Tag: Peace

A Recipe for Life

Think of your favorite recipe. Maybe it’s for chocolate chip cookies, zucchini bread, or a delicious pasta or salad. The recipe calls for certain ingredients and not only that, but a specific measurement of ingredients and sometimes in a very specific order. All of the ingredients together turn into whatever you are desiring to eat!

The ingredients can be tweaked and modified, and you can still reach the desired outcome in several ways. There are even many different recipes to make the same type of food. There are numerous ways to get to the end result. What if I told you that life can be the same?

A Little Bit 

Life is composed of many different aspects. We have a desired goal or dream and an idea of how to get there, but oftentimes, we get there in the most unexpected ways. Sometimes we may not reach our desires at all, or they may be partially met.

Many of us have a desired life path. We want certain things out of life and perhaps even in a certain order. Often, the desired outcome doesn’t always turn out the way that we wanted it to. Just as with cooking, we can add a little bit of this and a little bit of that trying to create a masterpiece, but it can turn out to be something that we did not want or even expect.

Many Tries

Just as there are many ways to make chocolate chip cookies, there are many ways to reach our desires in life, or at the very least try. Sometimes we may have to make sacrifices and let go of certain dreams, but there are ones that are within our reach, we just have to have the mind and heart to get us there.

The recipe for life is not concise, nor is it one size fits all. The recipe for life needs to be tried, tested, modified, and redone over and over again. Sometimes life will be sweet and other times salty. There will be periods of time when the ingredients that we mix together won’t work out well and we must try again…maybe even for a third or fourth time.

Reminder

Thankfully, life can oftentimes give us many tries to perfect the recipe. We can keep trying and trying again until we have what we sought to find. There are many ways to try and approach what we want out of life. 

I’d like to think that there is no wrong path. Sure, we may end up where we don’t belong, or where we don’t want to be, but I truly believe that in the end we always end up where we are meant to be.

There isn’t one path, but many. They may all lead us somewhere different, but in the end, we hope that we will be happy once we reach the final destination.

Do you have a recipe that needs tweaking? A little modification can go a long way!

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When the World is Against You

Most of us have been there. We face issue after issue, roadblock after roadblock and still there is no sign of it slowing down.

Every day, we start to wake up and wonder “what will happen next?” It can be a very uncomfortable feeling and one that can leave us thinking that the world is against us.

When It Rains, It Pours

There seems to be a lot of truth to this phrase. Often when life gets us down, it has to kick us a few more times before we are shown the light.

We might start to feel singled out and that we must have done something terrible to deserve all of the bad events that have happened to us.

Recently

Lately, I have been feeling this way. So many things have not gone smoothly, and it can get you down and make you see life negatively.

I truly wonder why things happen so often in numbers rather than a single event, but I suppose that once we can get through this mountain, the sun will shine for a while, hopefully without interruptions! It’s like getting all of the bad out of the way, to make room for the good.

Tips

When I feel like everything is working against me, I pause and do the following:

  • I write about what is happening in my life to let my feelings out. I also make sure to include what is going RIGHT in my life, so that I can see that not everything is working against me.
  • I spend time in nature so that I can see the beauty and peace that surrounds me even when I cannot feel it inside.
  • I cook or work on a craft. I do something that helps me feel more in “control” when I feel as though everything is chaotic.

Life 

Bad and good are normal parts of life. We can try ways to help with our feelings and also our perspective. I hope that these tips will come in handy the next time you feel your world has come crashing down.

I Should Have

Life leaves us with many questions. We spend much of our day going through the motions and trying to do the best we can with what life presents to us.

Being human is not easy! We deal with a lot of situations, trials, roadblocks, detours, we deal with pain, and a brain that feels like it’s on a never-ending hamster wheel.

Thankfully, on the contrary, we also have beauty, resilience, love, determination, and strength, and we are learning to be better every day.

A Common Phrase 

I notice myself saying “I should have” so often…too often. Possibly even daily. I found myself saying this a lot just this morning and it doesn’t give me the best feeling. 

Why am I saying this over and over? Are there regrets? Am I not confident? Is it because I am human? Could it be because I wonder what COULD have been? I pondered the answer and I suppose it’s a mix of all.

After I do something or make a decision, you can most likely find me saying “I should have done x,y, or z instead.”

My Thought Process 

I am a very deep thinker and observer. I am always in thought, which is exhausting. I am very much an over-thinker.

When I make a decision, I am always wondering what would have happened if I chose a different path or made a different decision. Sometimes I wish that I could foresee the future to know how a situation will play out. Don’t we all!

This way of thinking is detrimental and also against one of my favorite phrases “everything happens for a reason.”

