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Dandelions

(I took this lovely pic with my phone!!!)

“When you look at a field of dandelions, you can either see a hundred weeds or a hundred wishes” ~ Unknown

I love taking walks and taking pictures of all the incredible wonders I see around me. My mom often scolds me and my little sister gets annoyed because when we’re outside walking to a store or walking the doggy. I stop every other second to snap a picture of some beauty I see before me. I see beauty & inspiration everywhere I look. I’m not a photographer ; I merely take pictures with my cell phone. It takes amazing pictures. I’m constantly taking pictures of the sky, usually sunsets and the bright azure sky dappled in white fluffy clouds.I love pictures of birds and insects.

Words cannot truly express the way it feels when I look up at the sky During a sunset or a bright sunny Afternoon or when I look out a window at the sunrise when the new dawn is awakening or looking out the window seeing, listening to the rain or seeing snow falling before my eyes, and the scents the rain brings forth, I love the feel of cool breezes in the summer and the warmth of heat in the crisp Wintery magic. I love the seasons changing and the taste of sweet fruit and chocolate sundaes. And beautiful , vibrant colorful flowers.

When I look at all of the incredible, wild joys of Nature, life surges through my veins, my heart races at the breathtaking beauty. My veins throb with life, electricity pulses through me like a thousand heartbeats.

It comes naturally to me. I’m very aware of the beauty that all of my senses allow me to experience each moment of each day.

But, although this generally comes naturally to me, I have made a conscious decision to strengthen my natural ability and habit of being mindful of the simple pleasures of life and making it a general habit even when it’s hard to see beauty. Some days it seems there’s nothing but ugliness all around. But even on those days,I have the choice to look for wonder. It may not naturally pop out at me like usual but I can look and I can find, hard as it may be.

In this life there is an incredible abundance of wonder and joy and beauty. By being blessed with life, we have the chance to take advantage of this. Take advantage of being alive. Instead of trudging through life in a sense of hopeless drudgery, we can choose to learn and practice being truly and fully alive.

Here are some ways I have strengthened my natural ability to see simple joys everywhere and ways I think can be helpful to people. Not everyone has that natural ability but even ones who don’t can learn & practice .

1.) Breathe and inhabit your body. Your body, which is you is here now. Not in the past, not in the future. Here, now. You’ll never, ever go back to the previous moments you once lived and you can’t change them. And the future is always just out of your reach. When the future arrives, it is now your present, all you will ever have is now. Make this your conscious reality.
Take notice of the way your body feels right NOW. All the sensations, the pleasures, the pain, relaxed parts, stressed parts, stiff parts, numb parts, healthy parts…

2.) Try not to force yourself to not think about other things or about your past or future. When you try to intentionally not think about something, it tends to pop into your head more frequently. Instead focus on what is here.

3.) Practice mindfulness meditation. Meditating regularly will help you develop better control over your thinking and even when you’re not meditating you will be better able to live in the present.

https://livingmindfully.org/
http://www.meditationoasis.com/

4.) slow down. When you’re constantly in a hurry you can’t take pleasure in much of anything.

5.) Try to create a schedule everyday or almost everyday where you can take a few minutes, hour, or hours to do nothing but something that brings you immense joy and serenity. Walks in nature, observing natural settings, drawing, running, taking pictures, things like that and soak up all the beauty.

6.) really, truly look. Look and see what is around you. Don’t just give it a quick, passing glance. Let the feelings it provokes in you, surge through you and cherish those feelings.

7.) I think about all of the people who have died and who have never been born or created/conceived to begin with. What they wouldn’t give (if they could know) to have a chance to live or to live again and feel, experience what I can because I am Alive.

8.) I think about if everything I have ever known, ever loved, ever owned or possessed just disappeared temporarily, unexpectedly and then all came back. How would I feel then? Would it awaken me? Make me realize how wonderful, how miraculous, how joyous it all truly is?

9.) stop waiting. “People wait all week for Friday, all year for Summer, all life for happiness.”. You may not have all you want right now but you can still be generally happy and joy-filled. You don’t need that perfect weather, that perfect day of the week, that perfect lover, that perfect body. All you need is life. All you need is now. Right now. You got it!

“Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.”

― Mary Jean Irion

“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 quotes

“There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.” ~
Albert Einstein

Paul Valéry – “To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees.”

Me.

Xo Kim

Simple Wisdom

Jun28

1.). Smile. 😀

2.) Notice and cherish the simple things.

3.) When something doesn’t go right, how you planned or wanted, or when you have a complaint, still remember how you are blessed.

