love. live. life.

So I'm tired, I'm dirty, and I'm kind of hungry... but do you know what? I'm happy! I spent a lot of time today with my family and working on my car. And when things got frustrating, I just had to laugh! Its a beautiful life we live.

I guess that's the thing: we all have this gift of life. Some of us just kind of go through it, or fight it, and it can be really hard and not a fun experience. But then there are some of us who live life, and then it's beautiful. It doesn't matter how hard things get, you can always laugh! There is a lot of life yet to come, a long road ahead. We're going no matter what, so we might as well enjoy the journey!





















"It's not about the destination; it's about the journey that takes us there"

grateful wind

Windy windy windy!! That's kind of the way that today was, all day. It didn't seem too bad this morning, so I decided to go on my bike ride like usual. Well the wind was a little more than I thought, but it wasn't too bad so I went ahead and kept forging on. I wanted to try a little bit of a new trail today, and so I went to check it out. I ended up getting all turned around and backwards at one point, but I got it figured out! Because of the wind though, the sky was overcast and my sunshine didn't really ever show up. But you know what? It was alright! There are some things that it just has to be windy for you to appreciate, regardless of how inconvenient the wind may be.
Speaking of which, this a pretty good parallel to life. There are just some things that you don't really appreciate until your patience is tested, or your endurance. That was my big test today. There were portions along my ride when the wind picked up and I was headed right into it, and going uphill besides! But then I could take comfort in the things I would not have seen if I hadn't stuck with it. I got to appreciate those things that I would have taken for granted if I hadn't been tested. So trials and adversity may be inconvenient, but they are necessary for us to grow and to expand beyond ourselves, to be more appreciative and polite. So thank goodness for the wind!

Being spring break, and all of us kids being home from school, we all went with my mom to take my grandma out to lunch. She was so happy to have us all together with her! It made her feel so special, and we had a great time!

Something cool that I've noticed as I've made an effort to do kind things for other people:
I'm sure you've met people who just don't want to work at all, or do things that aren't going to benefit them? Well sometimes my little brothers are like that. Well I was going to go do some work as a gift for my dad, and I invited them to come with me to help. Well they got excited and jumped right in! Just goes to show how just one person taking the opportunity to help someone out can start a chain reaction getting more people involved and working together. One person can start a worldwide cooperative difference! It really can happen! And it made the normally laborious job easy to do.

part of this balanced breakfast

What? Sleeping in? What is that?? Why would I do that over spring break?!?

This morning I was up early again! It is a great feeling to be up and about that early, enjoying that beautiful soft sunshine! Plus, it makes it feel like you have so much more day, so much more life!!

Last night it rained, and so this morning it was all wet outside. But it was so pretty too! Everything looks SO much greener after it rains, especially in the springtime :) There was a little bit of breeze and my tire had been flat, so I opened up my day with a bicycle ride downtown instead of my usual stint around the river. It was nice to shake things up a bit! It is so pretty down in that part of town, with all of the historic buildings are darling little houses. It's a shame that people don't go down there more often!













But you can tell that Easter is coming up! All of my mom's flowers are beginning to bloom, in all the beautiful pastel colors, just in time! Isn't it wonderful how something that can seem so oppressive sometimes (like the rain) can really turn out to be such a beautiful thing? Here's another example where it's all in your perspective! Just like some of these photos. How often do we see a dead leaf and just pass it by? Now think, how often do we stop to look at it from this perspective, appreciative of its uniqueness and place in this world!

Anyway, I kept myself pretty busy today, both with fun things and more busy/work-ish things. Spring break is a great time to learn an important part about life: balance. Good things are good, but too much of a good thing is exactly that: too much of a good thing! So while rest and relaxation and recreation are good, and excess could be just the opposite. Exactly the same thing goes for work. Being busy and hard working is awesome, but too much so is not so much. So balance is key. That's why it shows up in so many things: religions, cultures, just everywhere! Yin and Yan, "moderation in all things", harmony. It is all one and the same.

Today I was able to experience pretty much what it feels like. I got a good amount of sleep: not too much and not too little. I spent time for myself riding my bike, enjoying the sunshine, and taking pictures; but I spent time with my family too on a picnic, and watching the river and the rain. I relaxed and just enjoyed life and the world, and I worked hard on my car. I got the carpet all put in and all of the seats changed out and installed. I did as much work on it as I could before my dad needed to check it over. So it was a good day. Peaceful, happy, and relaxing even as I was working and trying to get things done.

