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 130

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.

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.)

365: Day 117

Positive, Happy Thoughts

Listen to what I say 
In your life expect some trouble
When you worry you make it double 
Don’t worry be happy 
Be happy now

~ Bob Marley

The last few years have taught me a lot, last year especially. The biggest thing I’ve learnt is: don’t stress the little things. In life, things have a tendency to start piling up on you; one thing will go wrong, then it can sometimes begin to snowball. For me, I believe it’s a case of how we think about things, how much we let the bad stuff get into our core. For some people, “realistic”, negative thinking is how they work. Their glasses are half empty, they ignore the bright side, they are driven by pessimism. When I think of all that, my heart sinks a little. Personally, I couldn’t live in that way. I feel like I would be in a permanent state of lowness. Instead, my glass is half full, I always try to look on the bright side and I am a bona fide optimist! The way I see it, a pessimist will see the negatives in a situation, and dismiss the positives; whereas a pessimist will acknowledge the negatives but still find the positives, and leave with a smile on their faces. It is a lot harder to smile when things go wrong, to keep going with a positive mindset, than it is to submit to the negativity and let it take hold of you.

I’ve learnt this the hard way. As much as I’ve tried my hardest to live my life in a positive manner, negativity has gripped me in the past. As a teenager, it gripped me so hard that I fell into depression a few times, and that is the worst case scenario. It’s why I embrace the positive mindset, it’s why I try to smile so much. Not so much to avoid depression, but because I have been to the bottom of the black hole, learnt how sad it made me, and know that I don’t want to feel that way again. I want to inject happiness into each and every day. By smiling, I am, hopefully, spreading a little happiness, and to make other people happy is such a good feeling. A lot of my inspiration comes from little humans, otherwise known as children. They are, for the most part, in touch with the magical essence of simple happiness. They are curious about the world around them. They can find little things to be happy about. They will fall over, scrunch their faces up…then pick themselves up and carry on. Life is dandy. Life is free. We can take inspiration from that. Sure, as adults, we have to face a lot of worries and stress, but we can also have beautiful moments of happiness. Roll with it, think positive and live happily.

My point is that even if things are not going your way, even if everything seems to be going pear-shaped, it is okay. Sometimes bad things will happen, but it is as much a part of life as grass being green and the sky being blue…it is a part of the balance. If you keep on going, you’ll soon find something to smile about again. Create it yourself. We have that amazing power, the power to change the way we think about things, to make our lives better. I promise you, if you are in a dark time at the moment, that light will come again. You will smile again, without having to force it. You will laugh, without a care in the world. Life is hard, but so very beautiful.

Always try to embrace positive, happy thoughts, and push the negative, bad thoughts away.

“If you don’t like something, change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” ~ Mary Engelbreit.

Human Nature

This made me think. It’s relevant, and people shouldn’t beat themselves up about it, and they shouldn’t hold it against other people. It is obvious that life won’t always be perfect, and it won’t always be happy. Sometimes, you might snap, and more often than not, it’ll be with the people you love the most. We submit to our feelings, at times, and let them take control over us, whether momentarily, or for a while, and during this time, we are likely to say things we don’t mean. Things that hurt both ourselves, and others. However, it’s life, and we’re only human. These things happen. Rather than let it take grip, and ruin your relationships, just apologise and talk it out with them. Sure, some people won’t accept your apologies, and that is their loss, really. Move on, find the people who matter.

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”

~ Dr. Seuss

Just be. Be with those you love. Be with what you love. Live your life with love. Hold no regrets, because life is beautiful, and having regrets is pointless when you can still do things to make sure you don’t have regrets. If you regret not doing something, do it now. If you regret saying something, make amends. Take life, grip it hard, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride. You have just as much right as anyone else to have a good life…so go ahead. Have a good life. You are in control…you’ve got this, kid.