“………And I’m still so blessed!!!”

4.) Be grateful even when everything seems wrong. And if you can’t feel grateful that moment, still think of the blessings you know.

5.) Remember it’s ok to express your true self even when other people will disagree.

6.) It’s better to do what you know is right even if it means you have to stand alone.

7.) The next day you get caught in the rain, actually Experience the raindrops on your skin, don’t just get wet.

8.) Try something you never tried before. Something big or small.

9.) Look at a flower, the sky, a tree, a bird, a butterfly or lightening bug, a grasshopper…..
And forget the name of this entity you see.

“To see is to forget the name of the thing one sees.” (very wise quote attributed to Paul Valéry)

10.) Laugh out loud.

11.) Let go.

12.) Give a dog a belly rub.

13.) Dance. Even when there’s no music or the music is bad.

14.) Be mindful of your senses. Let your body be overwhelmed in awe and wonder. Let your fingertips tremble. Let your insides quiver at the incredible astounding beauty around you. The beauty within you. The beauty that is you.

15.). Remind yourself that it’s always possible to be kind.

16.) don’t let other people control how you feel or think. YOU control your own thoughts and feelings no matter what others do to you.

17.) Eat that extra cupcake! 😉

18.) celebrate your half birthday and splurge on yourself

19.) see extraordinary in the ordinary.

20.) compliment someone, genuinely.

21.) go the extra mile.

22.) love. Then love some more.

23.). Give more when you feel like giving up. Hold on when your heart has had enough. (thank you Martina McBride for the inspiration)

24.) Be happy for people even when you are not happy with yourself.

25.) wear your best clothes, those expensive earrings, red lipstick, and be elated just because. You don’t need a holiday or “special occasion “. Just being alive is a special occasion!

26.) Look for beauty in ugliness and blessings in pain, suffering, tragedy, and chaos.

27.) when in darkness, remember the Moon and the stars. They are light in the dark.

28.) Feel the sun on your face.
29.) It’s ok to buy yourself something expensive every now and then just because you want it.
30.) It’s ok to vent sometimes. 🙂
31.) Accept what is and cannot be changed. You don’t have to like it but it is what it is. Acceptance is liberation.
32.) happiness is puppies and babies, ice cream and cupcakes, uplifting songs and colorful flowers and trees.

33.) Be grateful

34.) Be happy anyway

Xo Kim

Blogger Award

May9

I have been wanting to post this so badly.

But I had work so frequently and could not get around to it! I feel so accomplished now! Lol ;-D As I have posted on here before I am so honored and flattered to have been nominated for this award: http://etsuchan.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/untitled.png By Etsuchan at: http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/ I am thrilled that she finds my blog worthy of this lovely award!!! Like I have stated previously, she is beautiful, talented, and I love her beautiful blog! Please, go check it out!!! Now it is my job to nominate some of my favorite blogs for this award! I love a lot of blogs on here and I was attempting to list fifteen. I have more that I really love too. I don’t have access right now to a computer and I’m using my mobile phone which is great!! But cannot do everything. I was looking through my reader on here and copying links to paste of some blogs that I want to nominate but the links I copied showed up wrong so I had to look up all the following blogs on Google to get the working link! So here is a list of some of the best blogs I know other than http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/ These are in no specific order: http://greenhornphotos.com/ http://studentswithbirds.wordpress.com/ http://terry1954.wordpress.com/ http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/ http://gyatoday.wordpress.com/ http://5kidswdisabilities.com/ http://urbanwallart.wordpress.com/ http://beapositivelight.wordpress.com/ http://everydaypowerblog.com/ http://thebettermanprojects.com/ http://chosenvoice.wordpress.com/ Please check all these amazing blogs out! And thank you so so much to http://etsuchan.wordpress.com/ Here’s the rules: 1.) Thank the person who gave you this award. 2.) Include a link to their blog. 3.) Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you’ve recently discovered or follow regularly. 4.) Nominate those 15 bloggers for the Versatile Blogger Award. http://versatilebloggeraward.wordpress.com/

“That’s Just the Way I Am”

Apr14

I’m currently reading a book called “Finding Joy” by Charlotte Davis Kasl, Ph.D

I haven’t completed it yet but I can already tell it’s an amazing book!

Dr. Davis Kasl came up with this idea that is designed to help people to accept themselves just the way they are, flaws or perceived “flaws” and all. We all are going to have things we don’t like about ourselves and things other people do not like about us and that is ok. We don’t have to be considered perfect to ourselves or anyone else. We can be perfect in our own way.

