People are awesome

I am surrounded by selfless people! 
They blow my mind everyday.


People at work,
Random people,
Volunteers,
Roommates,
Friends,
Family,


Thanks.


:)

Pocket Full O' Sunshine and Benjamin

Happiness. What a smiley word,eh? :)


Drum-roll for this quote puh-lease:

"Moreover, Gentlemen, is it so evident that happiness, of whatever kind, is the only aim of mankind? 

If it were so, our course would be narrow indeed, and our destination far from elevated.

There is not one single one of us who, if he wished to abase himself, restrain his moral faculties, lower his desires, abjure activity, glory, deep, and generous emotions, could not demean himself and be happy.

No, Sirs, I bear witness to the better part of our nature, that noble disquiet which pursues and torments us, that desire to broaden our knowledge and develop our faculties. 

It is not to happiness alone, it is to self-development that our destiny calls us...."

That, dear friends, comes from Benjamin Constant's writing on liberty (which I came across whilst immersed in my American Heritage studies ha).


And I'd like to add that I think such self-development makes us happy in itself. 


Not everything we work towards we do simply for happiness (when you mean happiness to be a state of pleasure and contentment). Good things can be hard, uncomfortable, even distasteful!


Sometimes the happiness comes along the way while you are developing your self. Sometimes it comes in moments of relief from struggle. 


What makes you happy? (Slash who makes you happy?) Those are good things to put effort into. (Funny that we don't always associate happiness with work, but you become happier when you work at the right things.)


Just thought I'd share this nice tidbit from the 1700's!


:)


P.S. Anyone like Wicked? "Happiness is what happens when all your dreams come true. Well, isn't it?" 


:)

Decisions, decisions

Isn't it funny how we can simultaneously

resist the thought of other people/organizations making decisions for us AND

wish we didn’t have to choose?

We all live under laws/rules/commandments/whatever you want to call them. 

     Something telling you what is good to do.

These laws are often very specific about certain expectations. 

Do this. Don’t do that.

How strictly we interpret and live up to that law is often up to us. 

Which is great!

It doesn’t always feel so great :) When I am exasperated from struggling between two-or more-alternatives that seem attractive in their own ways, I find myself thinking that life would be easier if everything were spelled out for us.

What if I choose wrong and miss out on a great opportunity?

Well. I guess delaying decisions doesn’t help me take advantage of awesome opportunities, does it?

Definitely we should think things through before we make choices (usually. Ha! Some things are more fun when they erupt spontaneously)…but today I got a great reminder that CHOICES are fabulous!

They are well-worth the struggles we go through to make them.

:)

HIGH High Heels

Ok, so shoes aren't SOOOOO inspiring. I guess.


But I love them :)



Let's start with the fabulous ones...

Yes. Oh yes.

Pretty!

Rainbow, woot woot.

Love the textures. And the colors. And the all-of-them

<3 <3 <3

CUUUTE!

I LOVE that the backs are colorful :)

And now for some crazy ones...

No arch! Cool!

Banana shoes :D

Llama face! ...or toucan...

Teacup shoes!

 Flippers!

Playground shoes :D

Training wheel shoes!

Nike shoes. I think Sarah should wear these.

And now, for the grand finale of high heels...

Gum-stuck-to-shoe Shoes! 

Fantastic

:)

Paradox

Guess what?
People are important.
Yup.


I know. In the grand scheme of things it is very easy to feel very insignificant. Admittedly, our sphere of influence is probably very small. But who said an influence had to be far-reaching or dramatic to be important?


In fact, if you think like that, it is a small jump to conclude that everything is purposeless and pointless. Sure, individuals play a role among mankind; what makes that important?  Who says the human race matters at all?


My opinion:

Don't go down that road. 

When we stop worrying about whether our efforts matter, and concentrate on working our hardest for what we believe is good (such as self-improvement and helping others), meaning and purpose finds its way into your actions and your life. 

I think it is good to evaluate (and re-evaluate) what we do, to make sure our motivations are good and the results we are getting match that purpose. If what you are doing is pointless, then it isn't worth pursuing. 

And now we're back to the beginning of the circle.

Is anything worth pursuing? 

I say yes. 

Maybe all we can do is try to step out of the circle. "Stepping out" meaning having the the courage (or faith, or however you want to phrase "it") to decide you believe something is important and working to secure/improve that. 

I'm rambling. (oops) :) 

So here is the nutshell:

When you believe that nothing matters, that thought can weigh on you til-in submission-you stop trying to work towards anything or you decide to purely pursue frivolous things. I think as we stop worrying about that,  we find out that there is purpose. 

People don't matter if you think in a worldly kind of logical way...yet they (meaning WE) are all that matter.  


:)

All or Nothing?

Today I read a chapter from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's book "Flow" for one of my classes. The excerpt is good but if you don't have time for the whole thing, at least read the ending lines.

“One of the major functions of every culture has been to shield its members from chaos, to reassure them of their importance and ultimate success…Without such trust in exclusive privileges it would be difficult to face the odds of existence.

This is as it should be. But…an unrealistic trust in the shields, in the cultural myths, can lead to equally extreme disillusion when they fail. This tends to happen whenever a culture has had a run of good luck and for awhile seems indeed to have found a way of controlling the forces of nature. At that point it is logical for it to begin believing that it is a chosen people who need no longer fear any major setback…

When people start believing that progress is inevitable and life easy, they may quickly lose courage and determination in the face of the first signs of adversity. As they realize that what they had believed in is not entirely true, they abandon faith in everything else they have learned. Deprived of the customary supports that cultural values had given them, they flounder in a morass of anxiety and apathy.”

True? False? A bit of both?

Based on my experience last Winter I'd say it is true. 

I think the idea is important to hear.

When something is confusing, or not as certain as it used to be, that is not necessarily cause to abandon everything related to it. But I definitely believe it is reason to investigate and think more deeply about the matter. 


:)

Provo!!!

I'm really glad I got to live at home this summer; I love my family! They are all so fantastic :) 
(Don't let the rest of this thought cheapen what I just said.)


I LOVE PROVO! 


College town: traffic, figuring out what the heck to eat, walking to campus (and feeling older as the freshmen seem younger than in the past), incredible roommates, reorganizing your stuff, new goals, friends, spontaneously staying up way too late, cool classes, possibilities, etc. It is invigorating. 


(Random experience that made my day:) Whilst driving to Provo, I passed a middle-aged man on the freeway. He had his window down and was rolling the air around on his hand, enjoying the day. I smiled at him. He saw me and smiled back!
I kept driving, then I rolled down my own window, turned up my music, and grinned to the world. I was coming back!


Also, I took the cube test today. Ever heard of it?


-Tonight, I saw a zillion and three stars :) :) :)
-Tonight I saw the COOLEST CLOUDS (clouds fascinate me in a they-freak-me-out kinda way: they don't look real)
-And tonight the sky unleashed the craziest lightning/rain storm!
Have I ever mentioned that the sky is one of the most soul-stopping, awe-inspiring, heart-warming things in my life? 
In addition to being stunningly lovely, the sky makes a great canvas for your thoughts. Staring upwards somehow adds the touch of eternity to anything that is weighing you down, or simply drifting through your mind. 


(What is drifting through my mind at this second is that I need to get up for work in five hours and should probably go to sleep)


:)