No Matter What People Tell You, Words and Ideas Can Change the World.

The world can put so much pressure on us it can seem unbearable at times. We feel like we are not good enough. We feel like we cannot make a difference. We feel completely useless.  Some days are worse than others, but we have to remember that there is hope, things do get better, even when it seems like they won't.  We have to remember that we do have the power to change things, and we are good enough.  At the end of the day we have to please ourselves, that is the only person we need to be good enough for.  We try so hard to please others all the time that we constantly put our needs last and we forget to take the time to be happy. It's so easy to get caught up in the rush the world, and it is so easy to overwhelm ourselves at times. But we have to stop doing this. What is living worth if we are never pleasing ourselves? There is no reason to lead an unhappy life. We must please ourselves, and we must start now.  We can't sit and be unhappy wishing to be happy, we must go out and act upon it. Find what makes you happy and do, whether people like it or not. You have to live for yourself. That is the most important thing.
I know that I have tried so hard all of my life to live for others and all that it brings is unhappiness. But when I take the time to do what I love is when I am the most happy. Things do not always work out how we want them to, but that is life, and there is nothing we can do to change that. But when this happens we need to not sulk, we need to get out and do what makes us happy. Eventually things will work out and we will be happy, even if that seems impossible right now. Things will get better. 

Be Happy For This Moment, For This Moment Is Your Life.

Learn to be happy.
Not just on the outside but everywhere, all the time: YOU DESERVE IT.  We all deserve to be happy. What is the point to living everyday if we cannot be happy?
But what does it take to truly be happy?
I think, this is a question that takes a lifetime to anser. We must go out and discover what we love to do, who we love to be with, and that is when we will become happier people. I think another key to this is finding peace. Not just finding peace within ourselves but finding peace in everything: an ocean wave, a crying baby, a sunset, or a barking dog. We need peace and love to be happy.  More so,  we need them to live. After all, what is a life that does not contain peace, love and happiness.


Namaste 

Imagine All The People Living For Today, It Isn't Hard To Do.

 

This Is Your Life, Be Who You Want To Be

Creativity is something I feel that can get lost so easily.  A lot of times we are given the impression that creativity is not okay when you are "grown up" or when you are "professional," but you know I think creativity is what keeps me going everyday.  It is our minds and the power that they have that allow us to truly express ourselves.  Not everyone communicates in the same way, and creativity allows us to express ourselves in different ways. One person may communicate through talking where another may use writing, or painting, or music; each person is different -- creativity allows us to keep and express what makes us us.  It is so important to stay creative no matter how old you get. Whether you are 80 or 8, 40 or 14, you can still be you and express you creativity however YOU like, because all in all you are the only person that it matters to, if someone else doesn't like the creative way you present something, so what, that is not your problem.  I think fear is something that holds us back from being creative, all of the what ifs and fear of what everyone else will think. Well, I will tell you what I think, I think that we should all start to do things because we want to, stop worrying about what others think all the time.  If you like to paint, express yourself in your work. If you like to write, show others how brilliant you are with your words. But NEVER put your creativity on hold because your scared of what others will say. Do what you love and express yourself how you like to, and ALWAYS be creative.  Never sacrifice your creativity, or better yet, your individuality, out of fear.

Be who you want to be, not who others want you to be. Show others who you are through your creativity and your beautiful mind. 

Namaste

Sometimes You Just Have To Take Life Slowly...

How true is this? I think it is absolutely wonderful and very accurate.  A lot of times we have the tendency to do things out of order. We put ourselves first a lot of times, or we act to quickly. We judge before we really know.  

How beautiful would life be if we could really do as this quote states?  I think if we were able to do this we would all have much less stress, anxiety, and regrets.  I know for myself I tend to get worked up over past situations because I maybe did not think enough or listen at the right times, this then causes me to get stressed or anxious about the future.  I think if I, and everyone, took the time to slow down and try these simple steps that we could probably eliminate a lot of worry from our minds, and live a much more peaceful life, which essentially is what we are to do, right?  Peacefulness is something I think we all strive for, whether we admit it or not. 

