Archive | September 2013

Gratitude & Pain <3

I am struggling today with a severe tmjd flare up. Tmjd is my chronic, currently incurable facial pain disorder. I have pain which is mild to moderate to unbearably severe and beyond.

There’s really no effective treatments other than home remedies. My current flare up is bad but not as bad as it sometimes is. It’s moderate bordering on severe. But not yet to the point when I would scream at the top of my lungs for hours through the night.

I woke up while it was still dark out in excruciating pain. So what better circumstance to write a gratitude list?!

I want to strengthen my habit of associating my pain with gratitude & joy. It hurts. So bad. So I will think of & list & dwell on all of my wonderful blessings.

1.) beautiful uplifting quotes

2.) I have friends & family & people I know.

3.) hope

4.) I have a job

5.) my beautiful senses & body & ability

6.) this blog

7.) this Fall – like evening
8.) Pumpkin Spice coffee
9.) lovely music
10.) adorable animals

11.) my positive attitude

12.) my ability to feel pain

13.) The fact that I am loving & ccompassionate for people whether I know them or not

14.) The fact that I filled out an application recently for job/training for peer specialist /counseling

15.) The stars & moon above me.

So here is my brief list. There’s so much more I couldn’t possibly list it all.

I’m too blessed to be able to list all my blessings. Lol. ;-D

I hope you, too, are feeling blessed. My heart goes out to all of you struggling with chronic pain and/or sickness. My heart breaks to think of it and how so many people have pain worse than and more frequent than mine. I wish I could take it away.

Much love & healing to you. May we find strength, hope, healing, & comfort in our pain & darkness.

Xox0 Kim

P.s. Always remember, “When you’re going through Hell, keep on going….”

“Ordinary” people who inspire me <3

Sep9

There’s a lot of inspirational people in this world who most of us know about: celebrities, authors, politicians, world leaders, other famous or well known people. Ones who people tend to think of as extraordinary.

But then there’s the other people. The ones who aren’t famous. They’re not known in the media or around the world. Maybe they’re your friends. Your family members. Your coworker or neighbor. Someone you met at a bus stop. A teacher you had in school one year, a professor in college. A random stranger on the street or a salesperson at a store, a customer at a place you work.

All the “little” things they do may not reach as many people, maybe the impact of them doesn’t reach people at the same magnitude as the people frequently publicized in the media. But their actions, words, kindness, compassion, & love are no less extraordinary to the lives they touch & warm.

Inspirational people are everywhere.

I decided to create a list of some people who have at one point inspired me somehow. Some of them I know personally. Others I have only encountered once in all my days. But all of their lives have touched mine, somehow, for the better.

1.) The man who stopped his car to ask another man, a random stranger, if he needed help with the ladder he was putting up. “Yo, buddy, you need help with that?” he asked. And it warmed me to see such random kindness extended to a stranger.

2.) The man who noticed I was lost one day and offered me help without me asking. I was lost in Center City Philadelphia a few years ago. I was confused and had no idea where to go or who to ask for help. I walked along the crowded, busy streets and must have appeared to be lost & confused. A man I have never seen before approached me with a warm smile & genuine concern, asking me if I need help. I told him yes, I can’t seem to find what bus I need to get home. He asked me where I was going and showed me where to go. He helped me find my way back home.

3.) The group of little girls who blessed me with kindness which was more than necessary. I was working at the store one night and a group of young girls came for ice cream. They were no older than 13 years old. They all sat on the bench after paying, to eat their ice cream. They were all wearing girls soccer uniforms. After they ate their ice cream they came back to the window and looked at me smiling and whispering to each other. I suspected that they were doing this in the way girls do when they are being malicious. Girls of all ages do this. They can be 8 years, 13 years, 25 years, 40 years, 60 years or older and they will stare, whisper, smirk, gossip, about other girls. Not all girls do this but many do. I wasn’t sure but I thought maybe these girls were doing this. But they were not. They each pulled out money, put it together and handed it to me, “This is a tip for you, thank you” and they smiled at me warmly and walked away. I was and still am so touched by their kindness and generosity.

