Fierce Beauty

No one ever said life would go smoothly and I think there are little miracles "blooming" all around us to inspire us to keep on when things get rough.  So here is to those growing moments….and to finding your strength.

Grand Adventures

Sometimes life feels a little bit like the grand canyon…  Vivid and overwhelming.  It has deep crags and sheer cliffs.  Surprising drops and painful falls, but it is also filled with wondrous color and beauty.  It is scary and wild but when viewed in its vast entirety, a thing of beauty.

I sometimes feel like life is a race and I am getting farther and farther behind.  There is a real anchor for us in keeping an eternal perspective.  It is not the individual moments that make a life beautiful although there are undoubtably many moments that are so beautifully powerful that we are changed forever in them.  It is the combined journey that helps to create us into the person we are.  Every moment.  Every choice.  Every joy and sorrow a complex part of the canvas of color and texture making up ..…the adventure of a grand life.

Keep climbing!

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Dancing and shoes are pretty much tops on my list of favorite things…so my happy thought today is a new pair of dancing shoes.  We had gone out to run errands, of which we only accomplished about half.   It was a gloriously beautiful sunny day, and wasn't really meant for getting much done anyway.  It was one of those days that feel like vacation even though it isn't.
 
We walked around downtown.  I was so happy feel the beautiful sunshine and walk about soaking it all in.  We stopped at this little dance shoe store.  There was a young girl getting her first pair of pointe shoes and I was transported while watching the process.  It seemed so magical and I remembered my own thrill of receiving pointe shoes at similar age.  

We noticed the store was closing out most of their Capezio ballroom shoes.  The store manager brought me every shoe in my size from the closeout selection.  After much deliberation, these beauties are mine.

Time to go out dancing!

Curiosity

Isn't curiosity the driving force behind us to do something new?  The answers to questions such as:

What would happen if…?

Could I….?

Do I dare…?

I have a sister who inspires me with her adventurous spirit…makes me want to go out and grab some of those dreams of mine that seem just beyond my reach.  Maybe you are like me, and are an adventurous soul trapped in a rather nervous body…or at least that is what I feel.  I have big dreams but often find reasons I shouldn't do something or other.

I think this quote says it perfectly...


"Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true. This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four Cs. They are curiosity, confidence, courage, and constancy, and the greatest of all is confidence. When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” 
― Walt Disney Company

So go on be brave….be daring…be implicitly and unquestionably YOU!


Oh and by the way…the fish BITE!

Taste of Comfort

Why is it that pizza has this unexplainable draw that is fairly universal?  I mean garlic bread for breakfast…would not sound appealing to me…nor spaghetti…etc.  Pizza however is always a good idea!

It is a way to drown out frustrations or fear or to celebrate, congratulate, or be festive!

So here is my valentine to pizza! Enjoy!

Smile when you fail for true effort is never a loss!

So I have this habit of just falling flat anytime I have the opportunity to do anything in front of a group.  For example, I love playing the violin.  I am not especially good at it but have a great love and passion for it all the same.  I practice and work on it and try to always do my best but my doubts in my own ability often overtake me in the moment of truth…the performance and I falter.  I usually beat myself up about it thinking if I had tried harder or worked more it would have been different.

I had an amazingly different experience this past weekend.  Did I fall flat?  YES…terribly but afterwards I felt a feeling of gratitude for the opportunity to try.  I think with continual embarrassment on my part I will improve my performance skills, but until then I am grateful to be able to play at all.

Keep reaching…

"Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing."
                  -Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

bloom where you are planted

I have the ultimate privilege of hanging out with George.  He is my little buddy.  He has a zest for life that is positively inspiring.

I love that no matter where we are he can usually find a way to enjoy it.  He was pulled from his train tracks and brought along one train and then proceeded to have an adventure.  Vertical climbs and dizzying heights like few trains before have experienced.  

So here is an opportunity to look around and find the opportunity sitting beside you.  Look at the world from new adventurous perspectives.

road less travelled

I once had a button that said,  be different, act normal".  I loved it.  I don't really know why, I just did.  I think it is wise counsel despite it's rather carefree wording.  The norms of today are a little frightening in their quick assimilation of superficial confidence.  It can be hard to stand aside from what is popular, whether it is on a small scale or large.  To be ourselves truly and kindly can be a frightening thing.  So go ahead...as Mrs. Frizzle would say- "take chances, make mistakes", but always be yourself...because that is something that will never be common....it is our uniqueness that makes the world a wonderful place to live.

Turtles and Progress

I found this little piece of wonderfulness and love to see it every day.  Turtles being the universal symbol of perseverance even when things look hopeless.
I love the story of the Tortoise and the Hare...although I am not sure who I most resemble.  I love that the tortoise doesn't give up even though it looks as though the hare will have won before he even gets underway.  I love that he is undeterred by the taunting and bragging, but quietly and consistently works towards his end goal.  It is clear to me that it is a race for himself and not against anyone else or for anyone else.  To finish a task you set out to do is a great accomplishment indeed.

So here is to all of our turtle goals...the ones that seem to creep along centimeter by centimeter...just keep crawling.  Slow and Steady wins the race.

Fall colors are coming..inside anyway!

There is something that happens as soon as you know it is fall...even if the temperatures say otherwise.  It makes you want to add reds and oranges to your decor.  There are a lot of amazing people who decorate each season fabulously.  I think a little or a lot of change is fun either way!

Some days are like that...

Be you!

BE HONEST

BE FEARLESS

BE YOU

-Anon.

dreams and wishes

Sometimes it's the little things...

I found this picture on Pinterest and loved it....

I firmly believe that with the right shoes you can do anything and in a book you can go anywhere.
So here is to possibilities... go find your happiness!

Chameleon

Somedays it is easy to want to blend in to my surroundings like this little fella who often keeps me company in my garden.  It is nice to pass others with a cloak of invisibility shielding you from any pain or unpleasantness that can come from being known, but the anonymity comes with a price.  As Dr. Seuss would say:

" Why fit in when you were born to stand out?"

So the challenge is to stand out...go and be yourself, and see all the wonders you might be missing trying to blend in.

Have a great one!  Today only happens once!

shine

                                                                image via pinterest

These are a few of my favorite things...

Life has a tendency to go faster and faster without too much encouragement, but it often takes effort to slow down enough to see and appreciate the little things that bring so much joy.  So here is to taking a break to breathe and see....

                                                                  images via ginger, pinterest

To be or not to be

It is easy to believe in yourself around some people and around others feel you are destined to never measure up...I have the opportunity to interact with some people from both of these categories in life.  I noticed after an interaction with someone in the latter category that my perspective needed to change.  It really doesn't matter what they think of me....what matters is what I know of myself.  So here is to true potential and perspective....Here and Now is the time to be charming!

via pinterest

New Year New Start..Let the Dreaming begin

I love that I have many who inspire me.  I admire them and hope to someday be as true to myself as they make me feel when I am around them.  Love, Dream, Hope.....LIVE.

image via tumblr

To the next new beginning...

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but I got a Christmas card from a dear friend who always has such an amazing perspective on life that I was inspired to make a new years resolution or a mid-December resolution (because why wait right!) to be happy- no matter what!  There is so much to be grateful for, so much beauty, and so many new opportunities.  They say you will find what you look for....so look happy!