Dr. Davis Kasl suggests that we choose some things about ourselves that we may consider to be less than perfect and say or write it out and after saying or writing it, put “That’s just the way I am” or “That’s just what I do sometimes” or “That’s just what is” after it.

Some examples in her book are:

1.) “I get anxious filling out IRS forms. That’s just the way I am.”

2.) “I get scared and don’t stand up for myself. That’s just what I do sometimes.”

3.) “I wear a size 6 top and size 12 slacks. That’s just what is.”

4.) “Sometimes I interrupt. That’s just the way I am.”

(Page 30, “Finding Joy”, Charlotte Davis Kasl, ph.d)

I believe that we should accept what/who we are even the “bad” things because we will be happier and more joyful that way. And anyway it’s impossible to be human and have absolutely no negative things about you.

This isn’t always easy but it is definitely possible and worth it! It’s ok and even good to make attempts to change certain things about ourselves for us for the better but even while we are working to change those things, it’s still possible and good to accept ourselves as we currently are while working to change certain aspects.

For example:

Someone who wants to lose weight for the better would benefit, in my opinion, while accepting her/his current body/weight/physique while attempting to change.

By “acceptance” I don’t mean necessarily “love”. I think we should think or say “This is how I currently am” or “This is how it currently is” and “that’s ok” and try not to feel resentment or anger for ourselves.

There’s really nothing you can do right this second about how you are. If it can be changed it will probably take a while and some work. If it can’t be changed ever it will do you good to embrace or at least accept it.

Focus on the positive aspects about yourself that you like and cherish those while working on what you feel can be better.

It’s ok not to be 100% perfect in everyone’s eyes and even to our own selves.

My view is that in general, things should only be changed about a person if it’s better for that person and is a positive change. So a girl (or anyone) who wants to lose weight, in my opinion, should only do that if it’s healthy for her and what she truly wants for herself and not because of what others or society as a whole or anyone else thinks.

There have been things about myself that I thought is ok but I cared what other people thought and wanted to change it for them, not me.

Ex: My nail polish gets chipped a lot and looks unattractive even to me but I don’t have a serious problem with it. I would prefer to have lovely nails that aren’t all chipped but if they are oh well I will get around to changing them eventually.

But I recently saw people making extremely insulting comments on Facebook on a picture of a girl with chipped nail polish and saying she should constantly keep up on her nails and destructively criticizing her for not doing so. They seriously are acting like this triviality reflects who she is as a whole person. That’s quite a stretch if you ask me.

On some occasions I have looked at my terrible looking chipped nail polish and thought to myself “What would those people think of my nails like this if they saw?”

But I realized it’s not important to me what they think of MY nails! They should attend to their OWN and forget anyone else’s. It just seems so absolutely trivial.

I love fixing up my nails when I’m in the mood but I won’t make it an obsessed top priority because of what other people think!

Also, I have chicken legs. I did ever since I was a little girl. They are very thin like my dad’s. I also have extremely thin arms.

My mom always jokes in a playful way about my thin arms and chicken legs. I always found it amusing.

It’s mostly only noticeable when I’m wearing shorts (which I only wear to sleep in) or dress/skirt (which I hardly ever wear) though, not when they’re covered in pants.

I don’t have a problem with them. I haven’t struggled with my body image since I was seventeen years old.

But recently on Facebook I saw a pic of a girl about the same size as me with thin arms and legs and people were calling her “gross” and “disgusting”. I’m not underweight or malnourished at all and neither is she in that pic. And I don’t have a completely flat stomach.

And I started to think “Wow if they saw me they would think I’m disgusting.” I can just imagine the comments they would say about me!

And the truth is I let it get to me for a while. But I won’t obsess over it at all.

It’s definitely ok and even necessary to a certain extent to care what people think of us about some things. We’re not robots or whatever!

It’s good to a certain point to have emotional reactions to others. Good & bad. It’s unrealistic to expect us to never ever care. We need connections and to be healthy, I believe we should be affected by others.

Just not overly negatively affected to the point that we care more about what other people think than being true to ourselves.

We shouldn’t care so much that we change ourselves for them or care so much that we constantly obsess day & night!

That is unhealthy.

Here are some of my “That’s just the way I am’s”!! Lol!

😀

1.) I’m overly empathetic and often have the tendency to let other people’s/animal’s problems & pain overwhelm me even if I don’t know those people/animals. “That’s just the way I am.”

I often feel that this means I’m very weak. And then I start to think very low of myself about it. I want to care for all living/sentient beings but I want to have barriers to protect myself against exhaustion over it. But this is me!