There is a quote that says, "When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others." I think this is so true, as well.  I mean, think about it, if we are able to be completely peaceful with ourselves, then we have no reason to not have a peaceful attitude towards everything else in life, allowing us to be peaceful in fundamentally every aspect in life.  How beautiful would that be?  I know for myself I strive to someday find this peace to live a truly peaceful life, and I hope I am not alone.  

So, let us cheers to peace and strive to find this within ourselves and within everyone else. 

weheartit.com

Namaste 

Technical Difficulties...

I definitely posted an update on Wednesday, but for some reason it is not here...
This is really sad to me, because I felt like it was a really good post... But it's okay, because I am sure there is a reason for this happening


However, this weekend I should have a little more time to post SO hopefully I can make up for the mysterious ghost post with some posts this weekend! For today I will leave you with a post called Lessons from Life, written by 90 year old Regina Brett, which I found very inspiring and thought provoking.

Lessons From Life

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch!
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special..
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift

Namaste

Spend Life With Who Makes You Happy, Not Who You Have To Impress

weheartit.com

Wow it's been a while! The last few weeks have been hectic with everything and finals are just around the corner! So exciting and nerve racking! This time of the year is always so bittersweet.  Classes are ending, summer is beginning.

This year has been such a learning and experimenting year.  There have been so many ups and downs, but I am truly blessed and believe there is a reason that everything has happened.  Life is all about learning, and  I think that is a lesson that we all must learn.  So many times we think we have the answers or we think that we should do something a certain way because that is how everyone else does it, or because we want to impress a certain person.  However, we need to learn to live for ourselves and not for everyone else. I know I am especially guilty of this.  I try so hard to please other people that I will forget about doing things for myself sometimes, or I will get so caught up in something and I will forget how to relax. I think that it is extremely essential to all of our well-being to learn how to relax and take time for ourselves.  This is obviously not the same for everyone, seeing as we are all different.  For one person relaxing could mean a quiet walk on a beach and for another person it could mean a run with loud music.

Now, I don't mean that we should not help and live for other people as well, but I believe that we should not sacrifice our individuality to someone else.  Sometimes we need to admit to ourselves that if we cannot be ourselves around someone or if someone doesn't make us happy then maybe it isn't meant to be, but that doesn't mean there isn't someone else out there who will make us happy. I do it all the time, and at the end of the day I will find myself somewhat disappointed in myself.  I think this is where the learning part comes in though.  I think we can learn from these times when we feel dissatisfied, and we can use them to become stronger individuals.  Individuality is something that we should NEVER sacrifice and NEVER let anyone take away from us.  We were all created differently for a reason, and all of our individual personalities and characteristics serve a unique function whether we know what it is yet or not.

So as a friend of mine once said, "Embrace your inner weirdo." We all need to learn to just be ourselves. Of course this doesn't happen over night, but it can happen eventually, I truly believe this.

Namaste

There Must Be Something More

It's been a while since my last post, my apologies. The life of a college student can get a little hectic every once and a while. Warning: it's about to get hectic again very soon... like tomorrow...But anyways..
 
Over the course of my career as an avid "StumbleUpon-er," thus far, I have accumulated a lot of absolutely fabulous and thought-provoking quotes and images. So, today I wanted to share just a glimpse of a few these lovely images and quotes with you all because what good will they do if i keep them all to myself right?

These are just a few images and quotes that inspire me. Hopefully, they inspire you too.

Namaste

I Want To Be Happy With The Simplicity Of Life, To Stop Wanting More.

Photo from weheartit.com

If you are anything like me, you probably tend to make your life a little more chaotic and hectic than it needs to be. I find myself doing this all the time. However, I have been trying something a little different lately --  taking a break from all of the chaos [or at least trying to when I can] and just try to be happy and content with the simple things in life.

How often do we go through the daily motions of life and forget about how wonderful and beautiful everything in the world is that we just take for granted? Pretty often, I would say.  I mean think about it, when was the last time you took 5 or 10 minutes just to sit outside and enjoy nature?

We all do it, we get so caught up in the rush of life, and we think that the only way to be successful is by doing everything and anything.  But that's really not the way to be successful, or at least I don' think it is.  I think the best way to success is through happiness, and I think the way to get to this happiness is by taking a step back and just enjoying all of the simple things in life.  We take so many things for granted every single day.  I think this is something we all need to think about more, how often do we really stop and enjoy the simplicity of life. We are constantly wanting more and more. But why can't we just be happy with what we do have?  It always seems like someone else has it better or that you always seem to get the short end of the stick. If we could just learn to enjoy the simple things in life and stop fretting over what we don't have and wishing that we had more, I think we would slowly become much happier people in all aspects of life.

