From part of a conversation I had tonight, with someone who’s walking the walk…
“Bottom line: Life is not for sissies.”
Ain’t that the truth.
What are you putting up a good fight for?
#PhotosFromTheBlueLollipopRoad #FreeYourMind #AlwaysLookingUp
…on a Friday at 2pm:
…is that a sign that you should just shut it down and really go play in nature?
I think so.
Happy Weekend my friends!
What are you doing to break free?
#Freedom #FreshAir #LifeOnTheBlueLollipopRoad
And I don’t usually punch things, any things…especially in the face.
I felt abnormally blah all day yesterday, just yucky, even though I kicked off a brand-new (and very exciting) BLR collaborative project that’s a big deal. (More on that in an upcoming post.)
I couldn’t shake the funk, so at the end of the work day I came home and laid right down on the wood floors in my apartment on my back and closed my eyes in hopes to exorcise my funk demons. My arms and legs were right out straight as if I was trying to make a snow (ahem- dust angel.) After a few minutes of lying there I knew I needed to get outside, so I got up, strapped on my sneakers, and went for a 2 hour walk:
…doing my best to hide behind sunglasses and a hat, and just disappear.
Being in nature in the quiet is a wonderful magical medicine.
After sharing about my funk with a friend this morning who knows all too well, the hell that life can bring sometimes, I got this in my inbox:
“There are three things you can do when life sends a wave at you. You can run from it, but then it’s going to catch up and knock you down. You can also fall back on your ego and try to stand your ground, but then it’s still going to clobber you. Or you can use it as an opportunity to go deep, and transform yourself to match the circumstances. And that’s how you get through the wave.”
~ Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
What I learned on my walk last night and from that friend today:
1.) Exercise has saved my life, mentally and physically- and more times than once. I could never advocate enough for moving your body in any way, shape, or form. Every. Day.
2.) I am increasingly thankful for love and support around me. Being loved and feeling loved is pretty awesome. Feeling lonely is awful.
3.) I feel incredibly lucky to have a healthy body and legs that can walk for two hours, even though the past year or so has been by far the most challenging one of my life, and often left me feeling paralyzed head to toe.
4.) No matter how broken I ever feel, I will always believe that this world is one big party train full of possibility, and we all have the choice to hop on anytime we want to.
Life is always unfinished. Look up, and just keep walking…
#GetUp #GoDeep #AlwaysKeepLookingUp
I went floating today. Blue skies, perfect temperatures, peaceful setting, poofy clouds…as nice as it could be. It was great to just lean back, breathe, and be in nature on the water, taking in the scenery:
I kept looking up and thinking of a certain few people I know, who would’ve given anything to be spending a beautiful day on the river.
Here’s to never taking any days for granted.
“Beginnings are usually scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s what’s in the middle that counts. So when you find yourself at the beginning, just give hope a chance to float up. And it will.”
~Steven Rogers
#Thankful #CarpeDiem #Remembering
Favorite photo I’ve taken this week. Feels like I can reach out and pick one!
#Napa #BirthdayMonth #Travel
My annual July adventure up north for green space fresh-air & BLR Play It Forward Event time ended up being way more than I bargained for/planned on/expected/hoped/dreamed of/wished. Like way more. Some good, some bad, and some really ugly.
As I sit in my office back at home base, surrounded by piles of things to take care of (that’s literal and figurative), I look at this photo from a couple weeks ago when I was peacefully sipping coffee at a boat house and think- ahhh…wouldn’t it be nice if life was that calm & easy. (Then I think maybe not so much because we’d never learn how to handle the bumps and bruises that come along.)
My brother sent this video to me via text the other day when I was on a long drive and just feeling awful. I laughed so hard in my stomach hurt. This is absolutely hilarious, with my favorite line being about the “3-ring sh*t-show” of life. Be warned; this is for adults, lots of eff-bombs/inappropriate language:
Seriously, how can you not laugh at something like this, especially when life is handing you so many lemons every kid on your street would be able to make enough gallons of lemonade to sell & finance their 4-year education?
It always seems by the time I end up sitting down and logging on to write here, I have too much I want to share about my experiences that I don’t even know where to begin. For now I will say that I continue to be so incredibly thankful to all my family & friends for being such a big part in why life is beautiful. (And “brutiful” as my friend Laura says.) Also, Play It Forward 2015 was an amazing success and I am one happy camper about that. (More on our event here soon. Our generous volunteer photographer, Nicole is editing photos as I type.) Beyond those two things today, I will share some things I have learned and re-learned from this crazy summer of 2015 so far:
*Life is too short
*There’s a lot of fear floating around this earth
*If you feel like you want to do something or say something, you should start doing it right now
*There are few things better than spending time with good old friends
*You will never forget that time when you were a grown adult that your Mom literally had to hold you up and hold your hand at a funeral- otherwise you would have never been able to do it. (I love you so much, Mom.)
*If you compartmentalize deep/heavy/important/significant stuff for too long, it will rear It’s ugly head sooner than later
*We must wake up everyday even when we are drowning in that sea of lemonade that has come rushing toward us (see above making lemons out of lemonade), and be inspired to do better, be better, and live better- even when we feel like total crap
Feeling scared, sorry for yourself, or overly bummed about tough stuff or things that are happening that are not so awesome? Think about those people (we all know far too many) who no longer have a choice; The ones who if they did, would give anything and everything for a chance to just be free and feel healthy, to spend just a few more minutes doing something they’re passionate about, to have just one more hug from the ones they love.
Now that’s motivation.
Go get it, ya’ll. Put the courage belt on, clip yourself in tight for an incredible ride, and start driving. Live. Time’s a wastin’
#StayInspired #Believe #LiveWhileYoureLiving
What a gorgeous view from the top:
Lucky us practicing our freedom to hike on a sunny day at this place.
No matter what day of the year it is, I am so incredibly thankful for all the people who make it possible for me to go, be, do, see anything and everything I want to in this free country.
#Thankful #FreedomIsEverything #Roam
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