2.). Sometimes I do care more than I should about what other people think about certain things about me. “That’s just what I do sometimes.”

3.) I have the tendency to sometimes feel that my worth is dependent upon people & things outside of myself such as how many friends I have, how many people like me, how many accomplishments I have achieved…. “That’s just the way I am, sometimes.”

I am not as bad with this as I used to be but I must admit that I still do struggle, on occasion, with feelings of extreme worthlessness.

I know I create my own worth and purpose but occasionally it’s hard not to fall into a negative trap.

4.) I have the tendency sometimes to struggle with feelings of extreme worthlessness and feel that I’m different than most people in some ways that are not good or that other people may think are not good. And then I feel extreme loneliness and excluded. “That’s just the way I am.”

I have mentioned before about how I am a very simple kind of girl. I’m not talking about boring or shallow with no depth but I’m very happy and content with simple things, usually. That’s actually a good thing but sometimes I think it may not be socially considered so good. Sometimes laying in bed all day with my dog on a rainy day brings me just as much of a thrill as some people would probably get going on a big extravagant vacation! Lol

5.) People tell me I need to get a backbone because I tend to feel guilt at just the thought of coming back at people who say/do something negative to me. Sometimes I do get revenge and I usually feel guilty and sorry either instantly or later because deep inside I really don’t like causing pain or anger for people, even ones who do that for other people. People see it as a weakness. “That’s just the way I am”.

6.). I do like horror movies but they affect me more than they should. I’m not one of those jumpy, scared people that feel fear all throughout the movie and then at night when I’m in bed! Lol. But because of my excessive empathy, I feel pain, both physical & emotional when I see the characters feeling pain in the movie. I know it’s not real but it seems soo so real! I also feel empathy for the actors because I know they have to be feeling stress, maybe even emotional pain to some degree while making the movies. I know they chose that job but even self inflicted pain is still pain and worthy, in my opinion, of empathy and compassion!

7.) I have no special talents or creative abilities! “That’s just the way I am.”

8.) I procrastinate like crazy! “That’s just the way I am.”

9.) I am extremely disorganized and the more organized I attempt to become, the more disorganized I am! “That’s just the way I am.”

10.) I like to wear low-cut shirts and tight clothes. For me, not to attract negative attention or get lots of men. People think it’s trashy.

But I like it because I like the way I look and feel in it. “That’s just the way I am.”

11.) I don’t like when people think something negative about me that is not true. So, often, if someone accuses me of something negative that is not true, I feel the need to drag out a conversation/argument until I feel I got my point across. If someone misunderstands what I’m saying or wants to stop talking before I feel I got my point across I try to drag it out for a while. My mom and sister cannot stand this and they claim that I do this merely to cause trouble and for the sake of arguing. They call it harassment. Then I feel the need to drag that out!

Lol! “That’s just how it is.”

I really don’t do this just to argue or be negative! :-). My sister and mom are similar in ways that I am not. When they don’t understand something or are stressed or frustrated they want to quit trying to understand and not talk about it. This drives me bananas! Imagine someone accusing you of something negative then you can’t even defend yourself and get called harassing!! >:-O

12.) I’m horrible at math. Even simple basic stuff. In college I got put in the math for dummies class because my exam scores were sooo loooww! Lol! We were doing elementary school math!

:-O

“That’s just the way it is.”

13.) I am very easily amused and laugh uncontrollably even sometimes during inappropriate situations such as when someone trips or spills something. It may be annoying, possibly immature, and it makes people, especially my mom, mad! But “That’s just the way I am!”. “So sue me!” Lol! ;-D

I also laugh out loud uncontrollably in movie theatres at scenes where no one else is laughing, not sad scenes but stupid ones. And when there is a hilarious scene where everyone is laughing hysterically, I’m the one still laughing long after everyone else has stopped. Kind of embarrassing!

That “American Reunion” movie & “What Happens in Vegas” practically had me on the floor lmao!!! :-p

14.). I’m kind of the biggest pig and have to have the largest of everything when I buy food or drinks out somewhere. My mom says I eat “like there’s no tomorrow.”. Lol “that’s just the way I am”.

So there’s a list of some of my “That’s just the way I am’s”!

This is not to encourage people to settle for less or to be less when we can be more. It’s to show that it’s ok to not be perfect and it’s possible and great to accept yourself the way you are, flaws and all, even if you intend to change eventually, for the better.

You’re not a “loser”, “freak”, or “worthless” just because you have a few quirks, flaws, or negative qualities.

