Tidal Wave

Owl City is my new favorite--their lyrics are beautiful.

The Essence of Life

I received an email today with the following message; it has really put me into some dangerously deep thought. Enjoy--and seriously, take to heart:

Love, simply stated, is the essence of life. It can put the smile on your face, the bounce in your step, and most importantly, the joy in your heart. Even when your whole world is crumbling around you, one person holding your hand, looking into your eyes, saying "I love you" is enough to get you through.

Love is to attitude as the rain is to flowers. Surround yourself with people who love you, and whom you can love back. This, more than anything else you can do, will provide the music for your life and the fuel for your soul.

Just recently a friend included a wonderful poem by Robert Ward in her letter to me. I hope you like it as much as I did.

I wish you the courage to be warm when the world
Would prefer that you be cool.
I wish you successes sufficient to your needs;
I wish you failure to temper that success.
I wish you joy in all your days; I wish you sadness
So that you may better measure that joy.
I wish you gladness to overbalance grief.
I wish you humor and a twinkle in the eye.
I wish you glory and the strength to bear its burdens.
I wish you sunshine on your path and storms to season
Your journey.
I wish you peace in the world in which you live and in the
Smallest corner of the heart where truth is kept.
I wish you faith to help define your living and your life.
More I cannot wish you, except perhaps love, to make
All the rest worthwhile.

Sharing is Caring

“What makes loneliness an anguish is not that I have no one to share my burden, but this: I have only my own burden to bear.”

~ Dag Hammarskjold

Share good news and bad news with those you trust. I think sometimes we neglect to share the good with the bad when we talk to certain important people. I have a friend, Kevin (a.k.a. Broface), and when I feel anxious or depressed, I want to talk to him. He hears about everything I feel that may be negative and would like to expel forever from my life. However, I make it a point to tell him the good things in my life as well. We cannot use people as emotaional trashcans. When someone’s important to you, share all important news. Ask them about their important news. By remembering to include good things happening in your life, you can see that your life isn’t so bad and the other person won’t feel that they are just “the person I go to dump all my problems on.” That’s a big burden to carry, so lighten the load for both of you. (Elein Dodge, my favorite person of all time--http://yourbiggestfan30.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/“what-makes-loneliness-an-anguish-is-not-that-i-have-no-one-to-share-my-burden-but-this-i-have-only-my-own-burden-to-bear-”-dag-hammarskjold/)

So I definitely am not very good at this, but as I have more recently been improving (drastically, if I may brag a bit), I can see what a drastic change it has made in my life. I love to help others, but I feel like a burden when I'm on the other end--but that's okay! The fact that you share your burden with someone else, may in fact help that other person in the end!--true story, it's happened with me a thousand times. That's why we are all here together--to strengthen and lift one another. It's a pretty ingenious system if you really think about it.

In BYU WSR February Newsletter, this is one of the TOP things you can do to beat the winter blues, and find happiness in life all together!

Share your feelings with someone you trust.

In this blue place, it is common to try to avoid negative emotions

and you may even feel associated shame and embarrassment. Try

reaching out and sharing your experience with someone you trust

and who will validate your feelings.

So open up--and empathetically listen to others as they open up to you.

life IS good

Mental sunshine will cause the flowers of peace, happiness and prosperity to grow upon the face of the earth. Be a creator of mental sunshine. ~ Anonymous

I love those moment when you smile and think, I LOVE LIFE! I honestly can't say what it is--of course, the fact that it was Sunday and full of warmth and spirit helped I'm sure--but yesterday I had one of those days--an entire day! It was absolutely beautiful, and I wish I could share that immense joy I feel with the entire world. I'm going to ride out this wave of happiness as long as I possibly can. :) I suggest to all of you to feel the beauty and the joy and the seriously awesome happiness that there is out there--life is amazing, if you let it be!

Have a wonderful day everyone!!!!!!! :D

One Word

IF...

©

If

Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Get up the guts and go for it

“Only when we are no longer afraid do we begin to live.”

~ Dorothy Thompson

Be courageous. Although this can imply throwing yourself at oncoming traffic to save a little child, but that’s not the only type of courage. Courage in standing up for what you believe in. Courage to apologize when you’re wrong and courage to forgive when someone apologizes. Courage to let go of a love when it’s not meant to be. Courage to fight for love. What do you need to be courageous about? Evaluate your life and see where you can step up and be a little more courageous than before. You can do it!

(http://yourbiggestfan30.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/only-when-we-are-no-longer-afraid-do-we-begin-to-live-dorothy-thompson/)

Stop playing scared

“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

~Les Brown

Don’t give up on your goals. There are times that I just want to give up because I haven’t lived up to my goal. But it’s my goal for a reason. I want to reach it. Sometimes when we reach for the stars, we fall flat on our bottoms. But, if we don’t keep reaching, we’ll never know how it feels. So get up and dust off your bottom. You can do it. And even if you never reach the star you want, you’ll land in a place that’s even more beautiful that you had once imagined. I believe it.