4.) Diane, the lady who brags about me as if I am her own daughter. I have known her for about 7 years, I met her at work. She has a few sons who are close to the same age as me. She loves to introduce me to new people , loves to tell them how sweet I am, how friendly & loving, and all about my education and interests. If you listened to her,you would think I’m her own daughter the way she’s so proud and so ready to show me off to people.

5.) Brian, my next door neighbor who loves to help stray animals. He is so dedicated to helping homeless cats. He takes them in during storms, feeds them on his steps even though other neighbors get angry saying he attracts them. He goes on doing what he loves, helping animals in need. He places bowls of food near a lot on the street for a mommy kat & her kitties. He comes out at all hours of the night checking on them. He is very friendly & kind.

6.) The stranger who I told everything to in the rain one day under his umbrella at the bus stop. It was after my therapist appointment one day. It was raining hard. It was beautiful. I was waiting for the bus. He stood next to me and put his umbrella over me. He wasn’t coming on to me, wasn’t trying to hook up, wasn’t being a creep or trying to take advantage. He just wanted to help me not get soaked and was genuinely interested in my story. He asked if I live around there I said no. He asked if I work near there. I said no. I told him I go there for therapy. He was interested in why. I told him I have severe depression. He couldn’t relate much but told me his sister can. He asked what it’s like for me. I told him. I expected him to turn away at first, to give me a weird look, a scared look, which some strangers have done when I told them. But he looked at me in no such way. He was kind, compassionate, empathetic, interested, friendly. And he told me about his life & his sister. It was perfect.

7.) The lady who came to my work to buy ice cream and bought a homeless man everything he wanted. He was so grateful, she was genuinely concerned. I bought him a soda. He was so moved. He cried. Said he never experienced such warmth & kindness.

8.) The little girl who came to the store where I work to buy something. She started to walk away then turned back and said “I just want to tell you, you look beautiful tonight.”

9.) The doctors & nurses in the hospital I was in when I was 21 years old and had to get emergency surgery for my kidney. They were so kind, warm, caring, compassionate, & genuinely concerned. I have never been so sick and in so much pain before then. My heroes.

10.) The very patient & helpful Philadelphia detective when I had to try to identify someone who held a gun to my chest and no one in the pictures were that man. Another detective was inpatient, fed up, angry, and bitter with me, for not knowing enough info. Which I understand with all the stressful, heroic work he does day in & day out. But this other man, he was warm & told me how helpful I was and how good I did even though I wasn’t very helpful.

11.) The psychiatric technician I met during one of my hospitalizations for depression. Very caring, compassionate, uplifting, empathetic, unlike many other of the staff members. He cared about us truly. He told us about his own struggle with addiction, how he was hopeless at one point and turned his life around and now helps people who are in a dark place where he once was. He told us we all have an inner sun and to let it shine through, to take good care of ourselves, how deserving we are of love, how capable we are of turning our own lives around. He told us about the “Gambler” song sung by Kenny Rogers and how inspiring it is about life in general, which I already knew but love more now.

This is just a brief list. I have many more inspiring memories/people as well. And not only positive / happy people and things can be inspirational. Tears, heartbreak, struggles, pain, illness, setbacks…can all inspire us and strengthen us.

Who are the “ordinary” people in your everyday who inspire you? I encourage you to frequently make mental notes, and even lists on paper or electronic lists. One seemingly small act of kindness can be so big to the person’s whose life it touches.

You may be touching other people’s lives for the better everyday without even knowing!

You can inspire people in person & through your writing or drawing or singing.

I believe we should appreciate all of the people and the simple things they do and the way they inspire us everyday and I believe we should be the kind of person who inspires others.

Much love, laughter, life, inspiration, & healing to you all.

Thank You, Earthbound angels. Thank You mortal goddesses & gods.

Xox0 Kim

😀

Heart’s Flowers <3 {—–{—–@

Sep6

“Deep within the sanctuary
Of ourselves there is a glade,
Where the grass is always greenest,
And the flowers never fade.
Nowhere is a garden sweeter,
Than the one love’s own hands tend,
Where affection falls like sunlight,
Warming and awakening.

Everlasting are the blossoms,
That are nourished in the heart,
Little lights and little shadows,
Who can tell the two apart?
He who plants the smallest kindness,
Sows indeed a mighty seed,
For through years, like little acres,
…Only love uproots the weed!” ~ Grace E. Easley

I came across this poem today by Grace E. Easley

Isn’t it lovely?!

