Tag: Life

What a Difference a Day Makes

We wake up and go about our daily routines not knowing exactly what each day will hold for us. We navigate through life with the skills that we have learned. We have our good days, our bad days, the days that fall somewhere in-between. I’m sure that most of us wake up with some sort of plan for the day. Until it happens, we don’t tend to think too much of the unexpected. Life can hit us without a moments notice, our lives can be flipped upside down, or require a lot of our attention.

One of the beautiful yet scary things about life is that we truly don’t know what will happen moment to moment. This is a good example of why we should try to remain positive and keep going. We may be depressed or stuck in a rut, we might feel like our life will never ever change, but there is going to be a day that it changes, because if life promises one thing, it’s that it is ever-changing. We must hold onto hope even in our darkest hours. Think of whatever keeps you going no matter how small and focus on that.

Sometimes we just have what some of us call “a day.” Things don’t seem to go our way, we feel like the world is against us, we might have a huge decision to make, we may have fought with someone that we love, our job may be on the line. Whatever we are facing, it’s important to realize what a difference a day makes. When something happen to us, we often experience certain emotions as a reaction. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment. Our minds and hearts start racing, we say and do things that we don’t mean. It is definitely difficult, but extremely important when facing situations to take a step back, analyze what’s in front of us, and process our emotions and why we could be feeling a particular way. Often times, we react too quickly and it can leave us with definite consequences.

A new day gives us a blank slate, a new start, a fresh look at what’s in front of us. We can look at life and situations more logically without our emotions ruling our thoughts and actions. Oftentimes what appears like a mountain one day can appear like a small bump in the road the next. As life has taught us thus far, we are strong, we are survivors, and we can get through anything that life will end up throwing at us.

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Obsessions

As I sit here and write this blog, there are so many things that I can think of that if they were taken away, I would feel that a part of me was missing. As humans, it’s normal for us to develop attachments to people, places, things, etc. We get used to having certain things in our lives and they become part of us. When we have to go without or lose what we love, it can make us feel empty inside. The extreme version of this behavior is what borders on obsession.

I’m sure that most of us recall a time where we became obsessed with a person, a song, a hobby, a sport, a vacation spot, a favorite pair of shoes, our cell phone, food, etc. There are different levels of obsession, some of which keep you healthy and motivated and others which are detrimental to our mental and physical wellbeing. I believe a lot of how we feel and what we have going on in our lives contributes to developing and maintaining obsessions. For example, if we have lost a loved one, we may obsess or be clingy with our friends and family. If we are stressed and dealing with a rough time, we may become obsessed with a certain song that seems to speak to us and helps us cope, playing it over and over and over again.

Obsessions can come and go, temporary obsessions are to me a type of coping mechanism, or a way to distract and reduce anxiety. Long-term obsessions in my opinion are deep-rooted from our past experiences or feeling a lack of something in one’s life. Obsession can also be a way of avoiding life. Someone who has had a lot of negative past experiences with people may cling to the first person that shows them love, someone who is having a hard time mentally may turn to drugs to ease the pain and that high becomes something that individual keeps craving. An individual who is extremely shy may become overly involved in a hobby that allows themselves to retreat from society and avoid human contact.

I am someone who tends to have obsessive tendencies. I can get wrapped up in a person, play a song nonstop on repeat, eat sweets to no end, and overthink life relentlessly, however most of the time they are nothing but a temporary distraction. There are times however where my obsessions are too strong for my liking. When my thoughts or feelings hit this point it becomes difficult to want to do or think of anything else. This makes me very uneasy and uncomfortable. I try to create a better balance in my life so that I am not so fixated on one thing, I also try to figure out what the root of my obsession is stemming from.

When it comes to obsessions or desires, it’s interesting to note that your heart and mind may want different things. I’ve always wished to have more control over my mind and heart, however to a point we don’t have full control over that and it is something in our subconscious, something that makes us individually unique.

We can all learn a thing or two from each other. How do you all deal with desires and obsessions?

As always, thank you for reading and have a beautiful week!

5 Greatest Life Lessons I’ve Learned

Life is an everyday learning experience and we are constantly evolving and adapting in order to create the best life that we possibly can. I am continuously learning about myself and the world around me, however I have come up with five lessons that I have learned that have helped me tremendously with personal growth.