You are not a horrible person for your less desirable traits or habits! 🙂

I read another book before which I do not remember the name or author but the author mentioned that whenever she did something or possessed a quality she or someone else did not like she would say “So sue me!”.

“I made a mistake, so sue me!”. Lol that gave me a chuckle!!

I love the feeling I got reading and doing this exercise.

I recommend it and encourage everyone to give it a try. You can list yours on your blog, in a journal, or just make a mental list but I definitely think it’s a great idea!!

❤ 😀

I hope you’re all having a beautiful day! 🙂

X0xo Kim ❤

Pain & Simplicity

Feb9

I was thinking recently about how incredibly simple but also painful my life can be and at first that may seem boring, like a bad thing. But the truth is, to me, it’s a beautiful life. My life is generally uneventful and I have never been one to hit up the bars or clubs or have lots of friends and attend big parties every weekend, although I see nothing wrong with that, it’s just not me. Even in college, I would just go to class, some volunteer events and things like that, and then come home. I used to be embarrassed to tell people I just met when they ask me what I do for fun. “I read self-help books all day long” probably isn’t most people’s idea of a thrill but to me it’s one of the biggest.

My idea of fun is cafes with friends and movies with family and some other things too.

Right now, I have a job at a store and am planning on applying for more counseling jobs. I have been criticized by people, especially my family, for “doing nothing” with my life. But that is their idea of “nothing”, not mine. And as long as I’m happy and not hurting or interfering with others that’s all that matters, not what other people think. They live how they choose and I’ll live how I choose. That’s the way it should be.

The truth is, it is possible to be happy with a simple, uneventful, and even a very painful life. But we have to cut back on the comparisons. I used to frequently compare myself and my life to others my age usually. I criticized myself for not being interested in certain things that other people were interested in. I criticized myself for being “too simple”. But now I see the beauty in that. We should all live how we want and let others live how they want to live, not compare in any way. It’s not good to destructively criticize ourselves for not being like others but it’s also not good to act like we are better and other people are lower. We are all different but no one is better.

Recently my facial pain disorder has become more severe and developed on the other side of my face as well. It used to be usually only on the left. Now I have it on the left and the right. I am in pain more often than not. Often it’s mild pain that I am so used to it’s just there in the background the way a chair is against my body or clothes are on my body that I don’t even think of much until something brings my attention to it, or is moderate pain or bordering on moderate with recurrent severe and seemingly unbearable flare-ups. Sometimes the severe pain comes on suddenly without warning. But I have learned to cope with it better. I used to scream uncontrollably during severe flare-ups. I would scream loudly until I would lose my voice. My mom used to scold me for screaming through the night, saying people would think I was being murdered. But I couldn’t help it. I would be in agony and squeeze the bars on my bed or collapse with my face in my hands and just shake for hours in unspeakable, unfathomable pain that I felt was destroying me. Or I would pace constantly all night long until the sun would come up. The facial pain disorder also affects my ears. Think about the absolute worst toothache or any ache you have ever experienced in your life, multiply it by millions and imagine it all over your face, jaw, ears, head, neck, and shoulders and you may come close to understanding what many, many days/nights are like for me. After a severe flare-up ends I am worn out, exhausted, and in shock for a few days after because of the shock and immensity of it and it takes a while to start feeling like and being myself again. But I have learned to cope. And to eliminate or reduce the pain sometimes.

But even with this, I still have a beautiful, wonderful life of joy & beauty. I have also unintentionally developed this wonderful, positive habit of associating my pain with feeling blessed and thinking of joyous things. One coping mechanism of mine is focusing on the joy of life even through the pain as opposed to focusing only on or mainly on the pain. One night recently I was laying in my bed at night when suddenly I felt this shooting, stabbing pain sear through my face, jaw, and ear but instantly I thought of pleasant things like the stars outside my window that I can see through the bare tree branches. Often when the pain culminates to an unbearable level, now I automatically think of something good even if that good thing is in no way connected to the pain.

I have got into the habit of making the pain remind me of something good.

Facial massages, walking, stretches…all that helps reduce it or just helps me handle it better.

Another thing is cultivating and maintaining an attitude of gratitude.

Thinking about and listing things to be thankful for helps not only presently taking the mind off of the pain and onto pleasant things but gets us in the habit of looking for positive and beautiful things in general.

Here are some tips for gratitude journaling:

1.) Keep the gratitude journal ONLY for pleasant things. You can have other journals for other things but designate one just for gratitude lists.

