Funny Face Monday 9.8.14

Wow. Another weekend that flew by. That’s okay though, because mine was filled with tailgates and football and brunch, naps and drawing and reading. Awesome balance. This week is going to be better. I just know it : - ) .

What is your week looking like?

GRATITUDE ||

I am grateful for the weather change.

I am grateful for the changes that exist within me.

I am grateful for friends, brunch, and a whole lot of laughs.

I am grateful for time spent in the present and less in the past and future.

I am grateful for new music that keeps me bopping.

I am grateful for this ritual, which can be a little out there but keeps me centered.

I am grateful for compassion and love and everything in between.

I am grateful for understanding emotions and how to tame them.

I am grateful for you and for me, for our pain and our triumph, for our difficulty and our excellence.

What are you grateful for today?

xxoo

[tailgating and then simple brunching with coffee by yours truly]

Overflow with Presence ~ 9.2.14

"If people tell you that you should live your life preparing for the future, do not believe them. Real life is found only in the present" -Tolstoy

What is your present? What is it like? Does it entertain you, fuel you, fill you with desire? If not, work to make it your ideal life now. There is not a future emotion or state of being where you will deserve happiness, love, and laughter. There is no ideal weight or sense of hope or presence that grants you the right to feel passion, energy, and wholeness. Do not be discouraged, light is within all of us. Like Tolstoy says, those who surround us can get caught in the hustle and bustle that is life and believe that everything we do is only for later means. What if later never comes? Sorry to sound morbid, but what if all you do is prepare and prepare and then never get to enjoy your life? Sounds terrible, doesn't it? So live and let live! Be happy, be sorry, be filled with so much emotion you overflow from the heart, with tears from your eyes, with screams of joy. You deserve it right this very second. So find your present and please, please, please be grateful and humble and overjoyed. Just be.

xxoo

[pictures by cell phone by yours truly]

Truth Walking ~ 9.1.14

Walk in your truth while allowing others to have their own truths as well. Notice how the world naturally becomes an ideal sanctuary. People are living in harmony with one another, with no judgment, an absolute acknowledgement that we are all human, friend, and spirit, and therefore deserving of love, truth, and respect.

September already!! Two months and my birthday comes… woo! I'm getting ready to write my birthday list, sending out positive vibes and intentions to open my heart to receiving. I firmly believe that you receive what you put out into the universe. But there’s something to think about—learning how to open ourselves and be receptive to love and happiness just as much as we give our heart and emotions to others. I know I have difficulty accepting an offered hand or word of praise. Because to be receptive, I have to be vulnerable and aware. Of suffering, guilt, sadness, bliss, peace, and vibrancy. Sometimes this is the only thing I can accomplish during the day, and other times times it's so hard I can only hope for an ounce of awareness.

But each day is an opportunity to start fresh, so take that chance and be receptive, breathed, and loved!

Just start today loving and being loved. Imagine it. Let your pores breathe it in! Let your being soak up what is good and bad and beautiful. And then share it with others. Share your good, allow another to be receptive, and repeat the beautiful process until we are all humming with gratitude and loveliness and truth.

||Gratitude||

I am grateful for my truth.

I am grateful for those that allow me to be exactly who I am, whether they agree with my ideas or not.

I am grateful for fire, water, earth, & air.

I am grateful for sleeping in too late and allowing myself to let it go.

I am grateful for readers in different countries that draw forth my curiosity and love.

I am grateful for collaborations with inspired spirits thousands of miles away.

I am grateful for creativity.

I am grateful for Netflix and naps on hazy Sunday afternoons.

I am grateful for breaks and breaths.

I am grateful for profound self-discoveries.

I am grateful for the realization that today is perfect. Living for tomorrow, the future, the ifs and whens, doesn’t bring gratitude and love now. To be present is to be surrounded with happiness and purpose. To live for a later time is false hope and a lack of reality.

I am grateful for the present.

I am grateful for love.

I am filled with the heart-overflowing-with-love emotion for those who read my posts, support my dreams, and allow me to walk in my truth.

Where would you be if you walked in your truth instead of your shoulds?

xxoo

[picture of a Carolina sunset by yours truly]