  1. Take care of yourself mentally and physically. This probably seems obvious, but something that most of us don’t pay enough attention to. We do such a great job of taking care of others, we also need to remember to take care of ourselves both physically and mentally. It’s very difficult to go through life’s demands when we don’t feel sound as a human being. Taking full care of ourselves allows us to live life easier and fuller. Physically, we can eat a balanced diet, make sure that we are drinking enough water, exercise, or keep active in general. We can keep up with selfcare that helps us feel our best. Mentally we can take breaks when we feel overwhelmed, even if it’s a short coffee break, any sort of break lets us recharge. Everyone has a limit and it’s good to recognize when you are getting burned out so that it can be stopped in its tracks. Go for a walk, not only does this help physically, but also helps greatly at clearing our minds. Just being in nature is so refreshing and helps remind us that we are part of an amazing universe. Pamper yourself – take a hot bath, get a massage, take a course, pick up a hobby, etc. When we are mentally and physically whole we can take on anything!
  2. Stop worrying about things that you cannot control. Okay, this is a difficult one, especially for me, but I have learned ways to implement this. It’s so easy for anxiety and worry to take over, then one thought or worry snowballs into another and another. Worrying is a valid human emotion, however we can do ourselves a favor by focusing and putting our energy into things that we do have control over. Worrying about the unknown or uncontrollable aspects of our lives, robs us of the energy that we need to focus on what we can change. I believe in fate and I believe that what’s meant to be will be, this helps me sit back, relax, and breathe. When a worry or situation strikes I ask myself: Do I have control over this? If I do, well I can figure out an action plan and if I don’t, then I try to take the situation day by day and try to give up that control. I also analyze the situation to see what I can do and what my options are.
  3. Share your energy wisely. As much as we sometimes like to think of ourselves as superheroes, we are human beings that have limits and a limited amount of energy reserves. Life alone can be very draining of these reserves, so one tip that I have learned over the years is to be careful who I share my energy with. If you are around negative people, or people that bring you down, this will deplete your energy overtime. On the contrast, surrounding yourself with supportive and uplifting people can do wonders for your wellbeing. It’s human nature to want to care for others, but we should be cautious where we expend our energy.
  4. Don’t take things personally. Not so easy to do right? Someone says or does something that hurts or offends us and we take it to heart. We start to think what’s wrong with me? Does anyone like me? Is this individual acting this way because of me? We may feel like we are at fault and are the root cause of problems. The truth is, most of what people say isn’t about us at all, it’s about the other individual. Lots of times our worry and fear make us extra sensitive and we can view what’s happening incorrectly, making us question ourselves, and lowering our self-esteem. During these times, we must step back, analyze the situation, and try to understand that most likely the reactions and thoughts of others are in fact only fears, projections, and emotions of the other individual that they need to work through.
  5. Follow your instincts. We were born with instinct. We hear phrases like “follow your heart,” and “do what feels right.” Some people have a stronger intuition than others. There are claims that intuition can be built upon and made stronger. Often times, these innate feelings are subconscious and other times it’s like the message is clear as day. These gut feelings are there for a reason: to warn us, inform us, help us, guide us, etc. Most often, that little, or should I say big voice inside of us is accurate.

I really hope that you have found these helpful!

Paranormal: Life Beyond

For most of us, we go about our daily lives not thinking about the inevitable, unless we know of someone who is sick or who has passed away, we don’t typically think of death. We all have different views about what happens to our souls after we pass away. For me, I believe that when we die we go to Heaven. I truly believe that there is a life beyond anything that we can begin to understand waiting for us. I’ve always believed this to be true, but have an even deeper understanding of this since having many paranormal experiences from childhood that still continue to this day.

As a child, I grew up in two homes that had a spirit inside. I was scared out of my mind being a child and not being aware of why this was happening to me. The spirits were thankfully good ones, but scared me nonetheless. I recall times where I could hear breathing and footsteps, things would fly off of the counter, the TV would turn on and off all by itself, sometimes many times in a row as if it were trying to make its presence known. There was just an energy in these homes that was enough to give someone chills. Although these experiences created an immense amount of anxiety for me as a child, now that I am an adult those experiences are actually rather comforting and uplifting knowing that life on Earth is not the end of our existence. I always knew that life did not stop here, however having actually experiencing it just furthers my beliefs.

I have unfortunately lost several people that I was extremely close to and having experiences after their passing has given me so much peace and reassurance that one day we will all be reunited with our loved ones. Again, you may have different beliefs and I absolutely respect that, I am just sharing my experiences and how I feel on this subject. Please feel free to comment below if you have had any paranormal experiences from beyond!

Decisions: You Have the Power

Life is full of choices and the decisions that we make can have a great impact on our lives. We go through life everyday making decisions big and small. We encounter situations that we don’t give much thought to and ones that make us dwell on them for days. We are faced with decisions from the moment we wake up to the time that we go to bed. We have to decide what to have for breakfast, which route to take to work, where we spend our money, how we spend our day, what time we go to bed at night, etc. We are always faced with some sort of choice to make and that choice will ultimately lead us to another situation and possibly another choice!

One can spend hours, days, months, or years debating and contemplating a decision, especially one that has the ability to change our lives forever. I was recently faced with one of the greatest decisions that I have ever had to make in my life and I want to share how I reached that decision. It took months, but after careful analyzing of the situation, I knew I had made the right choice.

Most likely, when you are faced with a certain situation, your mind will be running in all directions and will probably feeling a bit like a hamster running on a wheel. One thought leads to another, that leads to another, and so on. Once we reach the point that we know that we are faced with a situation or decision, and we can calm down after that initial stage of anxiety, panic, sadness, whatever emotion we are feeling, then we can begin to look at the situation more logically without having our emotions rule most of our decision-making.

