Like a dammed-up stream, a life without change, motivation, or purpose is going to stagnate.
What do you want to pursue in the near future? Personal fitness goal? Learning a new language? Finding a new job?
Life if FULL of exciting possibilities, and many times we don't even think to tap into 5% of them! Imagine what life would hold for you with broadened horizons. It'd be twice as exciting simply getting to enjoy your current interests/hobbies, much less finding new ones!
Reflect on life as a 5 year-old. What was your fantasy career choice, back in the day?
I wanted to be a horse ranch owner.
I wanted to be a graceful, strong ballerina, driven by passion and determination.
I wanted to be a teacher, revered by my students and empowered by my love for teaching young minds.
I wanted to be an artist, creating beautiful masterpieces with my imagination.
I wanted to be a singer and songwriter (I would make up songs in my car seat on long car rides and sing them for my parents).
Take any aspiration you've had since you were young. Don't give up on it. Life is full of surprises--if you want to do something, make it happen. Empower yourself to become exactly what you've always dreamed of being & doing.
Ride a horse. Heck! Take riding lessons!
Go to that walk-in dance class for beginners every Friday night and learn to dance, even if it's not ballet.
Aspirations are supposed to make living life more exciting. They're supposed to energize you and inspire you. You're not supposed to rip yourself apart for failing to achieve them.
So get out there and enjoy the incredible adventures life holds!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Quotes...
Not just because it's the cool thing to do, but also because they intrigued me-- I started about a year ago listing quotes on my Facebook page that I thought were striking.
I'm posting them here to give you a glimpse at the lovely layers of who I am, but also to maybe cause you to stop and retrospect about who YOU are, what strikes you as funny/ironic/quaint/delicious/or memorable?
When we think on things that make us who we are they not only solidify us as a person but make us more well-rounded as well.
In my very religious days I carried notecards of Bible verses that I was memorizing and meditating on. I could list a few here as well, but the purpose of this post isn't to be spiritual, really, just cause us to think about ourselves re: our personalities and to take time to think back.
Anyways! Here are my quotes.
Comment below with your's!
I'm posting them here to give you a glimpse at the lovely layers of who I am, but also to maybe cause you to stop and retrospect about who YOU are, what strikes you as funny/ironic/quaint/delicious/or memorable?
When we think on things that make us who we are they not only solidify us as a person but make us more well-rounded as well.
In my very religious days I carried notecards of Bible verses that I was memorizing and meditating on. I could list a few here as well, but the purpose of this post isn't to be spiritual, really, just cause us to think about ourselves re: our personalities and to take time to think back.
Anyways! Here are my quotes.
Comment below with your's!
"Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity." "Smarter people have dirtier minds." "We must be the change we wish to see." --Ghandi ... "PURRRRLL?!!" --the Bundle, by way of Becca ♥ "Mmmkay, Pumpkin?" --Hitch, when he beats up an a$$hole :-) "What DO you call a female mallard? A femallard? A fallard?" --Michael (bahahaha) "Be present." --Kevin Cosner "There's no such thing as love. It's fantasy." --Zooey Deschanel, 500 Days of Summer "You'll find out when you reach the top you're on the bottom." --Bob Dylan "Only love could leave such a scar." --U2 "Sisters of MERCY!!" --my sisters, as we drive down Mansfield Avenue "You know what happens when you assume, don't you? You make an ass out of u and me." --Sarah Berry Watson (do you get it?) "It smells like giant cow butt around here..." --Tia Germain, commenting on the local VT smells (lol!!) "The reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself." --Rita Mae Brown "How can you NOT like a donut?!!" --roommate Josh (lol!) "I know heart and head begin with the same letter, but you have to read all the way to the end." --HOUSE "Dull people live in immaculate houses." --unknown "And as we look at the future/ tho it be thru a tear/ keep an eye on summer/ this year..." --the Beach Boys "Joy leaves the competition behind." --unknown "Have a PBS mind in an MTV world." --bumper sticker saying "Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." --John