A New Narrative + #MyPostMonday Linky

Some people never change, and then some do! It's funny how some people I haven't seen in many years will reappear and somehow they are different than when I knew them back in the day.

For instance, one of my high school friends whom I knew quite well was so boy crazy! Everything she did was done to impress and snag a boy! I used to think, "Girl, get a grip. There is more to life than just boys!" Needless to say she met someone right out of high school, her prince charming, and got married. Unfortunately, it ended in divorce.

To know her now is to see her minus the boy crazy, self-absorbed personality she once had. Now, she is all about her children, her grandchildren and about making a better world around her. She is absolutely wonderful to be around. My thoughts about her are that she has really changed and has caught hold of the important things in life. I know she will again find love because she is a beautiful person. But it isn't the all-consuming passion of her life that it once was. She has broadened her scope.

Have I changed too? How have my experiences changed and shaped me? Do former acquaintances see a gentler, more compassionate person or do they see the same impulsive, crazy, moody person I once was?

Choosing Happy + #MyPostMonday The Week's Best Original Content

I am in quite a quandary right now. I enjoyed the best summer vacation--I got to blog, travel, relax, enjoy family, get creative, and develop myself as a person. Then the school year began and although I like my job, I don't love it. And when things get hard, like when one of our staff is gone and we have to do double duty, then I really don't love it. (In fact, it approaches intense dislike) That is why I've been absent here for awhile. When work gets stressful, my routine suffers. I neglect my health more because I don't take the time to plan my eating routine and work out, etc. My husband starts acting really needy because I don't have time or energy to give him the attention he seems to crave. And my blogging suffers because I am tired and am basically in survival mode. 
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Right now, I need to make sure that I have the right mindset because the most important thing for me is that I am happy during stressful times. If it means I need a pint of Haagen-Daas chocolate ice cream, (which I did "need" today) in order to survive and feel like I am happy, then that is what I'm going to do. However, if over the course of a week, my pants start feeling uncomfortably snug, am I doing a myself a favor? I think not. But are these stupid little stresses even worth worrying about? 

#MyPostMonday Link-Up--The Week's Best Original Content

Dreaming Vs. Living
Which of the following two philosophies do you subscribe to? 1) Dreaming is essential in order for you to visualize what you want in life. Imagining what life might or could be like gives someone motivation to eventually achieve their goals. Life without dreaming is not life at all. OR...
2) Don't waste your time daydreaming and live the good life that's right in front of you! A dreamer will never accomplish what a doer always will! 
Do you see the difference in these two philosophies? One of them comes from good authority, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling!

Image by Rochelle Chee

Can these two life ideals live peacefully side by side? I think it definitely depends on the situation.  

Philosophy #1 - Dream. It is so important to dream, to visualize, to ponder what it is that you want in life. Without it, one would never figure out what to aspire to, what you are capable of achieving, and what you need to look for if you indeed want to attain a certain goal. There is definitely a time and place to dream. But when and how much? My definite feeling would be to do that sometime at the start of the day and also at the end of the day, like a planning session in the morning and a debriefing session at night, leaving it all behind until the next day. During those moments, incorporate those powerful positive affirmations, prayers, meditation, list-making, and list check-offs. I think it is essential to do that. And it takes about 60 minutes total.

Philosophy #2 - Live. The rest of the 23 hours in your day are for you to live, to grab life and make it yours! We're here on this planet called earth, there's nothing we can do about it but relish it. Acknowledge our shortcomings, our inabilities, our abilities, our handicaps, and our misgivings. Take it all and live it because it will be gone before you know it! And that is where we get stuck a lot of the time, because we are afraid to live! 

I don't think living means that we are active and going full speed 24 hours of the day. Sometimes it means enduring things like waiting for others, doing less-than-exciting tasks, resting our bodies, strengthening our minds, and learning new things. That's OK! It's part of life and sometimes part of living means finding satisfaction and enjoyment in the most menial of tasks. 

But if we can find a balance between dreaming and living, I believe we have just found the sweet spot in life and are on the road to true happiness! Have you found the perfect balance between dreaming and living? 

 Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)

#MyPostMonday Link-Up--The Week's Best Original Content!

 Exploring One Way Or The Other

With the trending craze and obvious popularity of the new "Poke Mon Go" App, I've been a little dumbfounded by the whole thing. There are things that I can see which are very detrimental to a generation of children, raised on staring down at a phone for inordinate amounts of time. But I just know if I was a kid when this came out, I'd be all over it too! To be given a certain amount of time by my parents to roam freely around a neighborhood, letting the game dictate where the next stop is would be amazingly liberating. But what about all the phone neck injuries from staring down so long, and the accidents that will inevitably happen to the unobservant? It was bad enough for me as a teenager, without Poke Mon! For example, I rode my bike into a road construction hole because it wasn't clearly marked and the sun had gone down. I was fortunate to avoid the rebar protruding out at all angles. I spent a mere two days in the hospital with bruised kidneys. Imagine what I'd be like staring down at a game! 

Clear Vision + #MyPostMonday Link-Up

It has been a really hard few months for everyone and I'm not just talking Americans. With the advent of the internet, we are painfully aware of many of the world's tragedies unfolding before our eyes. And since it is so easy to hop on a plane, and be in another country in a matter of a few hours, we feel more connected than ever to our brothers and sisters overseas. There is anger and outrage, no matter what side you're on, and either side feels they have the monopoly on being right. There seems to be no shortage of those who will take matters into their own hands and wield out punishments they feel are deserved for injustices caused, not even to them personally, but done to others who may be similar in circumstances, beliefs, color, religion, politics, etc. The list goes on and on. 

Personally, I feel like crawling in a little hole and just letting it all pass by, hoping I somehow won't be affected by it all. Not saying I'm doing that--I am very tuned in to Social Media, like everyone else. I get the news. I get at least several reports per day on the things that are going down. It is disturbing. Those who do nothing are as bad as those who go against the cause.

A Masterpiece + #MyPostMonday Link-up

Sometimes things happen and it just seems wrong! Long story short--if the beauty of nature is formed under duress, I guess we can assume that as humans we take similar patterns. Here's my thought--
Our untold potential lays dormant, waiting for us to make of ourselves what we have the potential to do. We have the power within to mold something spectacular. No excuses. It doesn't happen overnight. But we are eternal beings of intelligence and light. We have the ages on our sides. Each stage of life holds an opportunity if we but take hold of it. Just as beauty is created from opposing forces of nature, so is the soul. Take the things that happen which are painful, cataclysmic, and searing to render a masterpiece!

Image by Kris Moffitt