Sweet Memories

A rare photo of the four of us together. Although we were very close, there are not many group pictures.  Love × Infinity.

Fly by the Seat of Your Values

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles. ― Audrey Hepburn

I read an article today that talked about following your values to a happier life. This seems to be true on many level and it follows my theory on following how you want your life to feel.  But what does it mean exactly?  Well, to me it means that following and living by your values is one very important part of making sure your life feel the way you want it to.

When we go against our values, we feel awful.  No matter how much money we make, how pretty the house is, how much fame or fortune we have…if we do not follow what we know are our core truths, then none of that really matters – unless fame, fortune, money, etc are your care values.  Then you should be reading a different blog all together.

What we have to do is figure our what our values are and then go after our goals of how we want our life to feel.  If I value honesty, I should not follow a career of lifestyle that is conducive to lying.  I will not be happy. We all know people who could care less about honesty and will stomp over anyone who might  get in the way of their goals.  Forget them, follow your values.  Do not give energy to those people. Let God deal with them.

Indeed, as my mother used to say, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we already know what the right thing is.  The test is do we do it, or do we side step to gain what we want…just a little? Do we let pride, ego, anger and vindictiveness take over our values and shift a little?  While that may satiate in the short term,  the long term you will be left feeling even more empty and hollow.

My values are Faith, hard work, honesty, integrity, respect and love, among other things.  I lave to live these truths, I have to follow where these values lead or my life l will not feel the way I want it to , I will not feel the way I want to, and I will not be happy or fulfilled.

I move forward, making my life feel wonderful and good. But it is hard work following your values.  It can be terrible inconvenient to follow your values, your conscience. God gave me that conscience to lead me in the right direction, that gut feeling, that whisper…And I know to have the life that I want I must follow His word, His instructions that He gives me.

SO follow what you know to be right, without excuses.  It is hard to live by your conscience, but it is worth it.  When you sleep well at night, when you have that inner peace, when you know that if you have to walk away, you did the best you could.  That is priceless.

It has worked so far. And it of ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And that is how you fly by the seat of your values.

“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.” ― Audrey Hepburn

Sorry Not Sorry

The Little Life that Could

We all have a period rebuilding after a rough time.  You have come through the other side of whatever it was ans you are ready to be happy, ready to live life to it’s fullest.

I planted a garden on the anniversary of Mom’s death. She loved plants and it is a good way to honor her, to plant a garden with the seeds she gave me to plant.  I went to check the garden today and there were tiny little sprouts. Flowers, new life, rising up from the dirt and the grime, reaching up to the sun, up to God, to bloom and give beauty. But first that seed has to make up it’s mind to grow, even in the dark, even when there is no promise of the sun.

And so you do. You decide that’s that and you proceed. No wonder my mother loved plants and said she felt God’s Grace and miracles as she worked in the garden.

And this is where I find myself, proceeding. I have the little life that could…and it will be a big life, full of love and everything that makes me happy.

I found this in my Facebook memories today. It was very a very timely and relevant message. While I am nor getting married,  the message is as if Mom reached down ans whispered in my ear.

Happiness is a decision. At some point you shed the skin of the past and you let go of the anger and disappointment, and heartbreak. You decide to be happy anyway. And you do.  And that is the message I got.