The Value of Nature

 For Easter I chose to spend my afternoon at Sunset Cliffs. If I could, I would encourage everyone to spend at least part of each holiday outdoors.

Photo from Ikenbot

Enough

We spend our entire lives being told we're "too this" or "too that" or that we will never be "whatever enough."

Photo from here

 

First Step

Picture something you’ve always dreamed of.  A goal that you’ve wanted to achieve, but kept telling yourself “one day.” It may be the first step toward moving, or changing careers, or starting the hobby you’ve always wanted.

Photo from Flickr

Now take that step this week… just the first one. It’s so easy to get caught up in end goals that seem so far off…the first step toward a goal is rarely world-shattering. In many cases, the first step is simply planning and figuring out what the best way to accomplish a goal may be. Whatever the first step is, take it this week.

In most cases, at the end of the day it is us, not any outside force, that is holding us back from our dreams. 

Light and Beauty

Remembering today that the key to being caught up in awe at the world around me is to never get too accustomed to it. I'm remembering to take nothing for granted, to see everything as if for the first time, to experience everything as if I knew it would be the last time.

Approaching the world that way brings all of the colour and light and beauty back. You can be surrounded by the same thing day in and day out, and forget the magic of it... or, you can look at it with fresh eyes every time...appreciate that you have eyes capable of seeing the world around you, ears capable of hearing the roar of thunder or of cars on the road and the soft chatter of birds on the other side of the windowpane, skin capable of feeling the soft bed beneath you or the wind rushing past you or the smoothness of your lover's skin.

People rush too much, and forget to experience the beauty around them.

Photo by LunaDawnImages

That's my challenge to everyone this week. Go outside; look around, really sense the world around you. 

Simplify

“The only dream worth having is to dream that you will live while you are alive, and die only when you are dead. To love, to be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and vulgar disparity of the life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.”

-  Arundhati Roy

Break

I realized again the other day that this is an opportunity for something entirely new. Reinvention.
The first real chance I had at that was when I began college. All through elementary, middle, and high school I knew the same group of people and attended the same private school. Many of the people had known me since we were both young and awkward. It's difficult to break out of any box you have created for yourself in a situation like that. People occasionally did; they would come back from summer break with a makeover and new attitude--but that that was definitely the exception. Generally once you had been put into a box there, it was easier to just stay in it.
University gave me a sense of freedom. It was an entirely new location. A huge school compared to the one I had been at previously--my graduating class in high school had around 50 students-- that spread out over several acres gave me a chance at anonymity that I had never previously known. I began to thrive. It was a chance for self-exploration, as college should be, and since I was happy my grades were excellent as well.
I ended up having to take some time off of school after a year or so, and haven't gone back yet. I kept making new friends and exploring new interests, obviously, but there wasn't the same opportunity for expansion as before. The entire area had grown stale. Hampton Roads, while it has things to offer, is not a place where I wanted to spend my entire life.
Moving out here is the chance I needed to take, I think. It's giving me a chance to figure out who I want to be --who I want to be known as, what skills and traits I want to emphasize, what sort of impact I want to leave. While I had a great reputation back home and can not think of anyone who really disliked me, I still needed a fresh start somewhere new. A chance to break out.

The Road Ahead

Photo credit: LunaDawnImages

Sometimes the road of life stretches before us, way farther than we can see, and it gets terrifying. It's really important to take everything one step at a time. If you don't, it is easy to get overwhelmed with "what if"s and silly little worries. In the past few years, I've witnessed this time and again--not just in my own life, but in the lives of my friends as well. The moment you allow yourself to get caught up in silly little worries, it becomes extremely difficult to break free and to enjoy the magic of each day. 

That's the beauty of life: the adventure. We need to remember to not take things too seriously... sit back, surround yourself with creative and inspirational people, and enjoy the ride.

In this Life...

Create something to last beyond you. Plant a tree and nourish it and watch it grow. Write a piece and have it published. Build something enduring.

Shine

“And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same”

-Nelson Mandela

I have such a deep love and respect for Nelson Mandela. Every time I learn more about him, that feeling grows even deeper.

Reminder :

Show appreciation to those around you. Take nothing for granted, and especially no people.
You never know how long they'll be around, and sometimes you can't have any idea how great it feels to hear an encouraging word.

reckless chase

At some point everyone has to stop chasing sluts and whores and fantasies and simply find satisfaction.


You can spend your whole life abandoning happiness for "what if"s and the question of "will that person be better? " ...you can spend your whole life trading out one person you find attractive for another.

Or you can seek out someone who accepts you, who knows you, who loves you at your best or worst or most vulnerable or most strange. Someone you can be yourself around and not get tired of. Someone you can share every bit of yourself with and who will still accept you--mistakes and all.

So many people never seem to learn that.

chase

Do you have a dream that has been with you for so long that you can't remember what it's like to be without it? Are there any things you've been hoping for for longer than you can keep track of, but that you're starting to give up on? Things you want more than anything, but that have been put off for so long that they're feeling unattainable.

