How do you tell the difference between your dreams and what is realistically possible? There are going to be hundreds of external conflicts that will make you want to give up and stop fighting for your dream, but you have to fight back with everything inside you to break through those barriers. We can achieve anything if we can find it within ourselves to keep going when everything is telling us to stop. You can change the world, you can live in Laos in a tree fort, you can be the best. Your worst enemy is going to be yourself saying that you're not good enough, but you have to realize that you are. Defeat is an external problem that can be overcome by your internal perseverance.
"There is not one big cosmic meaning for all, there is only the meaning we each give to our life, an individual meaning, and individual plot, like an individual novel, a book for each person."
We know ourselves better than anyone will get to know us so we need to listen to what our thoughts are saying. It matters that we have a dream and there's a voice in our head reassuring us that we will achieve our dream. It matters that you're telling yourself that you are worth something. We need to be in tune with our mind because sometimes all you have is yourself to depend on. Listen to the inner voice in your head and know that whatever you do you're ready to discover it and devour it.
"You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings."
"I never ever thought I'd get this far. Like, there's always a piece of me that figured I was gonna do something significant and special, but how can, how can you ever really tell the difference between something you dream about during class when you're in highschool, and a realistic goal. That's not what society teaches you is the path to take. But you know I kept going and going and going, and I kept running until there was nobody trailing me, until there was nobody around me so I couldn't hear any footsteps, you know." - Laws.
The only thing holding us back from our dreams is ourselves. To make something we imagine into a reality takes a lot of hard work, but as long as we're improving and staying constant with our vision anything can be conquered.
"Judge nothing, you will be happy. Forgive everything, you will be happier. Love everything, you will be happiest."
Life starts out simple. Once you learn how to count to 100 and tie your shoes everything else starts getting more complex and complicated. Sometimes people will hurt you, sometimes you disappoint yourself, and sometimes we experience a loss that will never be replaced. As we grow we compile lessons and emotions to try and figure out how everything in the world works and where we fit in. When we get close to thinking we know how it all operates something happens to remind us that there is so much more to struggle with and learn from. We are all looking for someone we can trust, something to give us meaning in the world, a feeling of acceptance, a gift of happiness, a list of possibilities, and our own personal flair to make us stand out. This isn't a perfect world and no one is perfect, so mistakes are definite. We are able to learn from mistakes and allow ourselves to grow and expand once we have understood them and dealt with them. We need to prepare ourselves for the future, and understand the experiences we are going through to discover the purpose of life.
ENJOY THE LITTLE THINGS IN LIFE. Spoil yourself sometimes, you deserve it.
There are going to be days that we're confident in everything we do and be focused in on the value we have created. Then come the other days when you spend hours thinking about what you don't have, and how other people compare to you. You relate their excellence to your strong efforts and don't feel as powerful. We need to recognize that difference is not a matter of who is better or worse, but a matter of individuality and creative characteristics that are needed in this world to cater to everyone. It is useful to turn to others for big inspiration and to feel their energy, and for them to feel yours but no one else will ever have the same soul and vision that you have. Whatever you are doing is a choice you have made to somehow make a difference in the hearts of others. You need to commit to your purpose without any judgement or comparison to the people around you. By being yourself you will gain everything by standing out. Who wants to be like everyone else anyways? Be who you are and don't compare to others. "There is room for all of the many lights in the world to shine brightly and boldly."
"Never a failure, always a lesson." If you let things get you down, you're letting the world win. Fight against all the powers that are making things rough, and you will come out stronger than you started. There is no such thing as failure because everything is just experiences that you have to react to, deal with, and grow from.
Have faith. Faith can't be something particular that we search for or take a blind leap towards. We need to carry and be aware that if we trust in faith we can reach our dreams, find new beginnings and be opened to more possibilities. We need to allow ourselves to change because faith can assure us that we're on the right path. Deeeeep breath! Revitalize yourself and recognize that you can let go of fear and hold onto the certainty that faith will connect you and keep you on track with your altering universe. "Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security."
