Here and now.

“The trick is to enjoy life. Don’t wish away your days, waiting for better ones ahead.” ~ Marjorie Pay Hinckley

365: Day 132

Happy sunshine day…and I was free, so I went to the park for a bit. Sunshine + park = happy Sarah.

365: Day 127

This was a lovely evening, spent besides the docks, for a friend’s birthday. I love discovering new places in London, and this was certainly a great discovery. Will definitely be returning to St. Katherine’s Docks…and it will make it’s way onto my 100 Things I Love About London list…

365: Day 126

I love this little book; it is full to the brim with quotes on that exact topic – “Every cloud has a silver lining”. And it couldn’t be more true.

A Friendly Push.

“Once you make the decision to take that leap of faith into the unknown, hope arises to give you a friendly push in the direction of your dreams.”

~ My Heart Wanders, Pia Jane Bijkerk

Yesterday was one of those days where things go around in circles in your head, and your heart is busy worrying. To quiet all the noise within me, I went to the park. I found calm amidst the noise. There are days when you are going to doubt yourself, doubt your ability and talent; but you can overcome those days. How? By acknowledging those fears, but also looking at all the things you have achieved thus far, and all the plans you have for the days to come. Don’t compare yourself. Be kind to yourself. Breathe. Have hope. This life is a journey, made up of many smaller journeys; so enjoy each and every one of them, and if that’s not possible, then have the strength to know that a better journey will come.

Just remember to have hope. It will give you a friendly push.

365: Day 124

Some days, it’s good to be by a window. When you need a few moments of peace, a window can offer that; it gives you the outside world, and a chance to get lost in your daydreams. It offers peace and quiet. Not necessarily quiet in the sense of noise, but in the sense of your inner self; and that quiet is worth having. Seek a window.

Where you need to be.

Someone once said to me:

“You are exactly where you need to be in life.”

At the time, I wasn’t sure where I was heading, or what I wanted to do, but her words inspired me and made me feel okay about it all. They made me grateful for what I had. They made me aware of who I was and what I stood for. Those words ring true today, just as they did when she first said them.

For me, for all of us, really, the point is to be aware of the way we think about things, to steer our train of thought into what we believe is the right direction. Through that, I can learn to be content. Through the challenges I set myself, I can be happy; honestly happy.

So, my message to you?

“You are exactly where you need to be in life.”

Read it and believe it.

 

365: Day 122

The sunshine decided to come out early last night, before it went to bed, and it brightened up my day. This, here, was my first attempt at “free-lensing” and I’m quite happy with the result. If you want to learn more about free-lensing, head to the post on A Beautiful Mess.

One Thing.

There is a quote that I have blu-tacked to the wall above my desk that makes me stop and think from time to time. It reminds me that life is a big adventure, and there is so much to discover. It reminds me to push myself just a little bit further, to step outside of my comfort zone. It’s a good reminder.

“Do one thing every day that scares you.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt.

That “one thing” doesn’t have to be big. Perhaps it’s something that you have been putting off, perhaps it means that you should get in touch with the friend that you haven’t spoken to in a while, or perhaps it means doing something exciting, something new. Sometimes we all need gentle reminders to actually live our lives, outside of the routine, mundane day to day stuff. It is easy to slip into a habit, to go about our days in a comfortable way, but if we were to do that all the time, then there’s a chance that we’re passing up the possibility of great little adventures. And if there’s something I love, it is adventure.

The adventures I have been on recently have involved many people, cake, photographs, coffee, and, believe it or not, reading a book. What does this prove? Well, to me, it shows that adventures don’t always have to be big. They can be small. They can involve lots of people, a handful of people, or just yourself, a lone explorer. They can be experienced outside, inside, or even in a book. Eating a piece of cake can be an adventure. Sharing stories over coffee can be an adventure. There are no limits.

Adventures from Friday night:

Adventures involving cake:

Adventures involving Handprint:

Adventures with me, myself and I:

All adventures are worthy of being recorded, one way or another. Some people love to write about their adventures, others like to snap photos as they go along, and there are many other ways to document them. However you prefer to remember them, that is the way you should do it; and I dare you, go on some adventures. Life is full of them.

What is the one thing that you can do each day, that makes you feel more alive? Please share, I would love to know how you translate the quote. I hope you have felt alive recently, and I hope that you have been enjoying life. Happy Monday. (I also blogged over on the Handprint blog earlier tonight, you can read the post here.)

10 Things I Love

Recently, I have stumbled across many beautiful, inspiring things on the web. Rather than keeping them to myself, I thought I should share them with you, so you, too, can be inspired. I hope you love them as much as I do. Hint: you might want to settle down with a cup of tea, and maybe (if you’re emotional, like me) keep some tissues close by, some are very touching. And I’ve thrown in some pretty pictures, at the end, too.

1 ♥ The Shine Project. Wow. I am still getting lost, and inspired, amongst the posts on this site. Start here. You won’t regret it.

2 ♥ Heidi Darwish’s beautiful goodbye to her Gram. It made me cry. Yet, I felt so moved and inspired by the end of it. We can all make a difference in life; it is as simple as loving the ones around us, and being there for them. Let them know.

3 ♥ The power of blue, and awareness of autism. Run Luau Run, via Kate.

4 ♥ Some lovely snapshots of Elsie’s (of A Beautiful Mess) travels in LA; they record the little details that can bring a memory back to life, and that’s what I love about Elsie’s photographs.

5 ♥ A letter for you. Dreams, vision and imagination. We have the capacity for success, and the amazing gifts of being able to look backwards, and forward, and to treasure the here and now.

6 ♥ A honest account of life when you’re kind of in between; when you’re waiting for the next part to start, yet you’re a little scared of it. I love finding things you can relate to.

7 ♥ ”Your only handicap is the limit you put on yourself. You can accomplish great things if you put your mind to it.” – Amy Hildebrand.

8 ♥ Beautiful, soft flowers, to welcome in the Spring. I adore Pink Sherbet’s photography, so much colour and life.

9 ♥ When my mum was young, she had a yellow VW bug, and it was quite possibly her favourite car. In the absence of photographs, I’ve found some lovely photographs on Flickr. Here’s one of my favourites:

10 ♥ To round it off, and following on; as some of you may know, one of my dreams is to one day own a vintage VW Camper Van, and it’ll either be yellow, red or blue. Oh, dream, please come true.

I hope you are all having a good week. Happy Wednesday to you all. Big hugs and lots of love. Peace and love, man… – well, I’ve gotta start practising my talk, if I’m going to own a camper, one day…right, dude?