2.). When you write what you’re grateful for, consciously meditate upon it. Savor the feeling, feel it with your body. Let it inspire you and fill you with awe. Be consciously aware. Not robotic and lifeless.

3.). Make this experience fun and positive and don’t see making the gratitude lists as boring or obligatory or as a hassle. Get in the habit of enjoying it! 😀

4.) Make the list as long or as short as you want or need.

5.). Mix it up, you can list everyday routine things you are thankful for in general or things that happened that day that do not happen everyday.

6.) It’s ok to list the same things sometimes on different days.

7.) Carry the journal around with you if you can so you can write things right away that fill you with gratitude.

8.) You can even write how those positive things make you feel or how you felt when certain things happened.

9.) You can also decorate your journal and the pages. Glue on pictures…

10.). Make this a habit. But it may take a while to form and for it to feel natural. After about three weeks it will probably start to feel more regular.

11.) Make the lists even on boring or “bad” days when it seems nothing good has happened. Make them especially on these days when you need some inspiration.

So even though my life can be very painful, it’s still great. And I love the simplicity of it. And I will not let my pain or my physical disability limit me in other ways or destroy me any longer.

We don’t need big things to happen every single day and we don’t need an absolutely painless life to love it. ❤

I hope this post helps some people.

X0xo Kim. ❤ 🙂 😀

To Do List

Feb5

✓ Sing out loud

✓ Write

✓ Smile at people 🙂

✓ Make eye contact

✓ Think positively

✓ Find little doses of inspiration everywhere I look

✓ Be kind

✓ Smile 😀

✓ Draw

✓ Paint

✓ Read & share uplifting quotes

✓ Laugh until it hurts

✓Love

✓Count my blessings

✓ Hope for the best

✓ Imagine

✓ Write a gratitude list

✓ Do something that brings me immense joy

✓Meditate

✓ Bring hope and light to someone in the darkness

✓ Be silly and not care what people think about it

✓ Be me. ❤

✓ See the best in myself & others.

✓ Look for beauty in any form everywhere I can.

✓ Be uplifting

✓ Be lighthearted. ❤

✓ Give.

✓ Be an excellent listener.

✓ Seek to understand.

✓ Be empathetic

✓ Be compassionate

✓ Be a true friend

✓ Perform a random act of kindness

✓ Inspire

✓ Seek to be inspired.

✓ Embody love. ❤

✓ Be mindful.

✓ See the world with wonder & awe & gratitude

✓ Write an inspirational & uplifting, anonymous letter containing positive quotes and messages, fold it up and leave it in some random place like a bench in a park, an empty seat on a bus, on a step…for a stranger to find.

✓ Take lots of pictures

✓ Be happy

✓ Eat delicious food.

✓ Be light. Be love. Be true.

✓ Dance

✓ Empower myself. ❤

✓ Focus on the goodness.

✓ Contribute to the world.

✓ Be thankful

✓ Be aware of my senses.

✓ Be friendly 😀

✓ Breathe

✓ Notice the simple things.

✓ Stay calm even in difficult and chaotic situations.

✓ Inhabit my body.

✓ Be.

✓ Be the best me that I can be.

✓Live. ❤

Staying Positive even during negative situations

Jan12

Here are some tips for how to stay positive even during difficult struggles and pain or during other people’s negativity when you have to be around it.

These are things that help me and I hope they will help you too. We are all different and unique and not everything that helps one of us will definitely help another so you have to try and practice various things until you find what is best for you but I believe these things will help many people.

1.) Give thanks.

Think of the things that actually ARE going right. You can start with simple things like your health, your senses, the sky, stars, daylight, sun, moon. Maybe you have wonderful friends and great family even if you cannot be near them as often as you would like. Do you have a fantastic job or at least an ok one for now? Or maybe sweet pets or great food! Make a list of all you have.

2.) Color/arts and crafts

If you are into creation you can draw or color and get lost in the activity to take your mind off of the negativity for a while. It can help you to create something and be proud of your creation!

You can cut colorful pictures out of magazines or cut out letters and make them into inspirational quotes to glue on construction paper.

3.) Meditate

Mindfulness mediation is something I love and it puts my entire body at ease. Close your eyes, sit in a comfortable position and focus on your breath. Check out meditation Oasis. http://www.meditationoasis.com/podcast/listen-to-podcast/

4.) Walk –

If you can, go for a walk. Pay close attention to your surroundings. Take in the wonder of the colors, the sounds, the feel, the scents…everything. It can help relax you and put your mind onto something positive in the present moment.

5.) If you can, try writing to, calling, texting a positive friend. True friends are always so uplifting and great to talk to. Even if you don’t want to spill your problems at the moment, maybe you can talk about pleasant things.