W. Whitehead The God of the sparrow and the leviathon defined beauty, who am I to wrap it in garlands and lace? --Annie Koelle (random fb friend) "Do what you feel in your heart to be right, for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't." -Eleanor Roosevelt "I wanna touch you in real time, not find you on youtube. I wanna walk with you thru the mountains, not find you on facebook." --unknown "Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." --Ben Franklin "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." --Jim Carrey "The only thing that can make this day better is ice cream." --Michael Scott, The Office "Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure." --unknown "I like to think of Jesus as a mischievous badger..." --Talledega Nights "It's called Sex Panther by Odeon. It's illegal in nine countries... Yep, it's made with bits of real panther, so you know it's good." --Anchorman (bahaha) "If I were a lion, and you were a tuna, I would swim out in the middle of the ocean and EAT you! ...and then bang your tuna girlfriend!" --The Other Guys "Tigers LOVE pepper. They hate cinnamon." --The Hangover "wasn't there in the beginning/but when the story ends/gonna last with you longer than your friends" --U2 Cedars of LebanonSee More |
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Got the blues? Cheer up--life is shitty!
I had an epiphany on the treadmill at the gym tonight.
(I am a very analytical person. Tonight I was analyzing my personal emotional/psychological tendencies. Aren't I a nerd?)
Here is my epiphany: "Life is equally full of the GOOD and the BAD. You can choose to dwell on all the BAD stuff in life, or you can choose to dwell on all the GOOD stuff. But if you end up living a miserable life, it's no one's fault but your own, because 1.) no one else lives in a magically perfect world, okay? and 2.) you should really give up the ideal of what life "should" be like."
There 'tis.
(I'll break it down... Basically, I'm a very idealistic/romantic kind of person, and all my life I have wished for things to be a certain way. I'll share. When I was very little I drooled over American Girl catalogues and really wanted one of the $100 dolls to the point that I daydreamed that my principal stood up with me in front of the school and said, "If anyone has an extra American Girl doll, they should give it to this poor little girl who's parents can't afford one." Too funny! Or to the same extent when I was a little older and lonely after moving, daydreaming that another similar authority ordered kids my age to be my friends. Lol.)
(Life isn't perfect, nor will it ever be. Get it out of your head that things will get better. It's a mixed bag. Sure, life will be wonderful sometimes and just as equally shitty, other times. Whoever the genius was who said something to the effect that "the difference between adventure and dilemma is your outlook on it" had something there!)
(So slap yourself when you start pouting over ___________ stupid petty thing and cheer up, because life is shitty. Big surprise! haha.)
(I am a very analytical person. Tonight I was analyzing my personal emotional/psychological tendencies. Aren't I a nerd?)
Here is my epiphany: "Life is equally full of the GOOD and the BAD. You can choose to dwell on all the BAD stuff in life, or you can choose to dwell on all the GOOD stuff. But if you end up living a miserable life, it's no one's fault but your own, because 1.) no one else lives in a magically perfect world, okay? and 2.) you should really give up the ideal of what life "should" be like."
There 'tis.
(I'll break it down... Basically, I'm a very idealistic/romantic kind of person, and all my life I have wished for things to be a certain way. I'll share. When I was very little I drooled over American Girl catalogues and really wanted one of the $100 dolls to the point that I daydreamed that my principal stood up with me in front of the school and said, "If anyone has an extra American Girl doll, they should give it to this poor little girl who's parents can't afford one." Too funny! Or to the same extent when I was a little older and lonely after moving, daydreaming that another similar authority ordered kids my age to be my friends. Lol.)
(Life isn't perfect, nor will it ever be. Get it out of your head that things will get better. It's a mixed bag. Sure, life will be wonderful sometimes and just as equally shitty, other times. Whoever the genius was who said something to the effect that "the difference between adventure and dilemma is your outlook on it" had something there!)