I was listening to a song today that I hadn't listened to in quite a while.  I listened to it a few times in a row because today I felt like it had a really special meaning to the way I was feeling. And it hits everything I was feeling perfectly. It talks about how we don't need a lot to hold us, even if we are alone we have the big sky to hold us. I think this song is so beautiful, and I hope that you can find the same beauty and develop your own understanding of it, just as I did. --It is called Big Sky, by Rachel Loy--
I hope you enjoy this song, as well as the beauty and simplicity of life.

Namaste

I Hope You Always Find A Reason To Smile

This is probably one of my all time favorite quotes. Why? Because of how much truth is behind it. 

I had a teacher in high school who used tell us that in life many people will ask us, "what do you want to be when you grow up?" but she always said that she would never ask us what we wanted to be because that's not what life is about, rather she would ask us, "Who do you want to be?" It makes complete sense.  We get so preoccupied on being a doctor, lawyer, or business man that we forget about the real meanings in life.  Instead I think it's more important focus on what kind of person we want to be just as this 5-year old did, and we should want to be happy.  

Is that not what life is about after all, finding what makes you truly happy? This kid and his mom had it right, happiness is the key to life.  If a grade were to be given on this assignment, I know for sure that my high school teacher would have given him an A+. Life shouldn't be just about what career you want to pursue, but what kind of person you want to be. I think the ultimate goal in life is to be happy -- truly, genuinely, happy. 

For myself, I would like to be happy when I grow up.  I hope that you all have the same hope, because as the mother in this quote said, "happiness is the key to life."

photo from we heartit.com

Namaste 

Replace Fear Of The Unknown With Curiosity

photo from weheartit.com

Why is is that a lot of times we are so afraid to try new things or go outside of our comfort zones?  Probably because we are creatures of habit, and we are scared of what will happen.

I think that one of the best things we can do is scare ourselves every once in a while.  No, I don't mean go watch the scariest movie you can find or camp out in a graveyard.  What I mean is try something new, take yourself out of your comfort zone.  I think that a lot of times we hold ourselves back because we are scared about unknown result.  But why not replace this sense of not knowing with curiosity?

We need to learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, because if you haven't noticed by now, life is all about uncomfortable situations.  Whether you decide to embrace those uncomfortable situations or not is up to you.

I know for myself some of the best things in my life have resulted from embracing uncomfortable situations.  When I made the decision to move all the way across the country people always asked me "don't you think you'll get homesick" and "aren't you scared?" and well, my answer for them tended to be, and still is, yes I'm sure I'll get homesick and miss my family, but I think that's perfectly normal, and am I scared? I moved across the country knowing no one and having no idea what would happen... The way I answer that question is -- I think it's good to be scared.  For myself, this was something I always wanted to do, and I had the opportunity to do it so I did. I was curious I wanted to see what life was like somewhere else, so I did. -- I purposely placed myself in a world of the unknown because I knew if I didn't then I probably never would.

So start right now.  Stop holding back, do the things you've always wanted to but have been to afraid to.  Take that trip you've always wanted to.  Ask the questions you've been scared to.  One thing that I don't understand is when people say how unhappy they are where they live or in their work.  So why don't you leave? Is what I always ask. The answer tends to be the same, "I'm scared to leave" or "I'm comfortable here" You know what I say to that, do you want to be unhappy and 'comfortable' wondering what could have been? Or would you rather take that risk and see what life is like in that city you've always wanted to live in, or what it might be like to be the painter you've always wanted to be.  I mean, honestly, what's the worst that happens, you decide you don't like it and you go back? But you know what you can say that the others can't? "Yeah, I tried it. I did what I had always wanted to." and that in itself says an awful lot.

We get so scared all of the time because we cannot control everything and because there is so much that is unknown to us.  Maybe we can't control everything, but what we can control is whether we decide to live life in fear of the unknown, or embrace our curious mind and be adventurous and take chances and stop being so afraid of what we don't know.  Because not knowing and being curious will cause us to go outside of our comfort zones and just might lead us to the place we have been searching for.