It may be hard to feel or recognize but with self work and some inner exploration and authentic self excavation we can find/create it. We can meditate, write freely in a journal or wherever you want, answer deep life questions, ponder, and reflect to find our truth and love deep within no matter what the outside world brings to us or around us.

When we nourish and cherish ourselves and tend to our deep inner needs, we can grow and find that we are all we truly need to be joyful. Nurture yourself. Care for yourself. Give to yourself. Love yourself. As well as others. Little lights & little shadows. As the poem states, “who can tell the two apart?”.
Pain & pleasure. Darkness & light. Happiness & sadness. Weakness & strength. They contrast each other and one seems painful while the other seems like a gift. The truth is negative feelings and experiences can also be gifts to teach us and guide us and allow us to truly appreciate the goodness and realize it.

A life of all profound joy & happiness & positivity, if it were possible, may be good to a certain extent but if we just always felt a pure state of pleasure, happiness, and joy with no pain, no negativity, no darkness, no struggles would we ever be able to truly, fully, recognize and appreciate the goodness? What if there were no struggles or adversity? Can we ever truly grow and have depth and substance? I think adversity and challenges help us become. Become all we can. Grow and appreciate. I would never recommend to go out intentionally looking for direct troubles and inflicting pain upon ourselves or others just so we can grow or help others grow and learn but troubles and problems are inevitable as long as we’re living and so we can use them to our advantage and sculpt ourselves into someone who is stronger and wiser. We can choose to view them in a more positive light. We can practice seeing them as blessings in disguise instead of a curse, an affliction, seeing ourselves as victims.

I think it’s good to sometimes take certain risks even if we don’t look for direct trouble. By loving, we risk losing or rejection. Filling out applications, we risk rejection. By trying we risk failing or not succeeding how we want to. By speaking up, we risk ridicule or criticism. But all of this can teach us and strengthen us if we let it.

These are some of my thoughts for the day. I hope everyone is having a beautiful day or night wherever you are and if not I hope you find some consolation & healing when you need it most.

Xoxo Kim

Liebster Award (Thank You Etsuchan!!!) :-D

Sep3

I am so honored and very happy to announce that Etsuchan : http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/

Has nominated me for the Liebster blog Award!!!
:-D. I love that someone likes my blog enough to find me deserving of this!

Here are the rules:

Each nominee must link back the person who nominated them.
Answer the 10 questions which are given to you by the nominator.

Nominate 10 other bloggers for this award (

Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer.

Let the nominees know that they have been nominated by going to their blog and notifying them.

Here are the questions that Etsuchan http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/
Has asked her nominees to answer & my answers:

1. Why did you start blogging in the first place?

I started this blog to record /share all of the thoughts and things that inspire & uplift me. I struggle with a severe form of depression & a currently incurable chronic facial pain disorder which tends to flare up and cause severe pain and I have learned positive ways to cope with it and often prevent severe flare ups of both, using positive techniques. I believe inspirational ideas, personal development, self-help, and general positivity can help everyone, not just those who struggle with a disability/illness. And I believe there’s always room for development. I love to help, share with, and inspire people so I created this blog to help others in any way I can and to help myself.

2. What was your favourite childhood toy?
I used to have a small stuffed, tan, bear I loved so much! I wish I still had him! I also used to love baby dolls!

3. “I have a dream!” – what is yours?
My dream for the world is for more tolerance, acceptance, & love, empathy, compassion, healing, and understanding of others, cures for diseases, ending starvation….for all living, sentient beings. And my dream for myself is to have a job helping others, something like a mental health counselor,peer specialist, or something of that sort.

4. Do you have pets? If so, tell us 3 facts about your pet. If not, which pet would (or wouldn’t) you like to have?

I have pets! Quite a few! They are the center of my universe!

