Jan 31. Look Back

So, it's the last day in January, and it has really flown by.  When I look back at my posts and read my morning pages (I write at least 3 pages of free-writing every morning), I can't believe all the cool stuff I've been able to do and all the changes I've been through in such a short amount of time.  One thing that Chopra recommends in "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" is that every evening you replay the events of the day as if you're watching a movie of yourself.  What did you do and how did you look while you were doing it?  Why did you do those things and what does it say about you?  He calls it recapitulation.  Then in the morning, think about any dreams you had.  Try to stay in bed for a few minutes and remember as many details as you can.  What do these dreams mean?  What can they teach you about yourself?
Why is it important to look back like this?  Because when we look back on a regular basis, we see details, even small ones, about our life that we may or may not like.  And noticing those things and having a conscious awareness of them is what will fuel change in our lives.  So, as a character in one of my favorite movies states, "The way forward is sometimes the way back."

Jan 30. Regroup

Today was kind of rough for me.  I have been in a kind of funk, I guess because I have a lot on my mind.  And though I believe we choose our feelings and thoughts, sometimes it is easier than others to be joyful.  When I read the book "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" earlier this month, I was meditating regularly and felt very confident that I would be able to achieve a so-called ocean of calm from within- a consistency of spirit and balance of emotions not easily swayed by outer forces (even stress).  But the more time has gone by and the more distracted I get, the harder it seems for me to control my emotions and thoughts.  Today especially, the focus was waning and I felt so distracted that I had to be by myself for awhile in the car and just... regroup.  And after an emotional confrontation with someone, I had to regroup again.  A new month is coming up, and now that I have a few good habits established and my path is a little more clear, I decided to set some new goals for myself.  Not resolutions, mind you... goals.  I took a look at what I've accomplished this month, what I've been able to see, do, and experience, the ups and downs, the disappointments, the setbacks, all of it.... and now I'm ready to move forward again.

Regroup: verb; to become reorganized in order to make a fresh start.

Jan 29. Have Fun With People You Love

We are weird.  We will pay hundreds of dollars, drive for hours, wait in lines, deal with rude people, bumping into people, and huge crowds, all for a few moments of thrill.  Why do we do this?  It's hard to say.  My family has gotten annual passes to the Universal Parks and today was our first time using them.  We hadn't gone somewhere like that as a family for a long time, and it was nice just to be together, most of the time.  And why did we go?  Because we can explore foreign lands, go on exhilarating rides, see breathtaking views, do something that scares us, eat delicious food, and drink butterbeer.  Turns out that going to theme parks has been proven to: relieve stress, boost creativity, and releases endorphines (which make you more alert, improve your overall sense of well-being, and make you feel happier.)  What's the best part about all this? Doing it with people you love.
You know that saying "Sometimes the people closest to us are the ones we pay the least attention to?"  When we see these people every day and they are common in our day-to-day lives, we take them for granted and can sometimes forget how much fun they are.

The family.  We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together.  ~Erma Bombeck

Jan 28. Be Interested

Today between taking a friend to the airport and having dinner at my G-ma's, my sister and I had some time to kill.  And so on a whim, we decided to go see the movie "Tangled," which I cannot praise enough.  I laughed, I cried, I marveled, and I walked away with so many thoughts I hardly know what to do with them.  Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE movies!  Absolutely, obsessively, recklessly love them.  I have, of course, been criticized for this.  "You can't live your life through movies," they tell me.  Or "You don't have to see every movie that exists, you know."  Okay, so no one has told me that exactly, but I get that vibe sometimes.

But the thing about movies is that they are a lot like meeting a new person.  Every movie (even the ones that aren't so "good") has it's own story, place, time, attitude, message... If you are interested in life, you will be interested in movies, because movies contain all aspects of life, and beyond what life allows into imagination.  

And while it's good to be educated, inspired, or enlightened by film, it can also be cathartic just to have a good laugh or cry.  I own a ton of movies, and with each one I can tell you the background, the personality, the feelings, and the meaning I get from each one.  They are like my treasures.  If someone asked me if there was a fire and I could only grab my movies or a family member, I would reply, "That's not fair, my movies don't have legs."  So while I'm not endorsing wasting your life away in front of the tv, I am definitely suggesting you see at least a few movies a week.  Mix up who you watch them with and what kind of movies you're watching- for every movie you see, your perspective and experience broadens.  Above all, be interested, because the more interested we are, the more interesting we become.

