December

(I feel like it is a trend in life right now to emphasize excitement by de-emphasizing it. In other words saying exciting/cool things with little emotion. Like saying "I am so pumped" without an exclamation mark. Dry humor? People trying to not look too enthusiastic? Or maybe I'm just crazy ha.)

Anyhoo.

I am so pumped...

:)

Moments Like This

I stand in awe of human potential.

I feel encompassed and surrounded and strengthened by the power of love and hope.

I am humbled by the tumbles of life...so much pain everywhere...
                         ...yet so much goodness.

So much more yet to come.

We're all finding our way. I don't think we'll ever stop feeling like that.

But there is joy in this journey. Rainbows waiting to peek through the clouds.

I feel aware of an ever-present ..
                     (oh, what's the word?)

Does love cover it?

It is so easy to feel alone and sub-par. But don't give up.

We have time, if we use it. Just keep swimming :)

There was a time when I felt this awe--everything I just said--whenever I thought about the potential of others, then turn around silently despaired when my thoughts turned to myself. Hope for the world, for others, but none for myself. I just wasn't good enough. Everyone was worth loving, but how could I be?

So.....I realize being happy isn't a matter of just making the simple decision to see life through rose-colored glasses.

But I wish I could show the world the difference you feel when you can feel that love and hope for others AND for yourself.

I wish I could give that to people as easy as giving them a smile. 


A dear friend recently shared a thought with me by Longfellow:
"If we could read the secret histories of others we would find pain and sorrow enough to disarm all hostility."


Pain, by contrast, can highlight love and hope.

Man.

Life is crazy. People are worth it.

:)

Gracefully

Not really sure who to attribute this poem to.
I found it at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-forgive-2/
So there :)

I love it!

To Forgive

"To forgive
Is not to forget.

To forgive
Is really to remember
That nobody is perfect
That each of us stumbles
When we want so much to stay upright
That each of us says things
We wish we had never said
That we can all forget that love
Is more important that being right.

To forgive is really to remember
That we are so much more
Than our mistakes
That we are often more kind and caring.
That accepting another's flaws
Can help us accept our own.

To forgive
Is to remember
That the odds are pretty good that
We might soon need to be forgiven ourselves.
That life sometimes gives us more
Than we can handle gracefully.

To forgive
Is to remember
That we have room in our hearts to

Begin again...And again."

:)

P.S.

I don't know why this makes me laugh so much..

"I don't like spinach, and I'm glad I don't, because if I liked it I'd eat it, and I just hate it."
~Clarence Darrow

:) :)

Traveled Man

I think today I have officially crossed the line from "tired" to "exhausted." (And yet...I love everything I'm doing. I could definitely find better balance in some ways. But I'm working on it ha!)

A lot of thoughts on my mind lately.

One thought starts with this poem! :)

The Traveled Man--Ella Wheeler Wilcox

"Sometimes I wish the railroads all were torn out,
The ships all sunk among the coral strands.
I am so very weary, yea, so worn out,
With tales of those who visit foreign lands.

When asked to dine, to meet these traveled people,
My soup seems brewed from cemetery bones.
The fish grows cold on some cathedral steeple,
I miss two courses while I stare at thrones.

I'm forced to leave my salad quite untasted,
Some musty, moldy temple to explore.
The ices, fruit, and coffee all are wasted
While into realms of ancient art I soar.

I'd rather take my chance of life and reason,
If in a den or roaring lions hurled
Than for a single year, ay, for one season,
To dwell with folks who'd traveled round the world.

So patronizing are they, so oppressive,
With pity for the ones who stay at home,
So mighty is their knowledge, so aggressive,
I ofttimes wish they had not cesaed to roam.

They loathe the new, they quite detest the present;
They revel in a pre-Columbian morn;
Just dare to say America is pleasant,
And die beneath the glances of their scorn.

They are increasing at a rate alarming,
Go where I will, the traveled man is there.
And now I think that rustic wholly charming
Who has not strayed beyond his meadows fair."

Now I'll be honest...most of the "traveled" people I have met aren't this cocky and patronizing. The "rustic wholly charming" doesn't need to feel inferior.

I think the "travelling man" definitely gets cool new perspectives on others and themselves. Heck, I'm definitely prone to get bit by the travel-hungry bug. But you can learn a lot right out your front door--many valuable people and experiences exactly in the phase of life/place in life you are at.

Both are good. It is good to take advantage of opportunities to expand. Meanwhile, love where you are!

That is good for me to remember. I would love to be able to spend more time with people in other places. (Mo-town? ahem...Logan?!)

But life is good y'all

:)

(PS the title of this poem reminds me of the OOOOOOOOOOOOLD song by Ricky Nelson called Traveling Man. A very old patient sang it to me :))

Bold

"Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim." George Santayana

Hearing things like this, and seeing people who act like this, has made me cautious about asserting my opinions.
(Funny to say that on a blog where all I do is spout my opinions ha)

And yet, I've also been told that I am one stubborn individual! :)

So...on my mind tonight is the difference between being

                      stubborn/extreme/obstinate 

and being 

bold/courageous or sticking-to-your-guns when it matters. 

Grounded AND open-minded.

I think that people want to be good. I think that a lot of the mistakes we make come from people trying to do something good, and taking that too far or mistakenly running with a twisted version of a good idea.

Listening to Jeffrey R. Holland speak tonight cleared some of this up for me.

http://www.lds.org/broadcasts/watch/ces-devotionals/2012/09?lang=eng

I feel emboldened, but not in a rampage (slash get-in-other-people's-grill) kinda way.

I feel reminded that to be bold means standing firm on what you know is true and loving those who view things differently. It means being open to learning and integrating truth.

It means when you are making a point or supporting a cause, it is not to prove yourself right or appear superior. It is to help others. To love others!

:)