"People change. Feelings change. It doesn't mean that the love once shared wasn't true and real. It simply just means that sometimes when people grow, they grow apart."
Be OPTIMISTIC. It is so much easier to be happy and free when you believe that everyone out there is pure and full of love and good deeds, when you believe that tomorrow is yours to write. You can easily find a million ways to live negatively and scared, but the only person you're harming is yourself. Sometimes we try to protect ourselves from bad things that could happen to us by expecting the worst. By expecting the worst we put a barrier up that we think will help us when something bad happens. In reality you're hurting yourself when you're pessimistic because you make the space inside your head dark, sad, and unhopeful. It doesn't really prevent pain or disappointment. Tomorrow is always uncertain, so you can decide to be scared and negative or you can switch your perspective to be accepting of new things and put in all the effort to create a change for the better. "Everyday may not be good, but there's something good in every day."
"Some people think it's holding on that makes us strong, sometimes it's letting go."
Everyone has doubts. Everyone has voices in their head altering their moods and actions every single second. What do you listen to? Do you listen to those voices in your head or the actions you're naturally doing without thinking about it. Should you sit down and question everything, or just go ahead and do what you're thinking that second. It's hard to designate what to listen to and do. Today I realized you have to simplify every voice in your head and take away the outside sources altering your future. Do what you want to do, say what you want to say. Don't let anyone determine for you where you're going.
Once you find your purpose you believe in, know it and understand it completely. You will be invincible. No one can stop you from living your dream that you've established. It is a gift to know what you are set out to be, and a gift to everyone who gets to know a piece of who you are.
To me all religions hold the same messages that are disguised by different stories, gods, and words. I feel that I don't need a God (word that I am wondering if I should capitalize) to put my faith in, in order to secure happiness tomorrow. I know that if I work hard to do good in the world and give out love to people surrounding me, I will receive that in return. I'm not talking about karma or any magical thing, I'm just talking about facts. If you give love, people will return love to you. If you live with a peaceful mind, your surroundings will become peaceful and you will always be at ease. The universe gives back to you what you put into it. I follow happiness, love, mindfulness, compassion, peace, and so much more that I don't need to learn from the Bible, Torah, or the Qur'an. I have enough faith in myself that I'm making the right choices that I don't feel the need to put my life into something (someone?) else. If a problem presents itself I don't want to ask for help with dealing with it, I want to be independent enough myself to handle it without any outside help (like God, Buddha, Allah, etc.) I'm not saying that I'm atheist, that would mean I'm rejecting the thought of deities existing. I believe in having your own power inside of you to follow what is right in your heart, the rules you have made for yourself, and the quiet mind you find when you stop searching for answers and just keep following your path that is 100% in your hands.
"Even without a religious perspective, love and compassion are clearly of fundamental importance to us all." - DalaiLama
"As we develop more love for others, we’ll have more confidence in ourselves; the more courage we have, the more relaxed and serene we’ll be."
We need to face fears to teach us how to grow and become stronger. Each time we go through something we don't want to we are telling ourselves that we're strong enough to go through any hardship or difficult situation. We are telling ourselves that we have a greater power than what is expected. This inner strongness doesn't obviously physically show. This type of strong is different than going to the gym kind of strong. We tell ourselves that we cannot be afraid of anything, because if you are scared to do things you will miss out on bigger opportunities. "Whatever you fight against strengthens you, and whatever you resists, persists." Ignoring problems will not make them go away, fight through them and things will no longer be indomitable. Be true to yourself and put your heart in everything you go through.
In Tanzania, the normal greeting is "Habari", which means "How are you?" The typical answer to that is "Imara" which means "Strong."