Isis Summerjo – a very large pit bull! She is big and cuddly,very gentle and loving, easily afraid of things like balloons, talking toys, cats..she’s a big baby! She gives her paw without being asked, when she wants whatever food we are eating. She steals my blankets every night! She’s 6 years old! 😀

Oscar – a little shih tzu boy. He is very cute and loves to be held and loves to beg for food. While he loves to be held,he doesn’t like the process of being picked up! He growls! Lol. He reminds us of a human boy/man. My mom and me joke a lot that he’s “a real boy” or a man trapped in a dog’s body! Lol He seems to know certain things that dogs don’t really know. He always loved watching my sister or me take our shirts off, he just stares & stares! He likes girls’ boobs. My sister thinks it’s creepy! Lol. And he doesn’t like anyone to see him going potty. He goes to a little hiding place to go! Lol

Boobie – Boobie’s given name is actually Sweetheart but when we got her 11 years ago, almost, I started calling her Boobie just because I thought it seemed like a cute name for her. Boobie is what everyone calls her. Except my mom calls her Pup. Boobie is a chihuahua/dashund mix. She is very friendly but she doesn’t want the outside world to exist! lol. She doesn’t like strangers and any noise outside she barks and growls like crazy! She loves to snuggle up and she brings toys and does little dances when we have food so that we’ll give her some! We did not teach her to do this, she just does it! On September 6th, this month, Boobs will be 11 years old!
And we will celebrate!

Emmy – Emmy is my little 8 month old pomeranian boy . We had him for almost 5 months but it feels like forever now and I love him as much as all the others. He is extremely wild, energetic, loving and playful! My mom calls him “the little terror.”. He has a mischievous look always on his little face. He loves being a bad boy! He actually looks around to see what he can get into. He’s frequently into stuff he shouldn’t be and is always on the go! He chews up shoes and things, bras are his favorite! He loves to be held and he cannot give enough kisses! He chewed my watch and ripped my nose ring out which I had for almost 10 years! He is an extremely intelligent boy and he goes in my bag and takes out slim Jims that he knows are in there for them because I get them at work for treats for them. Sometimes he brings slim Jims to my mom, dad, and me all night to open up for him, while we’re sleeping! Lol

These fur babies are all spoiled! Lol! They get everything they want as long as it’s safe for them. They sleep in bed and on furniture and we celebrate every one of their anniversaries and birthdays and they get toys & treats. I have had dogs my whole life and can never imagine not sharing my life with a dog.

We also have cats, ferrets, and birdies! I love them all!!

5. Your source of inspiration for your posts?
Sometimes I just have thoughts/ideas that I feel the desire to post because I think they are interesting, uplifting, positive, and helpful and inspiring. Also, pain, any kind of pain, inspires me to post or write. I know that writing and sharing can help me cope and help someone else who may be struggling. And I have developed a positive habit of letting pain remind me of beauty and good things and when I think of or see beautiful or good things, I am inspired to write & share! I also like to share what I have learned & what I think about it when I read things in books or online.

6. The worst life experience
I will tell about one recent one I have posted about. My dog, Koko, who was a pomeranian mix died of old age in April this year. We had her for 12 years and she was 14 years old. It is one of the most painful experiences ever. It was so hard to handle. Shortly after Koko died, I saw a sign advertising that pom puppies needed a home. There was one left and my mom thought it would be a sweet honor of Koko since she was a pom mix,if we get this little pom boy. Everyone agreed and we got him! Although I love him just as much, no one can ever replace someone who has died and I don’t want anyone to. I love that we were able to give Emmy a loving furever home and he helps so much with my grief. He brings so much joy.

7. The best life experience
I don’t have just one. I think everyday is beautiful but one life experience that I am blessed with is healing my depression and now being generally and genuinely happy instead of depressed & being able to positively share my experiences & lessons learned with others and letting other people & their experiences teach me. I still have severe flare ups of depression but not as often and they usually are not as bad and don’t last as long as they used to. And I can cope much better when I am hit with one. I have severe recurrent episodes and used to have mild /moderate depression in the middle of severe episodes. Now I don’t have depression in the middle of severe episodes usually, just happiness. I can find beauty & inspiration everywhere I look. I can now see how depression made me better than if I never experienced it. I work on myself constantly to be the best me I can be. I let the pain make me better,not bitter. I still have relapses every now & then but I don’t struggle almost everyday anymore like I used to.