Namaste

Keep Trying, Hold On, and Always Believe In Yourself

"In your soul there are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you."
       -- Oscar Wilde

Photo from weheartit.com

When I see this quote I think of things such as creativity and imagination as well as love and compassion.  No one can take these things away from us. Sure, sometimes it might feel like it.

Have you ever thought about the person you are the hardest on? The person you constantly criticize or knock down? I would guess for most people it is yourself. But why do we do this? Why do we constantly beat ourselves up?  We can become so obsessed with perfection that we lose sight of reality.

It doesn't make sense. We are so hard on ourselves -- we doubt ourselves.

The same situation occurs, we fail at something, so we get discouraged, and we don't want to try anymore. We want to give up, or stop trying.  But why not take this failure as an opportunity to better ourselves? Why not use this as motivation to be better next time?

We all have the ability to be great. We can change the world. What it takes to do this is belief. Not only belief in the world, but also, and even more important, belief in yourself.  If you cannot believe in yourself why should anyone else believe in you? I know the times when I believe in myself are the times that I feel others believe in me too.  In order to this we have to learn to be honest with ourselves, we have to learn to be open with ourselves.  Am I saying that I believe in myself all of the time, and that I am open and honest with myself all of the time? NO, of course not. I wish I could say this.

However, what we can all do is not give up, and be confident in our words, actions, and thoughts.  Because with all of this we will slowly come to terms with believing in ourselves.

We all have something special that we are meant to share with the world, whether we know it or not, we do.  I think that is what Oscar Wilde is trying to say. We all have something so precious so wonderful inside of us -- yeah, maybe we don't know what it is yet but it's there -- and no one, can take that away.  How do we find out what this is? Well, I am guessing the best way to find it is to stop searching, let it find you, let it reveal itself.  Who knows it could reveal itself in a failure or in a second attempt after you fail.  Or maybe it could reveal itself when you feel like you are holding onto nothing or you feel like your alone. But I do think that the greatest gift is to believe in yourself.  Because when you believe in yourself, you are the best, most confident, loving, compassionate, you there is. When this happens you can make a difference in the world. We have to believe in ourselves. We have to love ourselves. It won't always be easy -- no one ever said it would be, but I have a feeling that it will be worth be.  because in believing in yourself so many doors open and the world just gets closer and closer to being a better place.


I think this song is a perfect example of taking that step to believe in yourself and make the world a better place. I hope that someone can enjoy it as much as I do.

Namaste

This Is The Part Where You Find Out Who You Are

Photo form weheartit.com

Life is full of so many setbacks, so many challenges. How are we to know which path to take? How to overcome a fear? How to face these challenges head on?

One thing I have slowly come to realize is that we do not always know the answers, and that sometimes we have to fail before we can succeed.

I have a yoga teacher who says, "the strongest people are those who surrender."  It took me some time before I fully understood this, well at least understood in my own mind and way.  Those who can admit to themselves that they can not do something are incredibly strong.  Most of the time we put up a front, and we are afraid to admit when we are wrong or when we can't do something, we constantly make excuses instead of just being honest and admitting that we aren't 'superhumans.'

From this I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that it is okay to fail, and it is okay to not always win.  We talked about this again in my yoga class today.  Accepting that you don't have to win every time, and that yoga, and LIFE, is not a competition.  We also talked about how you should not feel guilty for taking time for yourself.  We so often do this! We feel guilty when we take time to relax, or sit in silence, or meditate, but there is not reason to feel guilty. Why shouldn't someone be able to enjoy the "sweetness of doing nothing," dolce far niente?

Sometimes it seems like we have to be doing something all of the time, but why? Why can't we just take a little bit of time everyday to do "nothing?" To just sit in silence, to pray, to meditate, whatever it is you like to do.

I know for myself, the more I take time for myself in prayer, silence, or meditation, the more I come to know myself and the happier I am. 

So, "this is the part where you find out who you are."  All of life is a journey.  We can not always control what is going to happen next in the world, however we can control ourselves, and how we deal with everything in the world. Being able to have control over yourself is one of the greatest things I think a person can do.  I think that this helps everyone to find out who they truly are, because really isn't that what life is about, finding out who you are?

Namaste