(http://yourbiggestfan30.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/shoot-for-the-moon-even-if-you-miss-youll-land-among-the-stars-les-brown/)

Tuesday, February 16 – Push past fear...

Courage is acting in spite of fear.

We all feel fear at some time or another. It cannot be denied. Fear is a natural emotion in the face of possible danger, whether it’s the risk from actions that could threaten our lives, or from new experiences that could threaten our happiness.

Being courageous is knowing that courage is not an absence of fear – it is acting in spite of fear. We acknowledge the fear we feel and are determined not to let it stand in our way. Let’s work at living this principle!

(From: fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu [mailto:fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu] On Behalf OfMichele Bray)

I had a volleyball coach that would tell us that we needed to stop playing scared; defense is great, but without the offense or even an aggressive defense, we weren't going to get anywhere at all. When you play scared, you may get along just fine, sure, but you miss out on so many other opportunities. It's okay to be scared--I'm scared all the time; I worry like you would not believe--but that doesn't mean that I have to hide away in the corner hoping that I don't get hurt. Sometimes you've just got to get out there and go for it. That's what people do--leap and hope you can fly. Sure, you might drop like a rock, wondering the entire way down why the heck did I jump? But if you never jump, you'll never learn to fly.

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, totally worn out and proclaiming. "Wow, what a ride!"

Get out there and enjoy the ride--it's time to start LIVING life.

Do it.

"I am in love - and, my God, it is the greatest thing that can happen to a man. I tell you, find a woman you can fall in love with. Do it. Let yourself fall in love. If you have not done so already, you are wasting your life."

--D. H. Lawrence

Why are we all so afraid of being in love? I used to be--at times I still am--but love is the greatest blessing. Sure, it hurts like you would not believe, but in the end, can't it be just as wonderful? Let love in...

but I do see you

In relation to my life

CONSTANTLY RISKING ABSURDITY

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Constantly risking absurdity

and death

whenever he performs

above the heads

of his audience

the poet like an acrobat

climbs on rime

to a high wire of his own making

and balancing on eyebeams

above a sea of faces

paces his way

to the other side of day

performing entrechats

and sleight-of-foot tricks

and other high theatrics

and all without mistaking

any thing

for what it may not be

For he's the super realist

who must perforce perceive

taut truth

before the taking of each stance or step

in his supposed advance

toward that still higher perch

where Beauty stands and waits

with gravity

to start her death-defying leap

And he

a little charleychaplin man

who may or may not catch

her fair eternal form

spreadeagled in the empty air

of existence

Accept Compliments Gracefully

Accept praise.

Sometimes the hardest thing to hear and to accept is a compliment. We tend to be guarded, possibly because we have been hurt by words in the past. We fight the urge to believe the praise; it simply can’t be true.

The truth is compliments should be embraced and welcomed. They’re an intangible gift, a confirmation of a job well done. Others may see great changes happening to you and they want to let you know. Respond with a smile and a simple “thank you.”

You deserve to be flattered, so accept it, and enjoy it!

(From: fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu [mailto:fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu] On Behalf OfMichele Bray)

This concept is one of the most difficult things for me to grasp--WAS one of them, but as I am learning to embrace love and the wonderful blessings we receive from our many relationships around us, compliments have become a good thing. :) There ain't nothin' wrong with love. <3

P.S. Thank you Jonathan! I totally needed this--and it's fit absolutely perfectly into place today! :D

Courage

Amen Rocky.

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that!

Capitalize on Life's Challenges

Challenges add riches to the journey of life.

There’s not a single person in the world that hasn’t had to struggle with something or overcome difficulties. At some point we all face challenges and even disappointment. You may be facing them at this very moment, whether they’re related to money, health, children, relationships, family or careers. It’s all part of life.

Recognize that obstacles are a wonderful part of life’s journey. They can enrich rather than paralyze you. When you see obstacles as milestones, they both measure your progress and increase your strength. Each challenge, successfully overcome, brings you closer to your goals and potential.

Remember, with every challenge passed, you’re a little stronger, a little wiser and a whole lot more experienced.

(From: fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu [mailto:fillyourbucket-bounces@edit.byu.edu] On Behalf Of Michele Bray)

Grow up and go for it--sometimes it's okay to cannonball in: the water might be cold, but it's refreshing and pretty awesome too.

Friday

Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through. ~Anthony Burgess

Friday is such a love/hate day. No school—beautiful. Naptime—amazing. Not having to think about school for at least a few minutes—priceless. And yet I loathe Fridays—absolutely despise and abhor Fridays. Isn’t the phrase “Thank Goodness it’s Friday?” supposed to mean something? Sigh… Fridays are an abomination. I used to love Fridays—weekends were something to look forward to, something worthy of worship—but now they are nothing. Nothing but a looming black hole, enticing the sun with promises of depth and power, only to leave the world abandoned to the darkness. How I hate the dark. A night light would even help, if only a little, but that only lasts for so long. Eventually I must face the shadows alone. Hopeless. I am weak against the obscurity of such an eternal night.