8. Describe the clothes you’re wearing right now
I’m in my pj’s in bed! Lol. Short pink shorts and a yellow flowered design, strapless shirt! 😀

9. If you could save the world from the bad aliens, how would you do that?

Hmmm…good question!! lol! What I would do is create a vacuum – like machine and suck all the aliens in! Then I would put them all into a big room together and then gather up some human volunteers to help me educate the aliens on kindness & acceptance of diversity. Trying to get them to want to be good and not destructive and want to work together with other living beings for the common good. If they had a change of heart, I would love for them to join us or visit us more here on Earth and we can all be one big happy family! If not I would use the vacuum like machine to send them back to their homeland and keep a watch on them to make sure they do not try to destroy the Earth! Lol ;-D

10. Perfect names for your children..?
I like Kimball for a boy! Named after me.
I have always loved Jacqueline for a girl. So pretty.

Thank You so much Etsuchan
http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/
for these lovely questions! Very interesting! I love the mix and had so much fun answering them!

Now here are 10 of my favorite blogs other than

http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/

That I an nominating!

http://terry1954.wordpress.com/

http://gyatoday.wordpress.com/

http://studentswithbirds.wordpress.com/

http://awindowofwisdom.wordpress.com/

http://talesbycindy.wordpress.com/

http://wordslikesilk.com/

http://pflead73.wordpress.com/

http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/

http://herbloggings.wordpress.com/

http://rosebushchronicles.com/

These are not in any certain order, just random and I know some have more than the maximum amount of followers required but oh well! ;-D

Please check out these wonderful blogs!! And don’t forget to also check out:

http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/

I love her blog and her amazing outlook on life and things!! 😀

Here are my 12 questions but the rule is you only have to answer 10 if you want! So you can choose 10 of the 12 if you want or less if that’s what you prefer! Whatever floats your boat! That’s if you want to, of course, you can choose to answer none! 😀

1.). What are a few things that inspire you to be the best you?

2.). Tell about one thing you find to be beautiful that many/most people seem to see as ugly.

3.) To you, what constitutes true friendship?

4.) What is one painful experience you previously endured that you now see as a blessing?

5.) What is your favorite book? Or one of them?

6.) What is one song that can be considered one of your life theme songs? One that describes you, your life in general, or your outlook on something.

7.). What are three quotes that inspire you somehow?

8.) If you had to choose, would you choose to have average intelligence and be ridiculously beautiful physically or have average physical beauty but be a genius?

9.) Do you have a Philosophy of life that you consciously try to live by? If so, briefly explain the basics of it.

10.) Which one of your senses (see, hear, taste, feel/touch, smell) do you think would be the most difficult to live without?

11.). What are three things you like about yourself that are not physical characteristics? (personality traits, virtues..) Now list three things you like about yourself that are physical characteristics. (eye color, hair, legs…)

12.) What accomplishment of yours are you most proud of?

Thank You SO MUCH again Etsuchan!!!

http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/

This was so much fun!!

I love these blogs and many more and all of these bloggers contribute so much with their writing & thoughts & pictures, heartbreak & joy, happiness& sadness, laughter & tears, input & caring to share with us all!

Xox0 Kim

Your Beautiful Body – {awe}, {wonder}, {inspired} WOW! :-D <3

Sep1

I am often filled with wonder and awe at the things around me and within me. I believe that every single one of us should take full advantage of being alive. And not just by realizing your big dreams or doing more of what you love or being around people who make you happy. All of that too. But one way to take the experience of being alive and conscious and make the best of it is to milk it for all you can, yup, milk that shit for all (or awe?!) it’s worth! Lol

And I’m not the only weirdo who thinks this way! Lol. Need some convincing? Here you are:

http://thedailylove.com/don’t-just-think-about-it-–-thank-about-it/

I read that when it first came out and I could not believe how it resonates with me and how someone else feels this way! Wow!

Look around you. Look. What do you see? Hear? Feel? Smell? Taste? The same things you always do, right? All the ordinary. Mundane occurrences. Monotonous things. Nothing special, right?

Wrong!

Everything is amazing. Beyond amazing. Everything is truly incredible. Wondrous. Miraculous. There is astounding beauty all around. Within.