6.). Try positive journaling where you write and focus on the good in your life or about yourself. List your dreams, goals, hopes, plans, great qualities, fun things…

7.) Positive music, songs, read positive lyrics and quotes, print them out, write them down

8.) Exercise – this is a great outlet for stress and frustration and makes your body feel amazing. You can engage in a vigorous work out or jump on a trampoline or something simple like a quick walk.

9.) Read uplifting books

10.). Search the net for some positive outlets to take your mind off of the pain & craziness of the moment.

11.) Animals – animals are beautiful and loyal friends. They love unconditionally. If you have none, try to be near a friend’s, walk by a dog park and see the joyfulness that runs wild in there! 😀

12.) Take good, loving care of yourself! You deserve it! No matter what is going on, nurture yourself and speak/think kind, loving things about yourself. Think of your good qualities – physical and emotional. Get good rest and good sleep. Maybe a full body massage? Or a mani/pedi. And reward your body with healthy foods and maybe a delectable snack like chocolate cake or whatever you consider a delicious treat. Treat yourself how you would treat someone you love.

13.). Do not put off stuff you love. Still put on your makeup if that’s what you like. Get dressed up, fix your hair…

14.). Watch an uplifting, comical movie

15.) Read funny jokes, get a good laugh! 😀

I hope these things help you!

❤

X0xo Kim 🙂 😀

P.S. The picture is one I drew to represent peace of mind. It’s a white dove still flying with her wings up even in the midst of a wild storm with rain & lightening. It’s meant to show the fact that we can stay peaceful, calm, and serene even during environmental turmoil. My sister and me came up with the picture and I drew it.

Happy New Year to all of you!! <3 :-D

Jan1

“…time is the New Year’s bountiful blessing: three hundred sixty-five bright mornings and starlit evenings; fifty-two promising weeks; twelve transformative months full of beautiful possibilities; and four splendid seasons. A simply abundant year to be savored.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach (an excerpt out of her book, “Simple Abundance, A Daybook of Comfort and Joy)

❤

Happy New Year, everyone!!! I hope this is the start of a beautiful, fantastic year for you all, full of hope, wonder, love, happiness, joy, gratitude, warmth, peace, and friendship, and lots & lots more good stuff!! ❤

My year, 2012, started off very badly with me being in a severe depressed state for months but it ended beautifully and happily with joy and gratitude for everything.

The start of a new year, the beginning of January, symbolizes new hope, possibilities, and tender beginnings. Many, many people make lists of plans and goals and new year resolutions. Many state that they cannot wait until December of the one year ends so a bright new year can begin. But please keep in mind that while time itself may be a natural process or phenomena, the organization of it is not. Organization of time is not natural, it’s a “man”-made concept or created by humans. You never have to wait for a new year to begin or start with a blank slate. You can start new planning and goals whenever you want to; you don’t have to wait until January 1. You can start at the beginning, middle, or end of a year. Start NOW!! (No matter when “now” is) No matter how bad your whole entire year is/was, the last day of that year can still be amazing. Just because we label January 1 a new year doesn’t mean your problems and pain will magically disappear! You have to work to have them disappear but the work is well worth it. So, while the beginning of a year is a beautiful symbol, you don’t need it to start anew!

❤

Much love & blessings to you all! 😀

Each moment is full of wonder & surprise.

Here are some of my goal planning tips that can be very helpful.

I hope they help you!!

❤

1.) Think about goals you truly want to achieve to make/keep yourself happy & healthy. Make sure you are being true to yourself and not doing things just to please everyone else or other people. If you want to take certain classes, dress a certain way, do certain hobbies, make certain relationship decisions or any decisions, do what is best for you no matter what people say or think. This is your life, not theirs. You are responsible for your life and they are responsible for theirs.

2.) When you list your goals, write them out and be specific as possible. List details and use your vivid imagination. If your goal is to be healthier, list how you want to be healthier and ways you can do that. “I plan to wake up a half hour earlier each morning to go for a run.”. “I wan to do specific ab exercises to tone my muscles.”

3.) Make your goals positive things to enhance the quality of your life and/or the lives of others. And write them out and think about them in a positive way, for example: “I want to work out more to make my body healthy and feel great and I am ready!” as opposed to “I can’t stand my body and being unfit and I don’t want to have to exercise but I have to”. Think of your goals as positive challenges and opportunities and not as negative hassles and obligations. Savor and cherish the feel and the process. Think about how this tedious hard work is getting you closer to all that you want to be. This will make you more motivated and ready to work at your goals and achieve them!