I love real people. I love people who are able to accept what they have been given, what they've lost, and who they have surrounding them. To be real you know what you have and you don't care what other people think about it. Real people recognize real people and you're able to distinguish when someone is not proud of who they are. Don't be scared of who you are. Don't be scared to be judged, to be talked about, or to be different. I realized that we all try so hard sometimes to be something we're not because we just want to fit in. Accept yourself first, and then other people will be able to accept you. Allow yourself to grow everyday to be better. You're perfect how you rise in the morning, realize that you don't need to be fake to have your shine set just as beautiful.
"Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does."
What is love? Oh god this is the subject so many songs have been written about. It is impossible to write about love in a little box because you can't put a box around love. You can't give that subject borders and boundaries because love breaks so many rules that its definition is literally infinite. It is the most popular song that keeps ringing in your head when you think about someone. It is the knot in your stomach that you feel when you see someone that you care more for than you care about yourself. It is a connection between you and another person that isn't meant to be held apart by space, it is suppose to be held together tightly and never let go of. Love is something we can all use a little more of. I'm not full of enough eloquent words and sayings to describe love because it is too difficult. If you had nothing else in this whole universe, love would still be enough.
It's so comforting to be surrounded by all your friends who are there to catch you when you fall, but it's also humbling to know that you are all you need to pick yourself up after falling. If you are able to trust yourself to be strong and make it through anything, you will be able to make it through anything. I realized today that sometimes your friends don't always give the best advice, that what you need to hear needs to come from you. You know yourself better than anyone so you are the only person that will make the right decisions, and say the right words. To pull yourself up from low points reassures you that no matter where you are or who you're with, you are strong enough on your own to make it through rough things that try and bring you down. "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."
"What matters is the value we've created in our lives, the people we've made happy and how much we've grown as people." Interactions with different people, new places, and running away on exciting adventures gives you a new outlook on yourself. People can make you grow into something you never thought possible, all because you were able to interact with them and gain a part of them. I realized that being able to value everything you've been given allows you to enjoy every little thing, person, and adventure you will encounter allowing you to change into something better than before. With new experiences you can learn things and then get to impact the next person to interact with you. We can't be scared to change and surround ourselves with new things.
"When you live on a round planet, there's no choosing sides."
It doesn't matter where you've been, what you've gone through, or who you know that establishes how you get to treat people. You are not better than the person beside you, and they are not better than you. You need to love the people around you and treat them with the best respect. Sometimes we treat the people that we love the worst. Imagine going up to some random person on the street and telling them to fuck off. Why is it considered rude to do that, but we can sometimes say it to our friends and family and not think anything of it after and apologize? Take a second to recognize the people around you who are there to catch you when you fall, and who are always going to love you. Stick with them and get rid of the losers who are constantly saying "fuck you" to you. Out of the millions of people out there you will be able to find people who treat you the way you should be treated. "To have a friend and be a friend is what makes life worthwhile."
So life isn't the best for you right now. Your car got broken into, daddy won't buy you tickets for a concert, you got too drunk on the weekend that you have a new nickname, you boyfriend is in love with your best friend, and you eat more cupcakes than you do walk. Things are so horrible for you lately that it could easily switch into being very comical. Laugh at yourself, laugh at how horrible things are because you know that everything in the end will be okay. As long as your breathing through your problems you are going to last and overcome them. Laughter is the best medicine to cure anything. Why waste your time being sad when you could be finding other things that make you happy? Leave your dark dreary clouds behind you. Don't look back at what made you happy, look forward to what is going to make you happy.
I realized that people who hide behind their ego actually have stage fright to be themselves, and can't come out from behind their mask and be comfortable with who they really are. To be comfortable with yourself you don't need 10 000 followers on twitter, you don't need 1000 friends on facebook, you don't need 100 people cheering for you at a football game, and you don't need 10 people liking your profile picture. You just need 1 person in your life to constantly tell you that you are making a difference in this world and that you are loved by the people around you for who you are. That 1 person telling you that can only be yourself. To find happiness in yourself you have to stay true to your roots and don't let go of everything that has made you who you are, stand strong on your own. Don't put on an act and try to be something you're not because plays always have an ending after a short time. Once your play has ended where would you end up? Stay true to who you are and be proud of yourself because "If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything."
