Quote of the Day 2/17/14

"That’s what I want my life to be, like a well-loved gift. I think life, just life, just breathing in and out, is a great gift. God gives us something amazing when he gives us life, and I want to live with gratitude. I want to live in a way that shows how much I appreciate the gift. If life were a sweater, I would wear it every day. I wouldn’t save it or keep it for a special occasion. I would find every opportunity to wear that sweater, and I’d wear it proudly, shamelessly, for days on end.”

There’s normal life, kind of day-to-day, make-breakfast, do-the-dishes kind of life, but just underneath that, like a throb of bass you feel in your chest, I feel a whole other thing going on. In the midst of taxes and email, there is something sacred, something special dipping and weaving within that same old thing, like a firefly, like a great song, and it reminds you that the dishes and the taxes are real, but so much more is real, too. The sacred mixes in with the daily when you have a conversation with someone you love, or when you read a great book, or when you do something courageous. It’s still just a normal day, but there’s something bigger, something more compelling going on, too."    [Shauna Niequist]

__(insert suggestions here)___

In an attempt to name this post appropriately, I found myself on Google quest, searching through dictionaries, posts and blogs. When the dictionaries failed me, I turned to good old trusted Wikipedia. 

Originally this post was titled “content” but then Wikipedia defined bliss as: “Bliss is an emotional state that is characterized by perfect happiness (feelings of enjoyment, pleasure, and satisfaction,” I couldn’t help overlook the words “perfect happiness.” This led me to attempting to figure out what exactly “perfect happiness” means.

This led me on another Google search, to find out what the 1037345836430480 Google users around the world believe perfect happiness is. 

Let’s just say I found answers from one extreme side of the spectrum to the other. Infamous Yahoo! Questions had a user who posted the question “How to acquire perfect happiness?” and which the best answer chosen by the voters was “drugs or brain damage…. Happiness is a mish-mash of emotions, and it is loosely defined by its symptoms.” 

Google provided me with 41 million (to be exact) pages of results and skimming some of the pages, words such as nature, family, good book, house stood out, there were also debates of “god exists” and “no he doesn’t.” 

Even the Wall Street Journal had an opinion on the matter and  put a monetary value in the mix and reported that “the perfect salary for happiness is $75,000.”

Now I don’t know how happiness can be found through money or books or trees but I do know that no matter who you are, where you live and what you do, all you want at the end of the happy is to be happy and you want to be the real kind of happy. 

Perfectly Happy. 

Always Happy. 

Am I right....? 

Rat Race

     As I sit on my plushy queen size bed, stretch my legs and begin the oh so glamourous process of overnight teeth bleaching , I cannot help but reflect back on the conversations that took place 24 hours ago. My friend Christy had made a surprise appearance in Santa Barbara and it was only fitting and proper (for us former Southern Belles) to get together over tea and biscuits (okay... Coffee Bean and loud bar noises of downtown) and catch up on life. Christy and I were once just debate team acquaintances but after roughing the life of Knoxville, Tennessee, super sized Walmart, and fried chicken... well simply put, we were pretty much friends for life. 

     Our 5 hour long conversation started with the usual- the "how are you doing?", "aren't you glad its summer?,"how is he doing?" and "I can't believe he said that!", but 24 hours later, I kept reflecting on one simple phrase. So simple, but so, completely and utterly honest: "it's like a rat race."

     After getting through the surface issues of life: not enough sleep, not enough money and not enough sane men, we got to the nitty gritty. What is life and when does it actually start? Christy's words could not have hit the nail on the head more perfectly, for me, for her and probably most of the rest of the world. By dictionary terms, a rat race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit and in visual terms, its like a rat in a lab cage, who tries to escape by furiously running around in its wheel, but realistically for little purpose. 

     I know especially, that being a student, and a part of the rising work force, you really do get thrown into a rat race. In school you are pressured by yourself, or someone close to yourself ,to do more, to do better, to get internships which will get you better connections and jobs in the future. You have to take 19+ units and do 5 extracurriculars and be the homecoming queen and be ASB president and the fasted runner on the track team and volunteer for the animal shelter and raise 25,000 dollars a month for cancer research and score in the top percentile on the MKATs or LSATS and triple major and get at least a 3.8 gpa all while somehow maintaing your health, sanity, credit card bills and personal relationships. Somehow even writing that all out made me exhausted, let know trying to figure out how to fit that all into a 24 hour day. 

Jan/Feb/March/April Update?

I've been gone for a while and I wish it wasn't so. There has been so much I have wanted to write and share but frankly, theres just no enough hours in the day. Things have been so chaotic and busy that last time I checked, I was unwrapping Christmas presents and now I am 4 weeks away from being done with my second year of school. Crazy huh? 

Despite all the busyness life consistently entails, one thing has been present... every. single. day. Ready for it? Well, joy. Pure, unending, consistent joy. The greatest thing I have learned is to find yourself knee deep in the so many errands, assignments, and duties but to have a calm and joyful heart. Never in my life have I been happier or felt so fulfilled. Here's a brief example from today: I spent a few hours going to the bank, to the store, and other miscellaneous tasks and as I drove with my windows down, the 73 degree sun and breeze shinning down, the only thing I could do was smile and laugh. This is the day that the Lord has made, and it was just perfect.

Quote of the Day 3/29/12

Quote of the Day 1/11/12

Quote of the Day 1/1/12

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.      [Helen Keller]

Quote of the day 3/17/11

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go”   [Oscar Wilde]