Sonny is still in Europe, until mid July. Being away from him for this long has been hard, but has also been, and continues to be, a pleasant walk down a path of self discovery and reflection for me. It's been years since I've been away from the person I love for any amount of time close to this, and this is the first time we've been without communication on a regular basis. Every few days or so he'll get to write me a few lines in an email...and wow, how I look forward to even that! I think it sort of forces you to really consider everything typed out to be important, and positive, and full of as much love as can be jammed into those tiny black letters on the screen. His words, his encouragement, and even his ramblings about how much fun they're all having, is total motivation for me. Why can't I live every day of my life to the absolute fullest? Why can't I chase my dreams, big and small? Why can't I be absolutely true to myself and openly cherish the people and things around me that make life worth living?
The answer is I CAN! And so should everyone else! I'm taking this mindset and running with it!!
Some of the people and things that mean so much to me right now:
Jenn and Scotty. These are two of my closest friends. They live an absolutely magical life that is full of love, laughter, and utter simplicity, in the smallest apartment I've ever been in. The size of their wonderful abode however, is no match for Jenn's fierce desire to have it be constantly filled with amazing friends, fresh homecooked meals, and thundering motion and dancing! The very definition of heart on your sleeve, they'd both drop everything in an instant if a friend was ever in need.
My lovely Katie...oh what I owe this lady! The first to welcome me with open arms to Oakland, and to take the time to tuck me under her wing and make sure I met all the amazing people that now fill my life. Another golden soul, I can count on Katie for anything...and I mean literally anything. She's also with a dude that is in a pretty successful touring band, and has been invaluable in teaching me how to hold on to the spirit of who I am during the tough times alone. Love her.
I've only just started this book, and already I can tell it will be one that makes a lasting impression on me. The author's struggles with ending relationships, depression, spirituality, and self image are already resonating deeply with me. Not to mention her writing style is incredibly fun and engaging! More thoughts on life's many quests of self discovery as I get deeper into this story...
I recently took part in a day-long training course written by The Arbinger Institute, which is entirely focused on helping individuals and groups to resolve conflicts within themselves and within interactions between individuals. They believe that conflict arises from a person's inability to view those around them as people, rather, they are viewing anyone that causes distress or disagreement as an object to be removed or broken, as a means to a selfish end, or as completely irrelevant to their life. The day was long and intense and brought up a lot of very strong emotions for me, as I applied the concepts to areas of my life where I'd consistently been blocking people out and deceiving my better intentions as a means of self-preservation. I took a lot from what I learned, and can literally already see small differences in the way I'm viewing those around me....all totally positive.
As well as getting rid of a lot of figurative baggage lately, I've also been trying to keep busy by parting with a lot of literal baggage. Life is so, so not about the accumulations of things, and I was beginning to get really bogged down walking past the same "stuff" piles everyday. Long put-off plans of living lighter are now coming much easier...and are actually pretty enjoyable...more to come on that a bit later.
For now, tell someone you love them today, and take a minute to thoroughly enjoy something simple :)
