A place where you can be human.
Coffee is a language in itself.
Jackie Chan
I’ve found the coffee that really sets me up for a good day. Truth be told, writing sets me up for my day but outside of that there’s coffee. A great cup of coffee the morning after a great writing session is the closest thing to heaven,
How do you take your coffee?
Others have seen what is and asked why. I have seen what could be and asked why not.
Pablo Picasso
What a great quote. This quote both inspires me and brings me back to college all at the same time. I think this quote is referring more to having an idealistic mindset and to stay open to the great possibilities that await us ahead, but I have to share what first came to mind when I read it. Anytime I reach a point where there’s more than one option, I always ask myself why not both. If it’s possible, I’ll make them both work. It doesn’t work with everything, but it works with a lot of things. We often make things too rigid. We create scenarios where things need to be this or that. When we stop and ask ourselves why not both, it can expand our perspectives. They can both be the right answer. They can both be the best option. Those times are great, aren’t they?!
Thanks for reading
Can think of any moments in life where asking why not improved your situation?
I can’t think of a specific moment but there’s been many times we couldn’t decide between two food options in the grocery store. Sometimes for team building or to save money, I make us decide on one option. But on days when I feel like being nice, I ask why not both?
Life can be unpredictable and hard to navigate but with faith, hope, and love the seas can be a tad bit more bearable. We don’t always have to know what’s coming or how to react. We just have to do our best to keep our eyes on the beacon. Even when we don’t want the light. Even when we’re just not ready. It doesn’t have to be instantly or even tomorrow but the best part is you only have to keep your focus as best you can.
We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I like to be loved. Some people go great lengths to not be loved. There was a time I thought I didn’t deserve love but then over time I realized I deserved love just as much as anyone else did. I’m not ashamed to admit I want to be adored and appreciated. It doesn’t have to be by everyone. Heck, a strong three or four people would be plenty. It’s weird to write it, but I just wanted to humbly admit it. Don’t we all want to be adored and loved?
I can be a lot to ask others especially when they haven’t learned to love themselves yet. So instead of placing the responsibility of being loved on those around me, I do it for myself. I try my best to intentionally love myself daily especially the little things like meal planning, journaling, writing. I also designate Sundays for my self love day. It’s not always easy but I do know everything works out much better when I set time aside to intentionally love me. I know for a fact I’d choose me because I’ve worked my ass off to become someone I want to be around.
I liked to be loved, so that’s what I do.
Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.
Lao Tzu
Those are just a few things. I love feeling like this. Also while I was writing these I began to see a strong connection between my list and the fruits of the spirit. When we have a strong connection to our creator, we see that in our fruit. There’s a verse that says plainly you will know by their fruit, bad trees produce bad fruit and good trees produce good fruit. Here’s the verse
A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’
If the one thing I must do to produce good fruit is to maintain a strong relationship with my creator, than that must be my priority. Once I place my connection at the top of my list, everything else will fall in line. Sounds easy but all relationships take hard work and sacrifice.
Revel in your strong connection so that you can swim in the abundance that comes from it.
Someone who takes the time to understand their relationship with source, who actively seeks alignment with their broader perspective, who deliberately seeks and finds alignment with who-they-really-are, is more charismatic, more attractive, more effective, and more powerful than a group of millions who have not achieved this alignment.
Esther Hicks
“I think probably kindness is my number one attribute in a human being. I’ll put it before any of the things like courage or bravery or generosity or anything else.”
Roald Dahl
Oh how sweet it feels to relate to one of my favoritest writers. I just said something like this to someone the other day. I’m good at a lot of things but I’m really good at being nice. I don’t like being mean. I want people to feel valued. I want them to feel heard and seen after they walk away from me. I also want those things for myself and do my best to be around those that make me feel the same way. That’s why I leave my house. That’s why I write. So hearing words like this from Roald Dahl inspires me a little. Makes me feel like everything could really work out.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening BY ROBERT FROST Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.
Frost was one of the first poets I fell in love with. I mean Frost has the ability to create simple poems that can go as deep as you’d like them to. In honor of our snow storm, I had to share this one. It’s a great reminder to take a pause and appreciate what’s around you but don’t forget to keep moving forward.
I’m excited for the snowday tomorrow!! It’s my mama’s bday so we planned to spend extra time together tomorrow. I love her to pieces. She’s just out here trying her best to love everyone she meets. I’m glad she was born and I’m glad she got to be my mama. I do hope she has a life she loves waking up to. That’s all I want for her.
A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.
Jim Morrison
This is the only type of people a spend my free time with. I want to let my hair down and talk shit with people who don’t question my character. Life is waay too short to surround myself with people who make me feel bad for being my weird ass nonconformist self. Don’t get me wrong, I like a deliciously crafted coffee with cold foam. I like fashion and trying new things inspired by people in magazines but those are material things. My authenticity is my will and my freedom to use as I please. That’s why I keep them around, when I’m with my friends they let me be me, quirky and all,
This evening, I watched an automatically curated playlist of Simon Sinek videos. One of the things that stood out to me is that leaders (he’s specifically speaking about those in the workplace) are not necessarily the ones with the authority. They are the people who help the one sitting to their left and the one sitting to their right. On another video joined by Sara Kuburic a psychotherapist, Simon speaks highly of having a clear set of boundaries for his team. However, they both explain that if your boundaries are too rigid it could be as harmful as having boundaries that are too flexible. In this discussion, (which you can listen to here) he goes on to discuss how there’s there’s “extenuating circumstances.” So boundaries are a learning game of knowing when to be mindful and support the team in times of need, and knowing when the line needs to be drawn.
Which leads me to this, when he says helping the one to your left and the one to your right it’s within reason. It’s with a clear set of expectations and boundaries. It’s ok to be off the clock everyday on time and to make family a priority on weekends. But it’s also ok to stay late to support a new employee (an example he used in his video). As a team, we should respect expectations and boundaries but at the same time, we should allow ourselves and those around us to have some flexibility. It’s not black and white. Navigating this flexibility and failing at it for some time, is part of what makes us human.
And like I say often, learning when to be flexible and when to be rigid relies a lot on knowing your values. But mostly, knowing yourself.
Great leaders don’t need to act tough. Their confidence and humility serve to underscore their toughness.
Simon Sinek
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