365: Day 31

Been rather slow today; done a bit in my room, but mostly been on my laptop. At least I had a big mug of hot chocolate, with lovely words to inspire me. I got this mug for my mum a few years ago for her birthday, and I love it. Unfortunately, my sister loves it too…we probably all use it just as much as one another… Happy Tuesday to you all.

Keep the faith.

Last week, whilst in Bristol, I saw this written on a lamp-post, and my finger had to press the shutter button. At the time, it was just an inspirational message on a lamp-post. However, since then, my imagination has been going a little wild, and I could feel a blog post coming on. There are unlimited amounts of meanings that you could attach to “Keep the faith”. The meanings I attach to it are not related to religion. Instead, it is more about keeping the faith in yourself, and those around you, and your dreams, your passions, your life. That is where I believe you should keep the faith.

Keep the faith in yourself. It is you who has to carry your dreams, your soul; it is you who has the ultimate power in deciding where you want your life to head. People can tell you things, give you their opinions and make you feel a certain way, but at the end of the day, it is what you think that matters the most. Don’t put yourself down, don’t belittle yourself and don’t beat yourself up. The mind is a powerful thing, and your thoughts can be like daggers; learn to harness positive thoughts, and learn to love yourself. Only when you can love yourself, can you move forward in a truly constructive way, without anything holding you back. Yes, you must have faith in yourself, because if you don’t believe in yourself, then who will. You are your own best friend, and the more you believe this, the more you can openly share yourself with others. You are you, and to be anyone else would be a betrayal; never be a second rate version of someone else, always be a first rate version of yourself. Stay true, and keep the faith.

Keep the faith in others. There will be people in your life who mean a lot to you. If you don’t feel like you have those people in your life right now, then just hold on, because one day, your life will be enriched by the people in your life. Let those you love know how much you love them, tell them in quirky, new ways. Spend time with them. If they’re following a dream, give them motivation, give them someone to lean back on when the days are long and hard. We are all fighting a hard battle sometimes, so don’t knock others, and don’t dismiss others’ worries and fears, for they are just as real as your own. Be a good friend. Let people know that you are there for them, and carry that through; be there. Make some cups of tea, and sit with them. Make them laugh. Lighten their load. Believe in others, and their dreams. Keep the faith in others, it is important.

Keep the faith in what you do. For the most part, it is most likely what you have chosen to do. If it’s not, then start on the journey to changing this. Follow your heart. In the words of Steve Jobs: “Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” Any great journey has it’s low points too, so even if you are going through some of your worst days, don’t give up. Keep going, because you’re moving towards greater things. With the faith in yourself, and the faith in others, you can put the faith in what you do as well. Believe.

Just keep going, and don’t give up. This is so important. You will encounter people who will tell you what you can’t do. You will meet people who will have more of a negative impact on your life, rather than a good one. There will be people who just don’t see what you see. What you need to do is just rise above it all. Some people have a very limited outlook on things; but just remember, they haven’t been through what you’ve been through, so how do they have the power to say what is right or wrong for you? This year, I have come across someone that I hardly knew at all, but we knew through a mutual friend; and when this friend and I fell out, this person decided to try and bring me down. It resulted in me shutting down my FaceBook account, and closing myself off from all the people who know me. It was a good and bad thing; good because I needed the time away, I needed to discover myself again and give myself the time to heal, and bad because his words stuck with me, never underestimate the power of words. There will be people who will want to tear people down, to hurt people deliberately, but there are also people who want to support people, and build people up. Find the people who speak to your heart, and love them. Keep going, because brighter days could be just around the corner, and never, never give up. I was lucky. I had a handful of people who wouldn’t give up on me, they persisted, and they are special people. Sometimes it is in the worst of times that we find out who really cares. Seriously, find those who will be the light in your darkness, it will make all the difference.

Keeping the faith is one of the driving forces of life, and it can mean different things to different people, but these things above are the things that are important to me. Wherever your faith lies, look after it, and never let anyone knock your faith. You are strong, you can overcome the bad days and embrace the good days. Live your dreams.

Be Kind.