The Beautiful Moments

My life is not perfect; I have flaws. But it's rather brilliant to know such.

I don't believe we share that enough with each other. We see the success but not the many attempts beforehand, the confidence but not the heart jumping inside from anxiety, the calm but not the storm. 

Yet it's during the storm that we need to know that others have made it through. So keep me in mind when that heart starts pounding, or you just want to eat all the ice cream you can find. You aren't the only one; I've been there too.

And, frankly, it's not going to be a one time deal. But neither are the beautiful moments.


---


My mother always told me, "Flaws denote authenticity." What a beautiful thought.

The Eye of The Beholder is Beautiful.

There is so much beauty in the world.

I've been surrounded recently by gorgeous floral arrangements, breath-taking locations, and inspirational people.

I've always known that I need to be doing something involving beauty to be satisfied, but when I went to find that, I was lost. Not because I couldn't find it but because I find beauty in almost everything.

So I get stuck.

I finally think that I've separated my dedication to or interest in something--then it shows it's beauty--and I'm hooked again.

Seems frustrating on paper.

It's actually wonderful, this redemption that I continue to encounter. It reminds me that I hold beauty, but more importantly, it helps me practice seeing it in others so I'm ready when those really blurry moments come. 


What have you discovered to be beautiful lately?

Gratitude in a cup

Sometimes, it's merely the fact that I have coffee in my cup that keeps me going. At least I have coffee and a cup. Even if I don't understand anything else that's going on today, this is enough to keep me moving.

What's your everyday blessing?

A lot to catch up on.

I've had some great experiences since my last post. I watched a friend launch an album in London (via the internet). I've been traveling all over and meeting wonderful people. I took the next step in my career... Some heavy lifting for 2 weeks.

I'm not done traveling so I think that's foremost on my mind. It's such a gift to go and experience another part of the world (I've stayed in the country but it can seem like different worlds). I haven't felt this charged for a while...

I love to meet new people and go outside my norms. Traveling does that, but the constant is when I'm in a big city. Even the days when I lived in London and didn't want to leave my flat for anything were exciting because I knew that I could walk outside and experience someone in an instance.  You don't have to be in a big city to do that, but my smaller hometown is less of a walking community, and I very seldom meet a new face after living there for so long.

Here's my double blessing drama. My hometown has some of my favorite people in it, but not the lifestyle that I crave at this point in life. The places that allow that lifestyle constantly renew me and push me to grow into myself but don't hold all my dearest no longer is the nearest...

So do I stay where it's comfortable and enjoy the people knowing that I can go visit these energizing places? Or do I move with the knowledge that we've never been able to stay so connected, and I can always visit home?

This choice. It seems to consume my thoughts sometimes. It's overwhelming at times.. but it's a blessing to have it.

A Dog's Life...

Last week I house and dog sat for my brother and his wife who were out of town. It was exhausting. Lucy, the 1 year old puppy, seems to have a limitless supply of energy. She would wake us up every morning around 5:00, snuggle for 45 minutes letting us think that we had a break and then come walk around our faces until we got up.

She didn't just want food or to go out either; she wanted to go for a walk where she would actually run after every bird, squirrel or leaf that moved. Nevertheless, it made me into a morning person for the week. And it hasn't quite left. I did sleep in the first day I wasn't with her to catch up on sleep, but now I've been getting a start on my day a little quicker than normal. I am much more appreciative of my sleep.

Work hard, play more, sleep well.

It's really a blessing to be able to help out my family. Not everyone gets a chance to serve others. I forget that far too often. It is an honor, not a burden, to serve one another.

(Side note: They just got a new puppy yesterday. Welcome to the fam, Norah!)

Frozen grapes.

Today was a day of patience. Work seemed to linger on for days before an hour actually passed. It was during this time that I recognized how patient people are with me. I'm a handful, and yet the world seems to keep opening it's giant hands to me.

I came home after work to a messy house and thought about how nice it would be if I could clean it before the hubs came home. [I'll be honest that my first thought was how nice it would be to come home to a clean house, and then it switched to how great it would be to surprise him. Overall, not too selfish.]

I never ended up cleaning. I took a call from a friend instead. I've been trying to take more calls. I sometimes press silent so I can have some down time. That's an odd mindset since typically I end up having a good laugh and feeling more rejuvenated after talking to a friend. Be patient & laugh more. That's a good mantra to end the day.

Don't worry,  I didn't forget the grapes! I've mentioned how I'm thankful for the internet's ability to connect us. Well, someone on Twitter reminded me that frozen grapes are delicious (red of course, I've never tried frozen green grapes). On my walk home from work I was able to pick up some grapes and freeze them as I made dinner so I could enjoy each little morsel all night long. What a blessing.

[Patience while they freeze, please.]

The beginning.

It's not that I haven't ever been grateful before or realized how blessed I am. I used to be very good at it, in fact. And since my mind rarely shuts off I figured it would be healthy / awakening / beneficial to me [or more likely those with whom I interact] to give a little more of that thought-time to the goodness of life.

A blog in itself is a huge blessing to someone like me who can never seem to keep actual papers or journals organized and uncluttered. It is still shocking to remember that this wasn't available when I was born. We have access to information and relationships that were once unfathomable; I appreciate the generosity of those who share all of these emotions, logic, knowledge, humour, and beauty on here. Even the negative sides of the internet can be eye-opening. My mother used to always tell me that I could learn something from everyone: how I want to be or how I don't want to be. (She'll be a blessing for another post...or many)

But let's not get overwhelmed on the first day. This is a journey of gratefulness...