Step one when I need to make a big decision is a pro/con list. I can think of the positives and negatives in my head, but to write it out on paper gives me a true visual image. Sometimes when you try to name positives and negatives for a particular choice, you feel like each side is pretty equal until you write it all down and realize that there really is no case…there is a clear winner! After looking at the pros/cons of a decision, I then look at each option and think if I chose that option, what possibilities could that lead me to? If I don’t choose that option, what could that mean for me and my future? Of course, we cannot always know how things will play out in life, but we may be able to get an idea of the possibilities and that could help aide us in our decision-making.

We all have different views and opinions about life and circumstances and this is just mine, but I truly do believe that everything happens for a reason. Life seems to fit together so perfectly like pieces of a puzzle and as it unfolds we can often see why a particular event didn’t occur, or why we are no longer with someone that we loved. We have to go through certain events to make us stronger and more knowledgeable, they help us grow as a person. I believe that we all have a life path that was created just for us, we are all on our own unique journey, but we are here to learn, grow, and help each other through it.

Feel free to comment on any recent decisions that you have had to make and I wish you all the best of luck as we navigate through life!

Boundaries

Boundaries mean different things to different people and our personal limits and boundaries vary greatly between us. Most of us don’t even realize that we go through our every day lives setting these invisible boundaries between ourselves and the world around us. These may be expressed by our body language, spoken words, or our instincts that tell us to get closer or back away.

Some individuals have very open boundaries, they are freely themselves, and are open and friendly with many people. Some have what we call “a wall up,” where it’s very difficult to let people in and there are many limits and boundaries in place to prevent one from getting too close. Others are somewhere in-between and this is personally where I aspire to be. For most individuals, I am quite difficult to open up, I don’t trust many people easily, so I subconsciously set limits and boundaries between myself and other individuals. There are some people where I feel instantly comfortable with and it’s with them that my wall is lowered and sometimes I end up getting too close emotionally in a short amount of time. I continuously strive and work for a balance.

There are benefits and downsides to having many boundaries, just as there are benefits having minimal boundaries and being a free spirit. The benefits of having many boundaries is that you can guard your mind and heart a little better, you can choose who you feel is worth your energy and who deserves a place in your heart. The downside is that you may be missing out on getting to know others if you are closing them off, we may be missing out on connections and experiences. The benefit of having minimal boundaries is that you truly enjoy life and experience it to the fullest, the negative is that you may get hurt more by putting your mind and heart on the line. Wanting to put up limits and boundaries can and does protect us, but is also hurting and hindering us.

Having boundaries in place is both beneficial and necessary in all relationships including family, friendships, romantic relationships, coworkers, etc. These boundaries help to keep us happy and to feel respected as a human being. It’s up to us to speak our minds and speak up for ourselves if something doesn’t feel right, it’s up to us to communicate our needs to others, there’s no way for them to know otherwise. In return, we also need to pay attention to the needs and wants of others.

Before I end for now, I must touch on the fact that humans have many emotional and physical needs and will often go about meeting them any way they can because for most of us, not having our needs met is very painful. For example, we may grow very close to a stranger because we are in dire need of friendship and don’t want to feel alone, or we may get into a relationship right after a breakup because we no longer have that individual who was fulfilling our needs. The dynamic between people truly fascinates me and is ever-changing.


An Overview of the Seasons

The seasons come and go just like the days of our lives. For some places of the world you may only have one or a few seasons and others, like where I live, we have four. I am thankful to be able to experience all four seasons and what they have to offer. I notice that each of the seasons brings out a different part of myself and evokes many beloved memories.

The year starts during the season of winter. I used to not like the bitter cold, or the massive blizzards that winter can possibly bring, but I have come to embrace it. I enjoy snuggling under a blanket, drinking tea or hot chocolate, staying cozy indoors, baking, and watching movies. Winter is a season that helps me conserve my energy and reflect inwards. It’s definitely a season full of self-reflection for me, a reminder to sit back and enjoy a slower pace of life. There’s nothing like standing outside after a huge snowstorm and just being one with the still and silence of the world.

Spring follows with slightly warmer temperatures, a reminder that things that we see as cold and dark do have an end and eventually do see light. The insects and other creatures resurface and life starts to unfold again. Spring is an awakening of my soul. The warmer air and the budding of the flowers and trees are a reminder that even in the darkest times, life will flourish again.

The long hot days of summer really make me feel alive. The warm sun on my skin the fresh cool breeze bring me to life and give me energy. The summer is so freeing. Trips to the beach…what an amazing place for your soul. The summer months are big in helping me feel free, inspired, and motivated. It’s a little slice of Heaven to feel the sun on your skin and warmth after a long winter.

Lastly fall…one of my favorite times of the year. After the heat of summer, the cool fresh breeze is so welcomed. Fall is such a cozy and refreshing time of year for me. The leaves change color marking the passage of time and as they eventually begin to drop off we end up transitioning back into winter…and there you have it, the seasons will continue to cycle through and through.

As we make our way through each season, I am reminded of the passage of time and the beauty that life has to offer. Life won’t always be beautiful, there will be many challenges that we will face, but life is ever-changing and moves on just like the seasons. Cherish every moment and have a beautiful day!