Jan 27. Celebrate as often as possible

This is my 27th post, not a particularly significant integer except that this year I will be celebrating my 27th birthday.  Also today we celebrated my Dad's birthday and later this evening the birthday of a friend of mine.  I got to thinking a lot about what it means to celebrate something.  And like a total dork I even looked up the actual definition.
Ahem... Celebrate: verb; to observe a day or commemorate an event with ceremonies or festivities; to make known publicly; to praise widely.
Of course generally when we think of celebrating we think of holidays, religious ceremonies, birthdays, anniversaries.  And those things are important, of course, to celebrate.  When we honor such events we show respect and recognition for the role they play in our lives.  But it is also important to celebrate the little things.  And, as part of celebrating is to praise and observe, to seek opportunities to praise and observe those around us.  I used to be quite stingy with my compliments, thinking people would think I'm weird to compliment them out of nowhere.  It even pained me to think of complimenting someone I envied or didn't like, as if I was losing some kind of prideful ground by saying something nice to them, even if it was genuine.  But then I realized that among the people I avoided and the people I gravitated toward, there was one powerful distinction: the people I gravitated toward were generous with sincere praise and positive comments.  This isn't to say we should go around complimenting everyone we come into contact with willy-nilly, but what would the world be like if each of us kept more of the mean things we think in our heads, and said more of the nice things we think out loud?

“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!” - Amanda Bradley

Jan 26. Listen Up

For two weeks my sister has been giddy with excitement because of a surprise she's had for me.  Clues came little by little, but even up to the last moment I wasn't sure exactly what we were doing.  Then we get to Freebird Live! and I see that Yo La Tengo is playing and I FREAKED OUT!  What an awesome surprise!  Of course, we are new to the whole concert thing, and showed up on time, not knowing they wouldn't start for over 2 hours.  But we claimed our spots in the sparsely populated room and I was red bull-ing it up, trying to counteract the allergy pills I'd taken before we left home.  There were a few quirky, kinda cute guys and then the warm-up guy was pretty amazing, so things were geared up.
Then Yo La Tengo walked out.  And they were completely NOT what I was expecting at all.  (Even though I LOVE a few of their songs, I only happened upon them when I snatched up their cd at the library a few years ago.  I didn't know anything about them or their band.) In fact, I didn't realize it, but when I had looked at their merchandise and briefly talked to the curly-fro'd man behind the table, I had been talking to Ira Kaplan... he's in the band.  Anyway, they played a bunch of ear-splitting noise that I wasn't too fond of and then ended with some beautiful ballads.  I only knew 1 song.  But it made me realize how powerful music can be.  It can take you back to a time, a place, a person.  It has hidden meaning and deep messages understood on a level beyond that of the mind. Music has been proven to relieve pain, reduce stress, stimulate brain cells, boost exercise performance, promote sound sleeping, increase optimism, make socializing easier, and aid in spiritual health as well.
So whether you're a fan of classical, world, acoustic, country, alternative, folk, or zydeco, play something you love and Listen UP.

Jan 25. See the Difference

For those of you who read yesterday's post, you'll be glad to know I woke up a full hour earlier today:) Baby steps... Also here to report that hesitating does not make things go easier, and that it rained all afternoon and into the evening.  In fact, it rained so much, and was accompanied by such dangerous lightning and wind, that we missed our weekly scripture class, deciding that it was too dangerous to go out.  And sadly I've noticed (as I usually do when I've missed something that's good for me) a difference. We can see from how we feel when we've missed something just how much it actually does for us.  When we eat healthy food and exercise, we feel better.  When we've had a good nights' sleep, we are more energized the next day.  When someone has been unkind to us, or something is frustrating us, we may be a little meaner or snippier to those around us.  I try very hard to be self-aware.  I don't like to lose control, act out of habit or emotion, or go numbly through life.  I like to study the way I think, feel, and act and try to find patterns and ways to improve.   Imagine your life like these flowers here, what things in it are making it flourish, grow, and what things are holding you back?