Look at the trees, the branches and leaves blowing in the wind, feel the air on your skin, look at the sky, take in the scents all around you, listen to the songbirds, the crickets, the cars, taste the food you put into your mouth, citrus like the sun, sweet like honeysuckle flowers drenched in morning mist, salt like tears, tears of heartbreak & joy, pain & gratitude..bask in the wonders, the rain upon your skin..watch the sun awaken or set. Or both.

You don’t have to believe in any supernatural beings, religion, or any spiritual realms to see everything, even the “ordinary”, as a “miracle.”

Just because we have instant access to something every single day doesn’t mean it’s not beautiful or wondrous or that it can’t be awe-inspiring. I love that I can see every day. That I can hear. That I can wake up. That I can walk. That I can look up at the sky and feel life surge through me like electricity.

I have been able to do these things all my life and if nothing goes very wrong, I always will! But it just never gets old.

Sometimes beautiful things and a feeling of wonder and awe of life may come so easily, naturally, automatically but other occasions it may be hard to see beauty or feel inspired and we really have to look and make a conscious decision to look for it and receive it.

I don’t know most people but it seems to me that most of us do not have many awe-inspiring experiences or feel wonder and beauty with each breath or even just once a day.

I’m not talking about the overuse/”misuse” of the word “awesome ” that many people are in the habit of saying, like when people say like “that car is awesome ” or she’s so “awesome” or that baseball team, well they’re just so…
Awesome, meaning those things are “cool” or those are what’s up. Not something that’s trendy and “neat-o” .

Awesome like something provoking a deep feeling of awe in us. Awe – respectful fear & wonder. Like the way Lionel Richie uses this word in his song, “Say You, Say Me”.

Yup! Some things are so wondrous, so beautiful, it’s quite scary! ;-O

We see aesthetically pleasing things or hear them frequently if our senses function but how often do we let those things inspire us to the bones, to the core? How often can we feel them tingling in every cell of the body and deep into the marrow of our bones? How often are we overwhelmed, weak at the knees just thinking about the astounding gift of being alive? And not just things experienced through the senses but everything. Everything felt inside. Heartwarming. Look at your friends. Your family. Your pets. Yourself. And feel how incredible it is to have have those things. Those people. Not just like having fun with, & loving them but how amazing it is, the experience of knowing them, of having them.

We take so much for granted. The beauty I feel runs so deep. The love. The inspiration is so ingrained. I have these moments usually at least once a day, usually strongest at night or the early morning. It’s like the wonder of a child, or a philosopher. Or someone who has just stepped out of a life of utter darkness.
As if a big, thick, heavy quilt was just snatched off of me after a life of being covered by it. And now I can see. And I will never be used to this feeling.

What is it? This feeling that overcomes me, breathes in me when everything just astounds me and I cannot believe I am blessed with such shocking, unbelievable beauty & love & inspiration & life ?

I speak of developing & strengthening positive habits frequently and this is one habit that I believe is incredible to develop and maintain.

When we look and appreciate and meditate upon the goodness of these wonders and joys, and look & see with “new” eyes as if we have never really seen before, when we imagine a life without these wonders, it can help us so much to feel, live, and breathe life, inspiration, beauty.

When we think, “What are the chances?”

Think of your body. How often do you think we think of our bodies? Very frequently right? But usually when we think of our own body, it’s about or in relation to its appearance, the aesthetics of it, how it looks to us and others, or when it’s hungry.

And usually it seems, at least to me, when people think of their own body, it’s in a very negative way. It doesn’t match up to those standards of beauty we have in our heads about how it should look or be.

But for once, I would like everyone to silence the hostile and toxic criticism of the appearance of their own bodies and even the mere thought of its physical appearance and instead look upon it with wonder & awe. Not for what it looks like but for what it does.

You think your fantastic car is amazing? Your intelligent phone? Those “I” things with access to the Internet? They sure are but they don’t even come close to the beauty and wonder that is your body!

Your body is one of the most amazing wonders no matter what it looks like or how perfectly or imperfectly it functions.