(So slap yourself when you start pouting over ___________ stupid petty thing and cheer up, because life is shitty. Big surprise! haha.)
Winter Blues
After remaining in a state of denial the past few days (hmm, since the time change this past weekend, perhaps?) I have officially admitted to myself that I have the winter blues.
It's dark when I get up and dark when I eat dinner. It's gray all day. It's cold and wet and nasty out. And there's not much to do until it snows officially. No sunny warm days to go biking. No cold clear days to go skiing or sledding.
I've put my mind to finding fun activities to look forward to during the dark days of winter, and here's what I've come up with!
Spread the joy!
It's dark when I get up and dark when I eat dinner. It's gray all day. It's cold and wet and nasty out. And there's not much to do until it snows officially. No sunny warm days to go biking. No cold clear days to go skiing or sledding.
I've put my mind to finding fun activities to look forward to during the dark days of winter, and here's what I've come up with!
- swim classes with my Mom
- workouts at the gym
- tanning
- ice skating indoors
- shopping at the mall
- painting on my easel indoors
- going downtown
- Christmas shopping
- sledding
- skiing
- snowmobiling
- parties with friends and family
- cooking & baking (esp. apple pies and such for Thanksgiving! mmm!)
- reading
- bowling
- minigolf
- special projects--sewing, collaging, scrapbooking, photo editing
Spread the joy!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Does Facebook Really Bring Us Closer? (or is it just me?)
After watching the new Facebook movie, "Social Network," about the creator of the site, Mark Zuckerberg, I ironically am feeling rather down-in-the-dumps today while using the ever-popular website at work (can you say, lots of free time?).
During college, I had lots of action on Facebook... I started my first account in 2007 when, if my rusty memory is correct, only college students had access to the site. And it was a fun, addicting way to keep in touch over the summer with my friends.
Now, however, I'm working alone mostly, and my college friends have graduated and we've all scattered to the far corners of the earth. I bought into the horrid lie that Facebook alone would keep us all in touch, but no. It takes a little more than daily status updates to keep friendships alive. Was I really just totally stuck on myself to think my friendships would stay strong while I neglected my friends in far away places? Yup, apparently so. I'm finding that even my cousins who live 15 minutes away seem distant.
Social networking is baffling to me. I must be really horrible at making friends in real life, because I find myself relying on Facebook alone to keep in contact with people.
For real.
The only person I talk to on a regular basis outside of Facebooking is my boyfriend. How awful is that?!
And I don't know if this is just something unique to me--because maybe I'm just horrible at being sociable. I don't know. But I feel more and more like I'm drifting away from people I know and love--and have over 600 friends on Facebook.
*sigh*
Does anyone else find themselves feeling ironically distant from their uber-connected Facebook friends?
During college, I had lots of action on Facebook... I started my first account in 2007 when, if my rusty memory is correct, only college students had access to the site. And it was a fun, addicting way to keep in touch over the summer with my friends.
Now, however, I'm working alone mostly, and my college friends have graduated and we've all scattered to the far corners of the earth. I bought into the horrid lie that Facebook alone would keep us all in touch, but no. It takes a little more than daily status updates to keep friendships alive. Was I really just totally stuck on myself to think my friendships would stay strong while I neglected my friends in far away places? Yup, apparently so. I'm finding that even my cousins who live 15 minutes away seem distant.
Social networking is baffling to me. I must be really horrible at making friends in real life, because I find myself relying on Facebook alone to keep in contact with people.
For real.
The only person I talk to on a regular basis outside of Facebooking is my boyfriend. How awful is that?!
And I don't know if this is just something unique to me--because maybe I'm just horrible at being sociable. I don't know. But I feel more and more like I'm drifting away from people I know and love--and have over 600 friends on Facebook.
*sigh*
Does anyone else find themselves feeling ironically distant from their uber-connected Facebook friends?
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