let the right things catch up - believe in them.

"when you stop chasing the wrong things, you give the right things a chance to catch you"

i believe people are inherently good. 
i believe people should respect their fellow man. 
i believe in second and third chances. 
i believe in forgiveness. 
i believe in smiling everyday, even if it means laughing at myself. 
i believe in looking outside and seeing beauty when i am losing focus. 
i believe in being thankful for friends. 
i believe in feeling lucky, not worthy. 
i believe in bright colors. 
i believe in iced tea, iced cream and iced water. 
i believe people, including me, need hugs. 
i believe in following my heart. 
i believe in other people. 
i believe in warm mugs of tea. 
i believe in frothy lattes. 
i believe in hopefulness. one of my top values is keeping a hopeful heart. 
i believe in staying true to myself. 

"you move things forward just by talking about them" - maria ressa

talk.

yesterday we did. 

and we decided that our 

easy-going ways 

sometimes hinder us. 

love takes flexibility.

there are lessons in 

basketball and dancing. 

learning to trust.

i am enough.

you are enough. 

we are. 

running. 

de-stracted

this morning, i wish our town was disconnected

i wish there were no phones or wifi or computers

none of that distraction

i wish clocks, cd players, heaters and lights were the only things to use up electricity 

in all of our houses. 

i wish i wasn't checking my phone every few minutes

and i wish for serenity and peace.  

i'm craving simplicity and relaxation - 

time when i honestly sit and think, while others are doing it, too!

i won't be interrupted by a blasting cell phone ring

or an email update about a class.

i might sit and drink coffee while reading a book of poetry

or telling a funny story to someone i love.  

in fact, the next time i hear about an assignment, in our disconnected town

would be the next time i am in the classroom.

it wouldn't be expected this week, that i check 

three different sources for updates, emails and news...

why do we keep creating ways to get information to each other? 

it tires me out sometimes. 

if i want to see my friends, i'll go see them. 

i won't sit by the phone waiting to hear

or text five people to see who has the best thing going on.

i want to just enjoy life and take it as it comes. 

i don't want to stress about tomorrow before it comes

or think about today and worry it won't pan out perfectly. 

i want to appreciate my life by accepting it. 

i want to accept my life by living it.

i want to live my life without so much expectation. 

inhale, exhale

I think it is so important, a few times each day, to really breathe.  Open your throat and let in some glorious, cleansing air. Close your eyes and feel the wind of your breathe fill you with life. It's amazing how clear and renewed you will feel. Deep breathing reminds me that everything is good. And, perhaps any worry I felt today, was just my amazing lungs reaching and wishing for bigger breathes. Ahhhh (:

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE AREN'T THINGS

Always pray to have eyes that see the best, a heart that forgives the worst, a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith. 

Feel my love

Holly and Matt got married yesterday. Sweat dripped down my legs as I stood in the line of bridesmaids during the ceremony. It must have been around 95 degrees out. Then, a thunderstorm rolled in about an hour into the reception. And, you know what? The day was perfect. The song they danced to actually began with the line "when the rain is pouring in your face" ... while they danced in the rain. So sweet!! (;

I'm  so happy for them. They are going to have so much fun together. 

let us always be able to say: i can feel my heart

http://snd.sc/1cWeVki

THE REAL THING by: KATE WALSH

saved by call of summer
it warmed my bones like no other
bathed my heart
warmed my heart...

you know it's coming
it never, ever left
don't let him suffer
i know it's real
cause i can feel my heart

i spread my wings in that forest
and gave my heart
to the man on the moon
he saved my soul
he saved my soul

you know it's coming
it never, ever left
don't let him suffer
you know it's real
if you can feel your heart 

I always want to be a feeling person.  I want to notice and realize and enjoy and endure things.  The worst, saddest thing, I think, would be to become numb.  I don't want to become numb to people, experiences or feeling happy.  James Taylor's lyrics "the secret o' life is enjoying the passage of time" - that little passage...oh my!  It's so true that enjoyment unlocks everything.  We find our: opinions, our values, our happiness, our faith and our love.... in enjoying!  Don't let your nerves go numb.  Drink caffeine, eat ice cream, go swimming, walk barefoot on hot sand, brush your hair, apply aloe to your sunburned skin.  Just enjoy the passage of time and all that it brings.  Remember to feel your heart so that it will be open and ready - to ENJOY for many more years.  :)

what is your ocean to fly?

Hug someone today. And consciously take some deep, cleansing, real breathes. <3

"LET THE DEW OF MY PRESENCE REFRESH YOUR MIND AND HEART.  AS DEW REFRESHES GRASS AND FLOWERS DURING THE STILLNESS OF THE NIGHT, SO MY PRESENCE REVITALIZES YOU AS YOU SIT QUIETLY WITH ME."
- Jesus Calling

olivia's rxn

"maybe there's a season when i'll taste that wine
a thimble at a time
a thimble full of wine"
- hummingbird by the weepies
In time, things will come.  Maybe I would like to experience something now, but those little tastes of it, when it comes...they will be perfect :).  Just gotta wait. 

"man should forget his anger
before he lies down to sleep"
- mahatma ghandi
I have heard several times, that you shouldn't go to sleep angry.  I believe that so much.  Sometimes I go to sleep feeling upset, and I never feel as rested or satisfied when I awake from those sleeps.  

"even a soul submerged in sleep
is hard at work and helps
makes something of the world"
- heraclitus
This reminds me of tests.  No matter how much I want to stay up and study and stuff facts into my brain, that sweet sleeping hour is what really strengthens my ability to reason and ace any test.  

"a tiger doesn't lose sleep
over the opinion of sheep"
- unknown
If you believe in yourself, and really value yourself, then nothing else matters.  The opinions of others, the things people may think or say...they don't mean a darn thing if you're living right..according to yourself :) ahhh feels good

"thousands of candles can be lit
from a single candle,
and the life of the candle
will not be shortened.
Happiness never decreases
by being shared."
- buddha
I love this one.  It's rings so truly in life.  Moments of shared happiness are the best ones, they are filled with positivity and enrich my life to the fullest it can be.  

"let yourself be silently drawn
by the strange pull of what you really
love.
it will not lead you astray"
- rumi
This is something I try to let seep in to my life everyday.  Learning to listen to myself and only do things because they will make me h

"making the simple complicated
is commonplace
making the complicated simple,
awesomely simple,
that's creativity"
- charles mingus
I find the greatest moments in my life have been when I'm accidentally creative.  When I created something in a moment with no pre-planned ideas or notions in my head.  

"all this nothing has meant more
to me than so many things"
- kathleen kelly (you've got mail)
Sometimes things are just things and the moments of relaxation and contemplation are most meaningful.  

"we do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals
that deep inside us, something is valuable, worth listening to,
worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.  once we believe in
ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight,
or any experience that reveals the human spirit"
- e. e. cummings
My parents are all in this quote.  They have given me the biggest sense of purpose.  I cannot count the times that they have helped me remember my worth...because of them, I have more self confidence, respect and love.  So wonderful :)