explore. dream. discover.

While cruisin' the web for quotes, I found one that really sums up the life I am trying to lead:

Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed in the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

-Unknown-

This saying inspires me to live a life without fear. I want to strive to live life to the fullest and try everything once. I don't want to look back on life and regret the obstacles I did not overcome. This truly inspires me to say yes to new things and to get out of the house and experience life!

laughter

Recently, I've really been focusing on letting myself laugh. In fact, this endeavor has made me realize that sometimes your mind can prevent you from enjoying things. Crazy, I know. But truly, sometimes I put my guard up, or I'm so worried about other things that I forget to enjoy what's happening in the precent.

So now I am letting myself laugh. Last night, I went to BINGO with a good friend of mine. We laughed so hard that we were in tears. Today, I taped a funny comic up in my work space.

Not just laughter. I want to smile more. When I was younger, my elementary school teachers would make comments on my report cards like "She smiles so much!" Nowadays, I catch myself walking around almost scowling. How unattractive! So I'm working on that too! Today, I tried to smile at all passerby's on my errands. Smiles are, after all, contagious.

I'm going to keep working hard on this... One little thing at a time. C'est la vie.

life is beautiful

While strolling the vendors at Pikes Place Market in Seattle, I found a man selling metal bracelets. Each bracelet was stamped with a unique quote. La vie est belle. The bracelet I purchased had this phrase - meaning "life is beautiful". I had chosen it because at the time it was true. I was a freshman in college having a blast with my wonderful new friends, and I had a man back home whom I was falling in love with. I didn't have a care in the world. La vie est belle. It means more to me than a saying on some bracelet; its a way of looking at life as if it is all still ahead - whatever you can dream, you can be or do.

It's been four years since I bought that bracelet - I've graduated from college and learned that life isn't so kind all of the time. I've let myself fall into a slump of routines and it's taking its toll.

I want to get back to that carefree and happy life I had once led. From here on, I plan on taking control of my destiny and living la belle vie.