Your heart. Your lungs. Your kidneys. Your stomach. Your liver. Bones. Blood. Veins. Breath. Nerves. Your eyes. Your ears. Your tongue. Your appendix. Your intestines. Your skin. Every gorgeous curve of your body. Your spleen. Your boobies. (big or small, it doesn’t matter! Lol) Your back. Your spine that holds you. That lovely smile. Your uplifting laugh. Your beautiful eyelashes. Your dna, your fingerprints, your blueprint. Your finger/toe nails. Your hair. Your nose. Your fingers & your toes. All of those things! Isn’t it amazing?!??!

All the things it can do! It allows you to think. Experience. Feel. Live. Be.

Put your hands on your face. Make eye contact with someone, even a stranger, and connect on a basic human level. Smile. Feel those little, beautiful bones in your neck. Look at those lines of life in your wrists. Look at someone else’s body and feel the awe surge through you.

We’re so used to having a body. So used to seeing everyone else’s bodies everywhere we go. We overlook the miraculous wonder of them. The way they exist. The way they function. They way they let us live. My body is beautiful. Your body is beautiful. Breathtaking.

Here are some mind – blowing facts just for you today!

The average adult heart beats 72 times a minute; 100,000 times a day; 3,600,000 times a year; and 2.5 billion times during a lifetime.

Source:
(Parramon’s Editorial Team. 2005. Essential Atlas of Physiology. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc.)

A kitchen faucet would need to be turned on all the way for at least 45 years to equal the amount of blood pumped by the heart in an average lifetime.

Source :
(Avraham, Regina. 2000. The Circulatory System. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House Publishers.)

Every day, the heart creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles. In a lifetime, that is equivalent to driving to the moon and back.

Source:
(Avraham, Regina. 2000. The Circulatory System. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House Publishers.)

During an average lifetime, the heart will pump nearly 1.5 million barrels of blood—enough to fill 200 train tank cars.

Source:
(Avraham, Regina. 2000. The Circulatory System. Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House Publishers.)

Check this for more lovely facts!
http://facts.randomhistory.com/human-heart-facts.html

And here ‘s another one for you :

Stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve metal, even sharp objects such as razor blades. Although swallowing metal is never a good idea, it will seriously injure or kill a person before it’s dissolved by the person ‘s stomach acid.
(Li. P. K.; Spittler C.; Taylor C. W.; Sponseller D.; Chung R.S.; Department of Surgery, Meridia Huron and Hillcrest Hospitals, Cleveland , Ohio
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy ISSN 0016-5107)

But isn’t that amazing?! ;-D

And think of when you have a cut or a broken bone. Whether or not you need medical assistance, that body of yours heals itself. Your skin closes back up. It’s almost too good to be true. But it’s not because It IS true!

Imagine walking up a street and out of nowhere being overwhelmed by the incredible beauty of living, imagine the feeling as if you will burst into tears at any moment. Not tears of sorrow or pain. But tears of joy and gratitude.

I want you to love your body for letting you live. And live so well. Nourish it. Cherish it. Your body hears everything you say & think so watch what you say, you don’t want to stress it out! Or piss it off.

Here is something to ponder written by Albert Einstein :

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people; first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest -a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Only a life lived for others is worth living.”

–Albert Einstein

(I don’t necessarily agree with it in its entirety. I like this. Very compassionate & intelligent, generous man! But that last line, it kind of rubs me the wrong way. And not merely because he says we should live for others but the gall to assume only certain kinds of lives or worth living. I don’t think he’s saying we should live to be servants at the expense of our own sanity and welfare but some people may take it that way. I completely agree we should help others and not demand or expect tangible things or favors in return and should have compassion and empathy and that we are all connected in ways. We can help others and love all living creatures without wearing ourselves out to be their servants. We must find the correct balance and set healthy boundaries. But yeah I wouldn’t say any life is ‘not worth living’. But I guess that calls for a whole other post!)

Ohhhh, the wild joys of living…..

“Oh the wild joys of living! The leaping from rock to rock … the cool silver shock of the plunge in a pool’s living waters.” ~ Robert Browning

I hope you find that inspiration, that music in your bones, that magic in your heart, that awareness, & gratitude, those awe-provoking moments that will blow you away. And always remember, even the ordinary is truly extraordinary when we really.

😀

Xo Kim

P.s.

https://livingmindfully.org/

http://www.meditationoasis.com/