Need

I'm putting this post under a cut. It's really meant for one person only...

January Calm

The challenge I'm giving myself this week is to find peace and contentment. I'm going to make an effort to give myself a little bit of time every day to not worry about anything, to just relax and enjoy the nothingness.

Most other people can probably benefit from this as well, especially after all the rush and bustle of the holidays from Thanksgiving to New Years. All of the company has finally stopped trickling through our house, so my mom and I have spent the past few days rearranging the house back to something resembling how it looked two months ago. Now that that's finished, I think we've deserved to set aside some time for ourselves to simply kick back.

She's spending the next few days reading Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close  by Jonathan Safran Foer. I haven't decided yet if I'll spend my free time reading, or writing, or simply thinking.

But I would like to challenge anyone who reads this, to do the same. This coming week, spend some time for yourself. On yourself. Alone. Seek out solitude and enjoy the calm. You should reemerge feeling very refreshed.

12

It's a new year.. I hate to be the kind of person to do one of those ultra predictable posts ..."2011 was so horrible and rough but this new year is going to be awesome and all my dreams are magically going to come true"

And I don't make resolutions. Ever. Why wait for a new year to start improving your life? Especially when people make the same resolution every year... And consistently fail at it!

How about just for once no one does that? Instead let's just all live how we should be anyway. Love others. Work toward your goals. Learn something small every day. Volunteer some of your time or money to improve the world around you.

And, just as importantly, remember to show appreciation. Things are never as awful as you think they are. Be thankful for people around you. Be grateful for your circumstances, no matter how seemingly difficult.

Essence

I was thinking last week about how people view each other and whether that's how each person actually wants to be seen. I think everyone has an idea of who he or she is, and how they want everyone else to see them, but since people are so complex it's impossible to convey all of that to everyone you meet. The people with whom you have the closest bonds obviously know a greater part of you than an acquaintance from work or the bar. However, friendships are built on common interests and, especially if your interests are widespread, even good friends may not know all of a person.

With that in mind, I was thinking over who I see myself as and how I want to convey myself to those around me. I started wondering how well that was translating over to those I see regularly, and sent out messages to some of my friends and family asking them to describe me in 3 or 4 different words. The key is to be as specific as possible, not using vague terms such as "cool" or "nice," actually trying to capture the essence of a person in a few words.

I've gotten back quite a few responses, but want to post it here as well. If you happen to read this, either leave me a comment or email me with your descriptions.

(ETA:  The key to this is honesty rather than flattery. Allow me to stress that this is not fishing for compliments. If you recognize a personality flaw, please feel free to point it out as well. For instance, I realize that on occasion I come across as overly critical, stubborn, etc...and while that is obviously not my goal for how I would like people to see me, it does happen, especially when I'm having bad days.)

Once I have quite a few gathered up, I plan to do something with all of the responses. I haven't quite figured out exactly what yet, but I'm going to figure out how to put them all together in a way that expresses me.

Jarring

I meant to post this last Thursday when it happened, but I forgot by the time I got home from work.

An old man who had to carry a bottle of oxygen around with him to breathe came into my store on Thursday. He had ordered parts from our parts counter in the back of the store, and they had come in but were not quite right so they needed to be fixed. We were going to replace them and call him back to pick them up on Friday. As he and I were walking back up to the front of the store after resolving the issue, I apologized to the man for the inconvenience and told him I would call him as soon as his new parts were ready.

He looked at me, still wheezing through his oxygen tubes, and told me very seriously "I'm 80 years old, and I have all the time in the world. There's no rush."

It put me in my place very quickly. He's 80. He can't even breathe on his own anymore; he has trouble walking; he likely has difficulties taking care of himself on a daily basis. And here he was, telling me that there's no rush.

If anyone should be in a rush, it should be that man. I know if I were him, I'd most likely be thinking that my time is short and I might as well do everything I can, all the time.

But if this man doesn't feel the need to rush, and can just enjoy every moment no matter what comes... why can't I?

So that's my challenge for this week. Enjoy everything. Don't get upset over little things. There's plenty of time.

Sunday

It's Sunday. I'm about to head to downtown Norfolk...helping with camp security from 6-9am. After that, though, I'm using today to learn stuff.

I know I've asked this before, but everyone give me something to learn about!

Unrelated, and more personal

I couldn't include this with the other post because it is far off topic. But on a more personal level, here is what has been going on recently.

Memorable

My goal for tonight that I posted on facebook before going out to spend time with some friends was this:

"Let's make tonight memorable; let's make tonight wonderful."

But why not every night? Obviously no one goes out and has the goal of being miserable and having an awful time...but why can we not always focus on having a great time and making sure everyone else around us does as well?

It's about creating memories; it's about living; it's about experiencing things together and creating something that will last with your friends for years to come.

Ten or twenty years from now, I'm sure most small nights won't stand out. They will have been forgotten. So why not make every night as wonderful and as memorable as possible...?

I'm going to work toward that.