4.) Remember, just like negative habits, you can form and develop positive habits that will become routine and natural for you. You can intentionally form and strengthen them.

5.) Try to find positive inspiration. There are many people in the world who will be willing and ready to nourish your positive attitude and goal planning and help you cultivate positivity. They will help and support you anyway they can. They want to see you win even if they do not always win. Try to surround yourself with those. If you must be around negative people and do not currently have a positive support system, never let their negativity take a toll on you. Distance yourself emotionally and just keep thinking positively. Let their negativity bounce right off you and stay strong. You can also find positive people online to connect with in groups or social media, blogs, online articles…Try to find people who are passionate and motivated and ones who have accomplished what you seek to accomplish. Read books by amazing people. Let their successes, fortunes, happiness, and lives inspire and motivate you.

6.). Make a list of your positive attributes. Focus on your strengths and accomplishments. Look at what you can do right. Are you intelligent, good at problem solving, open minded, accepting, passionate, determined, hard-working….? Even if you aren’t yet, you can work on and develop these things.

7.) Take seriously your own goals. Work hard for what your really want. Practice.

You are important and what you want for your life is important and does matter! So act like it and believe it! You are a person just like anyone and deserve a great and happy life. If you really believe you are worth it, you are more likely to work for it.

8.) Forgive yourself if you do not achieve a specific goal when you planned to. Remember falling isn’t failing if you keep getting up and trying again! You won’t always succeed right away; some things take practice and time so be patient! We all make mistakes and we cannot always do everything. Go easy on yourself; you aren’t alone or a bad person for making mistakes or not accomplishing what you think you should or could have.

So cheer up; it gets better! 😉

You most likely would not negatively judge or severely criticize a close friend or family member for not accomplishing a goal; you would be loving and supportive; treat yourself that same way!

“Fall seven times get up eight” Japanese proverb

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” ~ Confucius

X0xo Kim 😀 🙂

“Arthur Christmas” & a beautiful life lesson <3

Dec19

On one of the blogs I read called “Positively Present” an author of one of the entries/articles makes a short list comprised of some of her favorite Christmas movies and the life lessons they convey.

They’re not all just about holiday cheer and decorations and presents galore! They convey important life lessons that we can all benefit by being reminded of.

For example on the list is Rudolph’s story and about how he was bullied for being “different” and how it’s ok to be different and we should accept and cherish diversity.

And the Grinch movie shows how a person can be persuaded by the better and have a softer and warmer heart, by the attitudes and love of others.

I loved reading the list and descriptions of the movies and decided to add one of my own that is not on that list.

“Arthur Christmas”

When I saw this movie in the theatre I found it so sweet and incredibly entertaining but it also has a wonderful and beautiful message. In the movie Santa Clause delivers presents to children around the globe but one little girl is forgotten when there is some sort of glitch and her present falls and never makes it to Santa’s sleigh. Arthur wants to get this gift to the little girl so that she will not be excluded and heartbroken on Christmas day when she wakes up and realizes she was forgotten. People throughout the movie state that she’s only one child and it doesn’t matter to forget one person because the person is only one. But Arthur stands his ground even in the face of obstacles and is determined to stay true to the idea that every person matters. Every person is special and every person is someone and should be made to feel important and happy.

This beautiful message is so true. People are not only important in a collective sense. Every single individual person is important and matters to the world and others. No one is “just a person”. Every person deserves to be acknowledged and loved and never forgotten or regarded as unimportant.

This is not merely about a material Christmas gift.

I believe we should all go out of our way to help someone who is in need even if we don’t know that person. If you think of yourself and your own family and friends, you see that you have a story and you have a life and needs & desires and so do all your family and friends. And so do strangers. People you never met or do not know well are no different in the sense that they too have emotions and feelings and needs and desires and they all deserve equal consideration and attention.

So let’s always remember that, not just during the holiday season but all year long. ❤

If you want to check out the list and the Positively Present blog, please go here:

http://www.positivelypresent.com/2012/12/holiday-movie-lessons.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PositivelyPresent+%28positively+present%29

Sorry the link is not clickable; I’m not sure how to do that yet. But it is a beautiful blog full of inspiration & uplifting content! ❤

“Always go the extra mile. It’s never crowded.” ~Unknown

“I wondered why someone didn’t do something. Then I realized, I am someone.”

I hope you all have a beautiful day/night!! It’s at night here in Philadelphia, Pa where I am!

X0x0ox Kim <33 🙂 😀