by Melissa | Blog Post, Random musings
Hola! Como esta?
It’s been awhile since I’ve had time to write. I know, I know, super lame excuse, but it’s the truth. I’m also working on moving this lil’ thing I do here from Posterous to WordPress and also developing this into a bit more of a “site” instead of a just a blog. It’s an ongoing process, as life is, but I’m looking forward to using the creative skills of some of my friends to make this something that truly reflects me, what I do, who I am, and looks cool too.
I’ve had a lot of changes as of late – some pretty major ones – but I’m experiencing this thing that I believe is called happiness! 😉 I’ll probably recap some of the stuff at some point, but suffice it to say, all is well in my world and I feel good, happy, content, excited, and a whole bunch of other positive emotions.
I will sign off for now with some lyrics from a song and group I’ve been listening to a lot as of late –
“Cause we are
We are shining stars
We are invincible
We are who we are
On our darkest day
When we’re miles away
So we’ll come
We will find our way home”
“Carry On” by Fun.
by Melissa | Blog Post, Music, Random musings
The song “The Age of Worry” off of the latest release from John Mayer has been on repeat on my Spotify. Musically, it is quite lovely – both the full album and some acoustic versions I have heard. In addition, the lyrics just speak to me and are great reminders as we face the worries and challenges throughout our lives.
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by Melissa | Blog Post, Random musings
What is a manifesto? For me, it’s a mantra – a series of words that reflect how I live my life (or try to) and give me reminders to stay focused on what makes me happy. I’ve posted this mantra before, but it’s somethat that deserves repeating. . . . .
Be thankful. Be happy. Be in the moment. Learn from the past, live for today and prepare yourself for the future. Don’t be afraid to do, be afraid of not doing. Embrace change and the unknown. Learn and share. Take care of you. Give yourself to others. Dream. Be the brightest star you can. Live.
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by Melissa | Archive, Blog Post, Random musings
Just a few things I recently pinned on Pinterest that I wanted to share here as well. I’ve begun my journey along my my longer-term Five Minute Plan (which was featured on You, Me, & Charlie! I’m still in awe that this happened, but I digress), and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision. It’s time to do things for me, on my terms, and to truly listen to myself – and not the wishes of others – on my quest for happiness.
I hope to be sharing more here over the coming months, as well as developing my online photo portfolio so I can share more of that work as well.
I hope you are all well, and please, take some time for you this weekend – you deserve it!
by Melissa | Blog Post, Random musings
Or is it?
Is looking back and thinking about our previous actions and thoughts and experiences a good thing? Or is it an exercise in futility since we can’t go back and change or undo the past? Does it provide clarity and the opportunity to learn from a distance? Does looking back allow us some perspective or is it a waste of time and energy and thoughts?
I say: yes and no, good and bad, helpful and hurtful.
At its core, I find that looking back and reflecting on the past is an exercise that everyone should do – to a certain extent. Yes, you can’t “unring a bell”. You can’t hop into a flying Delorean and toss some garbage into Mr. Fusion and head back to undo or redo a moment in your past to change the present.
What can this reflection offer? It can help you see patterns in your life, both good a bad, which can help you in the future. You can use the distance and reflection provides to learn your true motives or wants or needs, again which will be beneficial in the future. You can also see things that maybe didn’t turn out the way you wanted and work to “fix” things going forward.
It can also be somewhat hurtul. You can spend too much time thinking about what you no longer have – whether good or bad – and miss a lot of what is happening to you now. It can be a distraction. It can keep you from moving forward. It can taint your view of the world, of people, of yourself. While doing a bit of this is ok, but to steal a quote from the movie Elizabethtown , “You have five minutes to wallow in the delicious misery: enjoy it, embrace it, discard it… and proceed.”
You have to proceed. It may not be what you want, but the fact remains – and it’s a hard fact to accept at times, I know this firsthand – you can’t change what is already done.
Once you truly understand this, it’s oddly liberating. You can view the past with the proper lens, and not let it overwhelm you. You can never and should never ignore the past, you just have to make sure you engage with it in an appropriate way.
I’m working on doing just this. I need to not focus on what I can’t change, but focus on what I want to change and what will help me be the best me now and moving forward. I need to focus on the lessons the past can offer and for the happiness and fond memories.
I need to remind myself that “Nothing is worth more than this day.” Live for today. Live for what and who is in your life now. Learn from the past, live for today and prepare yourself for the future.