Alexia I love you! Don't ever doubt that. You know I would pick you up at 3 in the morning while it's snowing anytime you needed me, even if you beg me not to. People can never be told enough that they are loved. As humans we need to regularly hear and feel that we are loved by others. We need that connection, that deep feeling that can't be described but you can just tell what it is. Don't ever lack confidence because you don't feel loved, because someone loves you more than you could ever know. The flowers don't grow in the places it doesn't rain, meaning that if your life is full of brutal thunderstorms and constantly pouring rain you just have to wait for a little bit of sunshine, allowing your life along with the flowers to reach up and grow. For all the people in your life that don't tell you they love you enough Alexia, I love you. You inspire me to be so happy everyday and always look on the bright side. And in the words of Demi, Don't forget. "You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving."
Inspiration comes from people, an interesting conversation, a feeling that you've never had before, or simply by opening your eyes and seeing something you've never seen before. We all need a place where we can escape to and forget about reality to find inspiration. We need a place that we can run away to to gain new thoughts that are purely our own and to clear our heads from the stress in our lives. "The time to relax is when you don't have time for it."
It's hard that sometimes we are defined as what our stereotype is. It's difficult when some people have an opinion of you before they even meet you, that there is this invisible barrier in high school that blocks different groups from getting to know each other. This "invisible" barrier is full of rumors, opinions, stereotypes, and sometimes jealousy all made by other people. I realized today that we are all here together, the world is like a big house with the same roof over our heads. The thing is that under this roof we have built walls making it complicated to be able to drift into other peoples social groups. We shouldn't judge people for what is told about them, we should wait to meet them and get to know them before we are able to have an opinion on them. I realized that no matter who you sit with at lunch, who's on the invite list for a party on the weekend, or if you sit in a hallway and draw by yourself we are all beautiful yummy people who deserve to be accepted for our unique personalities. Don't be scared to ask someone you want to know better for something simple as a coffee or a walk, you get what you give away so give LOVE.
"As you wander through your life, friend,
whatever be your goal,
keep your eyes upon the donut
and not upon the hole."
It's that simple. The more we focus on the valuable and right that is in our lives the sweeter life can be. If we notice what's wrong, broken, and miserable we will continue living in a dark spot. Just like a donut we need to focus on the sweet yummy part instead of focusing on the dark empty hole in the middle. Some people are constantly falling into the hole and not looking around them for support to get back out. If you reach around the edges you can grab onto something sweet to stay focused on the positive. I realized today that you can grasp onto anything to bring you back up if it has enough purpose and passion for you to find your happiness. You can unconditionally turn to family and friends, love, nature, material objects, all with enough devotion to focus on the positive.
Sometimes we need to step back and soak in everything around us before we make choices. Like a tea bag we start out extremely weak and unaware of our surroundings. With enough nurture and supplies that we need to thrive we are able to explode into something dramatically more beautiful than what we were in the beginning. Different people need different things in their life to be able to open up as a better person. Some of us need the help from friends, a book, a good song, or really thinking and asking ourselves what needs to be done in the beginning that will have the best outcome. I realized today that when certain things happen you need to take time to think about how you should handle them. Soak everything in the beginning so in the end you can say and do everything right so you don't regret. If we're constantly rushing what we're saying we sometimes don't have a chance to stop and think about how effective our words are. So step back, think about what needs to be done, breathe and be calm.