Honestly?
It doesn't get much better than this :)

singing the difference

Last night, sadly, ended up being kind of a late night. Sooo I thought that I would take this one opportunity to sleep in. In the middle of that though, my mom came and woke me up, and asked if I was supposed to be at choir practice, which had started ten minutes before. I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes, and raced over to the practice just in time to rehearse the song that we were performing today.

I absolutely love to sing, but singing in the morning isn't really the best for me. ESPECIALLY only five minutes after I woke up. The practice went well though, and our song was sounding alright.

Let me tell you though, there's just something about performing, that makes the whole experience better. Even if you're singing a song you've sung a thousand times before, performing it just makes it so new and powerful all over again! as proof to this, when we got up to perform our piece, just a couple hours later, the harmonies were so much more vibrant, the sound so much more full and powerful. All of a sudden we were singing the meaning and emotion of the song, rather than just the notes and the words.

Our song was one that spoke a message of peace and comfort in all manner of trials and hard times. That's how I made my difference today. By sharing the music of my soul, hopefully I helped to touch another's heart. Because you CAN find peace at any time, if you just trust and look forward,choosing to see how you can grow, to see the silver lining.

Maybe that's why I love performing so much.. I mean, I appreciate the recognition and the opportunities that I have to showcase my talents, but on the other hand I don't really like being the center of attention either. Kind of paradoxical, I know, but that's how it is. So maybe the real reason that I love stepping up into the spotlight so much is because I know that music touches people, can control their emotions. A good crowd response means they felt something. They may not even realize what it is, but they felt it.

So I'll keep singing, stepping out onto the stage, and making a difference to the one person in the audience who needs to hear what I have to say. One is enough. I'll make my difference, one person at a time.

river ride

The first official day of spring break, and what do I decide to do? Not sleep in, certainly! No way! Instead I got up and went on a lovely bike ride on the river! With the sunshine and the feeling of getting out there and doing something, the beauty all around me, I felt so energized and alive! Definitely a great way to start the day :)There were a couple of cool things that happened on my ride that made it even better. As cyclists on the trail, we all generally acknowledge each other as we pass each other going the opposite direction, but generally ignore the 'common' pedestrians. That just seems to be the way that things work. Well today I decided to shake things up a little bit. As I passed walkers or joggers going in the opposite direction I would call out a "good morning!" as I approached.

That was kind of fun all on its own. But there was a pair of older ladies who I happened across, and proceeded to call out my greeting. Their response pretty much made my day :) Their faces, their smiles, as the returned my emphatic "good morning" were priceless. I don't think that they quite expected that out of a quick moving teenager on a bicycle!

And I'm not racist or anything, but for my own safety I do do some amount of 'judging a book by its cover' when it comes to interactions with other people. And so I tend to be a little wary of African Americans, primarily because of the neighborhood in which I live. Today though, I was reminded of something. I was cycling along and hadn't seen anyone for a while, when I passed a rather large African American man cycling the other way. And he beat me to calling out "good morning"! I was probably smiling for the next five miles or so because of it! I may be a little wary of blacks at first, but in all honesty, ones like the man I passed today are some of my most absolute favorite people! Their culture is so rich!

It was just simple incidents like these that helped me to be happy today, energized even! I spent probably a whole half of my twenty mile ride with a genuine smile plastered on my face--it just wouldn't leave!! :) I even discovered how hard it is to laugh when you are doing cardio, to the point of getting the hiccups when I stopped to take some pictures!



Which brings me to another special part of my ride. I was taking pictures again--same trail but different things this time. I really appreciate being able to take the pictures: it helps me to focus on looking for the good and beautiful things in the world out there.






Here's another little story (fully illustrated! ;] ) from today to show what I mean. This afternoon my family and I went to go hike in the Juniper Dune wilderness area, primarily in what is known as the 'Juniper Forest'. Well because it's dunes and sandy, and still pretty early in the year, it is primarily all just sand and sage brush and tumbleweeds and brown grasses. It looks pretty dead and barren.