THANK GOODNESS FOR FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FANTASTIC MR. FOX. ♥

Love is not all

Love Is Not All: Edna St. Vincent Millay

Love is not all: it is not meat nor drink
Nor slumber nor a roof against the rain;
Nor yet a floating spar to men that sink
And rise and sink and rise and sink again;
Love can not fill the thickened lung with breath,
Nor clean the blood, nor set the fractured bone;
Yet many a man is making friends with death
Even as I speak, for lack of love alone.
It well may be that in a difficult hour,
Pinned down by pain and moaning for release,
Or nagged by want past resolution's power,
I might be driven to sell your love for peace,
Or trade the memory of this night for food.
It well may be. I do not think I would.

urbandictionary.com

So, I did one of those dumb Facebook things, but it actually turned out to be kind of fun:

Go to urbandictionary.com, type in your first name, copy and paste this post as your status, then copy and paste the entry under your name as the first comment.

1-a person is stunningly beautiful and a person you always want to be with. a kelli has blonde hair and is kinda short. a kelli is funny and likes to eat a lot. a kelli likes to talk about sex all the time. a kelli is a all around amazing person.

Person 1: Hey. Look at that girl? Wow i wonder what her name is.
Person 2: Oh my god. I cant help myself from staring.
Person 3: Her name must be kelli.

2-a beautiful and very kind woman. cares more about others then herself. a very loving mother when she has children. for a kelli to be disliked is very rare. however don't take this woman to be a pushover. this would be a mistake. she sees all and hears all. and won't hesitate to put her foot up someones ass. to avoid harmful contact with a kelli, stay on her good side and treat her well. she will be a very good friend to you.

jill: ya know kelli so beautiful i wish i could be like her
john: you would have to be alot more than beautiful to be like her. shes a way better person!

You can decide for yourself whether these definitions fit or not. :P

y'all are idiots

but Elder Bednar says it much nicer than I do:

“As we visit with young adults all over the church they often will ask – what are the characteristics I should look for in a future spouse? – as though they have some checklist… And I rather forcefully say to them – you are so arrogant to think that you are some catch and that you want someone else who has these things for you! If you found somebody who had these characteristics that you’re looking for, what makes you think they’d want to marry you?

The “list” is not for evaluating someone else – the list is for you and what you need to become. And so if there are three primary characteristics that you hope to find in an eternal companion, than those are the three things you ought to be working to become. Then you will be attractive to someone who has those things… you’re not on a shopping spree looking for the greatest value with a series of characteristics. You become what you hope your spouse will be and you’ll have a greater likelihood of finding that person.’”

- Elder David A. Bednar

Nobody can buin der suits

I'm totally sick and beyond exhausted. I'm sitting here in the library with my friends--attempting to study--obviously not doing so. I have a bad feeling that I will not remember any of today tomorrow... maybe it's better that way. Hopefully they will forget as well. I did try to read for my Creative Writing class--maybe this is only funny because I'm not really here, but I thought it was pretty good. If you're smart it even has a lovely thought-provoking quality:

MAYBE DATS YOUR PWOBLEM TOO: Jim Hall

All my pwoblems
who knows, maybe evwybody's pwoblems
is due to da fact, due to da awful twuth
dat I am SPIDERMAN.
I know. I know. All da dumb jokes:
No flies on you, ha ha,
and da ones about what do I do wit all
doze extwa legs in bed. Well, dat's funny yeah.
But you twy being
SPIDERMAN for a month or two. Go ahead.

You get doze cwazy calls fwom da
Gubbener askin you to twap some booglar who's
only twying to wip off color T.V. sets.
Now, what do I cawre about T.V. sets?
But I pull on da suit, da stinkin suit,
wit da sucker cups on da fingers,
and get my wopes and wittle bundle of
equipment and den I go flying like cwazy
acwoss da town fwom woof top to woof top.

Till der he is. Some poor dumb color T.V. slob
and I fall on him and we westle a widdle
until I get him all woped. So big deal.

You tink when you SPIDERMAN
der's sometin big going to happen to you.
Well, I tell you what. It don't happen dat way.
Nuttin happens. Gubbener calls, I go.
Bwing him to powice, Gubbener calls again,
like dat over and over.

I tink I twy sometin diffunt. I tink I twy
sometin excitin like wacing cawrs. Sometin to make
my heart beat at a difwent wate.
But den you just can't quit being sometin like
SPIDERMAN.
You SPIDERMAN for life. Fowever. I can't even
buin my suit. It won't buin. It's fwame wesistent.
So maybe dat's youwr pwoblem too, who knows.
Maybe dat's da whole pwoblem wif evwytin.
Nobody can buin der suits, dey all fwame wesistent.
Who knows?