Today I went and read through my journal that I kept when I was in Peru. Not only was I able to re-live my experiences there but I read exactly how I was feeling at that time. I wrote how I should handle things in the future if something were to happen, and now here I am in the future, completely lost. I was able to go back to what I wrote and reflect on how I should handle certain situations. It's hard because I never thought my words back then would become a reality, but it's comforting to know that I can count on myself to realize that everything gets better. I realized that people change for different reasons, and we need to understand that once something ends it opens your book to write a new story. We are able to understand new things when what we use to know has changed. When aspects of your life change you have to be ready for it, sometimes it will break you apart but other times it will give you so much excitement that you can't wait for the next step. And then sometimes it's both things at once which makes life interesting. "A bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you fail to make the turn."
"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles, it might be the only sunshine they see all day."
I decided to skip class and go downtown. I bought an americano for a homeless guy, who ended up teaching me more than I ever would have learnt going to class today. He said that he was surprised the way I treated him like an equal. When I asked why he was surprised he said that out of the many people that walk by him a day on the street, not more than one percent would ever look him in the eye and treat him like a human being. He went on to say that society already has an opinion of him the second they see him sitting on the street. He said that he obviously knows that he could have made better choices in his life, but in the end he is just like anyone walking by him. Everything internal about him is the same as us. He says that everyday he thinks about his ups and downs, how everyday in his life is a different lesson. He told me that whenever something bad happens to me, it is a lesson. He told me I will never fail in my life if I am able to keep seeing the world through my eyes, and not fall into the 'trick' of what other people see. These altered bricks in the pavement downtown reminded me of what he said, how everyone has ups and downs but you just have to keep looking through your eyes and realize that whenever you fall down you are strong and wise enough to pick yourself up.
It's weird to me how so many aspects in life connect to certain things. I know some people don't "believe" in dream interpretation but I like unconsciously thinking about something and then reading a reason why I may be thinking that. My dreams tell me things I don't know when I'm awake. I find it eye-opening and clever. Dreams have been approached by many different traditions and religions, but I just think that whatever my brain thinks, it has something to do with me. No one else has these dreams, no one else will go through or do what I do, so I know that my dreams are specific to me and somehow I can learn from them. "I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams."
"Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you."
There's always going to be good days and bad days. You are always going to need to adapt to changes, although some changes are hard to accept. Some days I feel superior and strong like I've never been hurt, and other days I feel paralyzed because I'm stuck trying to alter my thoughts from what I use to know. I realized that no matter how much you want to ignore your thoughts and just keep moving, think about what you're feeling. If you hold back your emotions you aren't able to fully allow yourself to go through them and move on. Face your emotions entirely and true. If you need to cry, then cry. Then get back on track. I started drawing this feather and realized that with anything else, life is a process. Situations start out hard, and take time to expand and grow into something wonderful. Face your fears and then keep expanding because "On a deeper level you are already complete. When you realize that, there is playful, joyous energy behind what you do."
Hate is a strong word and a very emotional stressful feeling, also the most unnecessary. I realized today that having hate towards someone is a huge load on people's shoulders to carry around. Let the hate go! You may be the only one suffering. This picture with the cold dark mountain below and the warm clouds above represents rising above the dark hate and continuing your clear journey. Hate is believed to be long-lasting, but by either forgiveness or forgetting your attitude can change and your head can clear. Take a big breath and return to living your beautiful life instead of being mean and hateful to another person, let them live their beautiful life. Everybody makes mistakes. Remember that forgiveness is an attribute of the strong, whereas weak people are not fully able to forgive. Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset, or mad, is a full minute of happiness you'll never get back. "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."
"Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." I have a lot of ideas. There's a lot that I want to do next year. I realized today how many options there are to do with your life, how you can seriously dream anything and it can happen. The only person controlling your life is you, so don't just make wishes, make choices to steer you in the direction you want to go. With enough ambition and love we can do anything we want, there are no limitations.
"When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you" dare to be ʇuǝɹǝɟɟıp.
Sit long, talk much, and laugh often. You have so much to offer to this world, so much to give, and so much you deserve to receive in return. Allow yourself time to sit down and talk to people you love, or want to know. Sometimes people leave your life that you wish you had spent more time with, but it's never too late to call someone you use to know and catch up. "They say people come and go, but the truth is, no one really disappears from your life. People never really leave, their roles just change."