Let’s Change This Around

If I want to be more confident in my decisions, I need to change my mindset. This may help you as well!

I truly do believe that everything happens for a reason and that in time we will have what we need and want. I believe that we may stray from the life path that has been laid out for us, but something will always bring us back to where we are meant to be.

It’s natural to wonder, but we can’t possibly know the answer to everything, nor should we. At the moment, we make the best decision that is right for us and we move forward. What will be, will be!

Worst case scenario, we end up in a place that doesn’t suit us and we can then make further decisions on how to remedy that.

The Takeaway 

Life is all about making decisions, taking risks, and figuring out what is best for us along the way.

We can’t be so afraid that we don’t live. Fear shouldn’t be what controls us, we are smart and capable and in the end, most things work out even if there is a long dark tunnel to get there.

I encourage you to practice this with me! Let’s stop thinking about what could or should be and let’s focus on what IS!

They Just Don’t Care

There’s a type of person that I aspire to be. One who is secure and carefree. One who doesn’t care what the world says and thinks, she’s confident in her skin, ways, and abilities.

She finds strength in silence and does things because she wants to without the need to tell others.

Mystery

There are individuals in this world who some call a “mystery.” They are the ones that may be more on the quieter or introverted side. Ones that don’t share much about their lives, thoughts, and feelings.

I used to be one of these “mystery people,” I had terrible social anxiety and just anxiety in general. I hardly spoke to anyone. Fast-forward to today and I am a lot more extroverted and share a lot more. There is one thing that I miss.

I recall being a lot more centered and calmer prior to becoming extroverted. I did always wonder what I was missing out on, but some parts of me miss the old me that I kept in a bubble.

Others

I have a friend that doesn’t care what others think. She does what she pleases, respects other people, and doesn’t think too deeply about life, she just lives! I admire this so much and to me, she shows much strength.

Many people, including myself, share a good amount about their lives. I also appreciate the beauty in this type of person because they can be open, vulnerable, and be themselves.

Sometimes I almost feel a sort of anxiety or obsession with sharing what is going on in my life and wanting to know what is happening with others. It is nearly impossible and probably not even necessary to do so. The realities of living with OCD I suppose!

Beauty

There is beauty in mystery and silence. There is also a great strength. There is beauty in vulnerability and being able to share and connect with other human beings. There is peace in striving for a balance of the two.

While I still admire the souls that just don’t care and they live their life to the fullest without a care, I also admire those who are just themselves and are living authentically. Every one of us could be a lot happier if we stayed true to who we are.

The world goes round because of the different souls that walk this Earth. No two people are the same and this is what makes life beautiful!

I Am Afraid to Be Me

I know that this title sounds silly, but it is the absolute truth. I am afraid to be me and by this, I mean that I am afraid to be real, raw, and 100% authentic.

I believe that this way of thinking stems from my younger years. I was bullied a lot for being a shy kid. I wanted to have a lot of friends; however, I didn’t have the greatest communication skills. The friends that I had were more like acquaintances, I felt like no one truly knew me because I had a wall up.

Why I am Afraid 

I am scared of being judged, abandoned, rejected, and ridiculed like I was back when I was younger. I have completely morphed into a very different person today, but that shy introverted teen still lives within me and so do the scars.

Everyone wants to feel love and acceptance and the thought of that being withheld is very painful. I am afraid to say what’s on my mind, my beliefs, or who I am. Parts that I don’t like about myself I try to hide, hoping that no one will notice.

The Outside Doesn’t Match the Inside

I am the kind of girl that hides behind a smile and a face full of makeup, I am the kind of girl that will sugarcoat what I think to not hurt someone’s feelings, I am someone who would rather keep my feelings inside to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. I am the kind of girl that everyone thinks has her life together and doesn’t have a care in the world. They don’t see that I put up a front that all is okay even when it’s not.

I am mostly outgoing and bubbly, I love to joke and have fun, and I love deep conversation and getting to know other people even though I clam up when they try to get to know me. I love to laugh.

I admire those that are real and raw. I admire those that can share what is on their mind and in their hearts without fear. They can share parts of themselves and not care what other people think. They are just them and I love that, I aspire to be that.

As I Get Older 

I am getting better at being authentic. I am learning to share my mind and learning to communicate better to prevent getting myself into an even worse situation. I am trying very hard, and this is a real goal of mine that I am desperately trying to reach.

I am very good at giving advice and terrible at following my own, I am a work-in-progress, and I am truly hoping to continue down this path of being 100% authentic and having true self-love.

An Important Reminder

Each one of us is unique and beautiful and our past has no place in the present or future. Sometimes it is hard to shed parts of ourselves, but we keep showing up every day, learning and growing.