Life's Many Blessings

I will be one of the first to admit that I often take so many things for granted. Just like now, my brother interrupted my typing of this post to offer me some sourdough bread....random but I will happily accept any kind of munchie that comes my way! ^^ hehe

Today has just been one of those days that started out like any other ordinary day, but as the day passed on my mood just became lighter and lighter. It's like when you are just happy for no specific reason, and you decide to have a solo dance party in your car driving home. It's moments like these that I remember that I have so much to be thankful for in life, and that honestly yes, even though I could ask for so much more, I am perfectly happy how things are now. And so as tacky and overused as it is the saying that we should "count our blessings" is so true, and by focusing on all the good things in your life it makes it a lot easier to overlook the "bad" things and it's easier for a smile to pop up on your beautiful face.

So the next time you're having one of those "I'm just not feeling the love" moments try remembering all the good things that have happened to you or that are happening to you; and if that still doesn't help to lighten your mood give a stranger a compliment. And I don't just mean say something just for the sake of saying something, I mean give a genuine compliment to someone, because just by giving that someone a compliment you may just end up making their day. And when you see that change happen in someone, where their confidence goes up, or their day has just been made a little better you will feel oh so warm in fuzzy inside. Trust me, that's one of the reasons I work in retail...because let me tell you I hate having to sell stuff to people. If you've ever experienced a pushy salesperson I apologize!! I hate doing that to people and I myself feel so uncomfortable doing it, I just honestly love helping people and when I can do that (even if it means sending them to another store and losing out on a sale commission) I've done my job. It's genuine interactions between people that really leave you with the feeling that you've done something to make that person's day more positive, and when you spread positive energy you get it back twofold.

Some people like to keep gratitude journals where they keep track of things that they're grateful for everyday, knowing me I'd skip days or even weeks, so I just prefer to share my thoughts here. And it doesn't matter whether people will or will not read this, because I'm not writing this blog in order to have thousands or millions of readers, I'm just writing so that I can post my thoughts somewhere....and if someone happens to come across this blog I hope that you can take something away from it. And so with that, dear reader, whomever you may be, I leave you. Until next time!

New Year, New Start

As sappy and cheesy as it is, a new year can really mark a time of change and new things to come in our lives. But in all honesty we can make changes in our lives any day and moment in which we choose, small or big we decide how to live our lives every day by the actions we choose to make.

2014 marked probably the biggest year of my life, aside from the year it all started back in 1992. And while I haven't lived the longest life in history, it's been a life of ups and downs, triumphs and defeats, highs and lows....but honestly who's life isn't like that anyways? It's just how life works. Some experience so much in so little time, while others experience much less in much more time; it's what makes us human and individuals. Over this past year I've experienced so much, both good and bad, and I feel like I've learned and grown so much and yet at the same time it feels as if I've only just begun. Things that used to seem simple are now complex, and things that seemed complex don't seem to matter anymore. I gained a huge part of myself through my travels and yet I lost an even bigger part through what I endured. Does life always have to be this?....This constant scale of give and take, light and dark....

You don't know happiness until you've experienced sadness...the age old saying that encompasses life's timeline. There are those who choose to remember the good, others the bad, and some both. It's hard to only think of the good, when there has been so much bad especially when the bad moments are the moments that hurt you the most and left you with the scars that have helped you along your journey of growth. And yet it is painful to only keep hold of the bad, it leads one into a depth of darkness that people often lose their way in. So how do we know how much good and how much bad to keep with us? To that my friends, I do not have an answer. For you see, like you I struggle with this question each and every single day, and in every moment in which I think back on 2014. I think back on all the good that happened, and in truth it was such an amazing year; and then I reflect on the moment that changed my life forever. And I can't help but to think, what if things had been different? What if I could turn back time, and change one decision, would things have been different?...And while I know that there is little use in dwelling on these thoughts I can't help but have them.

2015, brings about a time of change. It is a time where I can begin to heal and recover. It is also a time for me to make change in my life. With the end of 2014 came the end of a chapter in my life, and with the start of 2015 comes the start of a new chapter. And while I do not know what lies ahead for me, I know that time will not stop and that with each passing day comes a new beginning, a new chance, and a new dawn.

--To the one who taught me to always be strong, and to fight with all I've got up until the very end. I love you forever and always, dad.--