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
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
Like a mother, I feel incredibly happy and proud of this being I’ve created that means everything to me. Time flies far too fast, and my “baby” is all grown up. It’s odd to say a blog/website could feel like a living thing, but that is the truth. Blue Lollipop Road has been alive and active now for exactly 7 years, and I can honestly say that my life changed forever on 10/16/08 when I wrote my first blog post. It’s as if I grew up a little more that day, ready to share myself, and pass on love & lessons within this next generation of me.
That indescribably and overwhelming never-the-same feeling people talk about when they have kids!
Amazing.
This month is graduation time for my sweet, sweet, BLR- to version 2.0. The next adventure begins on 10/26, as I give this larger than life entity a complete makeover. So excited!
Like all things or people worth it in this crazy life, hard work is required, we are likely to shake fists in the air with frustration, shed tears occasionally, and then spin around in pure bliss, too. For anything or anyone worth it, exhaustion is part of the package, disappointment will creep in sometimes, and heartbreak is unavoidable. With all the bad, comes so much good, though- and blows every last icky feeling we may have ever experienced out of the water. Ahhh…those moments It’s all worth it; those undeniable joyful seconds of purity you feel when that “thing” you have put every once of your being- your complete heart and soul in, looks up and says I love you.
Well, I love you, too Blue Lollipop Road.
Thank you for motivating me, teaching me, making me sad, happy, confused, proud, frustrated, and for helping me to continually believe in everything possible. Thank you for holding my hand so I’m able to remain fearless and love hard. Thank you mostly, for making me feel completely alive. Because of you, I can be best version of myself and feel like I have a purpose on this planet. That is the best feeling ever.
My sweet, sweet, BLR! What a run (or should I say, drive), we have had together!
Here’s to a billion more years of the good madness that is the life roller coaster, and hoping that together, we can inspire and light good fire inside everyone we meet.
#Love #Mojo #Believe
*Took this photo a couple days ago, full on filthy in work pants at a client job in Virginia. Good times geeking out at the view and always sporting a BLR tee!
Camping, (whether in the car or in a tent) is so much fun. (And so much cheaper!) We’d much rather spend those extra bucks on some good food and get the bonus of star-gazing and listening to the sounds of nature:
It was a little chilly at 45 degrees in West Virginia last night, but waking up to this:
…was so much better than waking up to 4 white walls. I’ll take a little chill for a morning like this one, any day.
When is the last time you slept under the stars?
#AdventureOnABudget #Camping #Fall #RoadTrip