An opinion is someone's voice, there is no right or wrong in their thoughts. It isn't anyone's right to tell someone that their personal judgement of an issue is incorrect. I like hearing other people's opinions. It makes me realize how unique everyone is with their different intuitions and thoughts on the world.
You have to customize your life to be what you want it to be. Treat your life like a book by choosing the role you want to play, and surrounding yourself with characters you need to make you Shine. Get rid of the characters that are clouding your future. From that perspective you can discard things that make you suffer, and accumulate things that lead to happiness. Be aware of what makes you happy! "Life is short. Too short to waste one second of it with anyone who doesn't appreciate and value you."
I realized that with the billions of tiny snowflakes forming together I was able to create something that held strong as a whole. Each individual snowflake held perfectly in sync with the next which made me aware of how important it is for everyone to work together, creating something beyond any of us can do by ourselves. If all of us individual snowflakes work together to help with a cause, as a whole we can accomplish a lot more than a snowflake on it's own. "Love one another but make not a bond of love, let it be rather a moving sea between the shores of your souls."
I took this picture of street lights whizzing by because I realized that sometimes you never get a chance to see things how they really are and appreciate them for what they're worth at that moment. I wish there was no such feeling as nostalgia, no longing to go back in time or change what has happened. Whatever happened in the past made you the brilliant strong person that you are today, and without those experiences we wouldn't be able to grow. Learning to acknowledge that things don't always stay the same allows you to embrace the present and appreciate everything at the time that it is given to you. Accepting change even if you don't understand it is a process. It's hard not to dwell on questions that are keeping you in the past that you wish to go back to, but it's comforting to know that the experiences we have behind us will carry us high throughout our life. Keep looking ahead thinking how you can shine tomorrow, and don't let thoughts of yesterday rust what you are destined to be.
IT GIVES ME A DEEP COMFORTING SENSE TO KNOW THAT THINGS SEEN ARE TEMPORAL AND THINGS UNSEEN ARE ETERNAL.
Not many things in life are unconditional. Family is unconditional. They will be there when you mess up, and will be there at your highest point listening to you brag about your accomplishments. They will listen to you when no one else will, and give you the hard truth when no one else will. Family always goes the Extra Mile.
You design your life, you write your own story, and you pave your own road. Don't let anything alter where you want to end up. I learnt today that sometimes you want to depend on someone to make you happy. YOU are all you need to be happy! You are able to control your own happiness. I realized this by losing everything. By losing everything I thought I needed, I gained everything I really needed, which was understanding that you don't need to fight for love. Love will come to you when it's right, for both of you.
My friend gave me a pack of in-scents from Thailand last year. Since she gave them to me I have been saving them for a 'special occasion.' I realized that everyday is a special occasion and should be celebrated :)
"People need to be made more aware of the need to work at learning how to live because life is so quick and sometimes it goes away too quickly."
We've all had rumors told to us, and told about us. It's weird to think that anyone can say anything, and most people believe it. The truth about the lie is that if people are trying to bring you down, it only means that you are above them. Respect those around you! LOVE goes a long way. Life is not about the people who act true to your face, it's about the ones who remain true behind your back.
The smallest things mean the biggest. I got this lollipop today from one of my best friends who always makes me smiiile. I realized today that everyone is so fully capable of helping others out and if everyone can work together huge things can happen. So this one little lollipop gave me the biggest smile because it came from the heart, so imagine how many smiles can be made if everyone contributed a little. The world is FULL of beautiful things and people, such as yourself.
just being alive doing the things you love to do is a lot of work in itself. In some cases I like feeling invisible. I like being able to lock myself in my room with my phone off and paint, and realize that the world around me is still moving normally while I take time for myself. The machinery is always going. Even when you sleep.
YOU ARE LOVED.