This is just like life. It is really easy to look out and see just blemishes, a barren wasteland, depressing landscapes, and all that is ugly. But if you choose to really look, to look a little closer, you can see that those same things are beautiful, that there is life growing all around, flourishing and thriving! But it's your choice what to see. My camera is helping me focus a little, that's all. It is me that is choosing to look and see the beautiful things. Besides, it is much more fun this way!

Finally, here is a suggestion to help make someone's day :) Open/hold the door for them! It's that easy! This was challenged to some people I know recently, and they were complaining about how hard it would be. That's absurd! Does it get any easier than that! But don't forget, if someone holds it for you, remember to say "thank you!" :)

"The words 'Please' and 'Thank you' will take you farther in life than any other words"
~Dr. Dave Wells

a nobler cause

Why is it that we do things? How can we change our motivations? Have you ever wanted to change? To become more noble, or just, better? I know I have! Well here's a philosophy that sounds a little odd at first, selfish maybe, but noble all the same!

Does the word Karma mean anything to you? In the most simplest of forms it is that idea that what goes around comes around. That if you do kind or polite things, especially going the extra mile, then fortune will smile upon you. Similarly, the same goes for unkind actions. Well? It happens to be the answer! At least as a place to start :)

Let me explain:
Be noble, pretend to be better, do the right thing, even if it is just for the return for yourself. You would still be doing the right thing, doing good things. It IS a good thing. Soon you will learn to do it for others simply to do it for them, rather than doing it for them but for you. This is a nobler cause, but the first is still noble, none the less!

Everything that I have read, that I have learned, has shown these people with noble traits doing noble things. That these people doing noble things had noble traits. It is a constantly reinforcing cycle, one that is very widely applicable. But what if we don't feel that we fit into that cycle? That we don't do noble things so must not be noble? Or are not noble so we don't really want to do noble things? Well you've got to jump start your growth! Pretend to be noble, and do those noble things, and you will start to develop the noble characteristics. Then you'll want to do more of the noble acts that helped you to grow. You will constantly be getting better, but it has to start with you! Don't wait for nature or Darwin to make you a hero. Do it yourself. You have total control of who you are.

Even if you are not sure what to believe, try it out! You can hardly err by being TOO kind and honorable! Make a difference in yourself. Make a difference in the world

the missing ingredient

Money. An all consuming idea that I obsess over and try to ignore at the same time. Getting ready for college I have to figure out where it's coming from and where it all will be going.

But today? I took the privilege of being happy about my money even though it's kind of a stressful topic! The other day I emailed my city and asked about whether or not I would need a license of any sort to perform publicly on the street and make a few bucks that way. Well, they said it's alright! So I think that I just found myself a brand new part time job. At the very least I found a great new date idea! Also, I had an Amazon gift card that I wasn't sure what I was going to do with. So I treated myself and splurged a little: I ordered a longboard, that should get here just in time for spring break! I'm petty excited :)

Today though, the weather wasn't the best. We went back into the windy grossness instead of the beautiful sunshine that we have had the last couple of days. Because of this, I didn't manage to get out again today. I was still productive and got all of my homework done (which is a first in a while).

With my new found hobby of photography though I was kind of at a loss. I wasn't sure what to make beautiful, especially with the limits I have since I'm using the camera on my phone. So I took to thinking back to those people who inspire me with there inner beauty and kindness and I realized something that I'm missing-- people. Friends. I've got so many, but I never go out and do things with them. The other week when I was going on a date every single day, I was the happiest I had been in a long time! It was SO amazing! :) I'm ready to take my happiness to the next step, by getting even more out there, being with more people! Plus it will give me opportunities to do more things for more people, and share the beauty and love that I find in the world with more people!

Oh! And that reminds me! I took that gift to my grandmother today :) She was so excited! My babushka was so happy, and so impressed. She loves when we get together so she can get to know me more. She told me how much she appreciates that today, because she doesn't get that opportunity with all of her many grandchildren. So she did a lot of smiling today, and got to share more of the stories from her childhood and throughout her life. All my younger years I used to think that listening to old folks talk would be boring and dreary. I never realized how wonderful it is! I'm not even sure how to describe it. Inspiring isn't quite the right word.. it's kind of like watching a really, REALLY, good movie I guess. You know, like the ones that just make you all happy inside when it all works out right? You girls know what I'm talking about, it's just like a chick flick! :)

So now it's time to make my friends into friends as I learn to come out of my shell and touch the lives of others.

Here's to happiness!