every thought we think is influenced by the million billion before it. Sometimes, whether we want it or not, an experience will leave a scar. A scar is basically a little proof of that experience. Forever and ever it is imprinted on your body that you lived through something, that it changed you, that you survived.

 I like to think tattoos are like scars. They are scars we give ourselves. We get them to remind ourselves of something. For the rest of our lives, with us always, there is that physical reminder.

 My dearest, darling Gabrielle is getting her first tattoo today. Her's is an arrow.

 This isn't the exact design she is getting. Her's is much more beautiful, symbolic, and meaningful. But, you get the idea. The weights of her struggles have made her a stronger, better person; a person who is better equipped to handle the struggles of tomorrow.

 Just remember, you are an arrow. When life seems to be pulling you back, weighing you down, holding you in place...just know that if you stay determined and look ahead to the future, you will be launched far and fast into something amazing.