A piece of my mind..

Okay, Look. 

WHAT. IS. THE. DEAL! with the worldviews of today? So it's a given that everyone rejects and hates christians because they think there is only one right way to (basically) think about anything. But consider the beloved "hedonistic/tolerant" worldview. Everyone buys into it just because it seems to be tolerant of everyone and everything. At first you think it's just that, but then you realize its weakness is it also expects everyone to agree with it.

Have you ever noticed that partying/destroying your health/being generally bad is accepted and encouraged by basically everyone (except maybe your parents)? But when you start wanting to eat healthy/not party/work out/find your own happiness, people either don't care at all, or they disapprove & aren't shy about letting you know! How ridiculous is that? The very people who "accept everything" still want everyone to be just like them... JUST. LIKE. THE. CHRISTIAN. WORLDVIEW.

What if your own version of hedonism is working out, going to sleep early, and eating healthy? Those things actually end up making you feel aLOT better than partying does. It's just easier, immediate pleasure to get drunk than it is to take care of yourself in a healthy way. 

Okay, so I get that people believe different things. And that broad worldviews don't necessarily dictate what you think about someone bettering their own health. But in general, let's at least agree on common-sense-type-things.. such as the fact that maturity should not be frowned upon. Or wait.. that's just part of my worldview. 

:)

Be grateful.

When was the last time you just thought about how grateful you were for something?

"At least for today, do not be angry. Do not worry. Be grateful." -Mikao Usui

I find that when I focus on being truly grateful for what I have in life, there is no room for unhappiness. Next time you find yourself unhappy about what you don't have in your life, (such as a boyfriend, a "better" parent, more money, etc) choose instead to focus on the things you DO have. Then think about why you're so grateful for them.

Maybe you don't have a significant other or the "perfect" family/parents, but so what? Focusing on the negative only prolongs your unhappy mood. Look at the bright side. You have more time to yourself without a significant other. You can constantly become a better version of yourself without worrying you'll change so much that the relationship will suffer. You may not know what you want to do with your life when you finish your current degree, but you have options. And you have food. Maybe your grades aren't so great, but you have work experience and money, which are often more helpful than a 4.0 (...though not always).

And once you've taken the time to truly be happy and thankful for what you do have, by all means, feel free to work on things you'd like to fix or acquire. But promise me that you'll be grateful first. I'll do the same.

Thought of Today

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
-Jerusha Stewart

Directions

Garmins, Tom Toms, Magellans.. Do you really need one? Having a GPS is definitely useful at times, but besides the fact that phone GPS's are soon going to outdate Garmins, I just see GPS's as another thing to carry around.

I would rather look up directions beforehand; yes, this sometimes takes longer if you can't find the right road, but you know the area better if you always look it up beforehand because you can add a small amount of new information to the map you already have in your head. Eventually, you end up having a pretty large map in your head- instead of blindly following arrows. It's like dialing in a phone number instead of just pressing SEND on your cell phone. Then when your cell phone or GPS is out of battery, you aren't completely screwed.

I just love the thrill of thinking I'm lost and yet forging a successful route in spite of it! Today I was on my way home from a friend's house and took a different road than normal. I quickly realized why I've never taken that route before. In minutes I was in downtown DC, driving right past the Washington Memorial. The last time I've been close to that was in the summer, when I was on foot with no idea of which roads were around me.

Route 50 quickly dissipated into Constitution Ave, which forked into Pennsylvania, then Louisiana. I decided to follow another car that seemed to know where it was going when I got to the fork. I ended up going in circles in front of Union Station. I recognized it, but had only ever been there via Metro. Finally, I found my way out and just happened to see the sign for North Capitol Street. This was some pretty wild luck- I only know North Capitol because I use it to get to work on the weekends. After that I was home free.

Unfinished Mementos

You call me ‘best friend’

But that’s more of a nice thought-

Not a reality

And you act so loyal

That it’s a cold shock

When you forget about me

So no one sings about friendship,

But this is important

You think I’m so entertaining

But I’m just living while you

Drown in limits

You sit here and enjoy the ride

But I’m kicking you out & now

You’re outa friends

If a failed friendship upsets you,

Maybe you shouldn't have

Tossed it away

The point is that

Friends don’t leave you hangin or standin alone, and

Friends don’t ignore you when you dial their phone

If you really wanted to be friends,

You wouldn’t have insulted me

For wanting to hang out

If you knew what listening was,

You wouldn’t have kept yelling

Nonsensical phrases

You blame it all on me,

But you're the one who's changed

A co-dependent blob repelling me

The brain leaked out of your head

And now you say

I invented everything that’s wrong

Don't you forget that

Friends don’t make you feel like shit for trying to be friends;

Real friends are there for you, even when life's a mess

You just wanna stay in your

Comfy little boyfriend nest,

Force me to accept my replacement

If you could get your head to reality

We’d have more words between us

But you'll be stuck a while yet

You're lost in a tunnel of "love"

Where you soak up boyfriend love

But don't love your friends

The death of our friendship

Pains you most, 'cause

I don’t miss a shitty friend

Lyrics

But now I hold my head up high
And you see me
With somebody new
I'm not that stupid little person still in love with you
So you thought you'd just drop by
And you expect me to be free
But now I'm saving all my loving
For someone who's loving me


Lyrics from one of my favorite artists- Cake: I will Survive

Secrets

It's a bit disappointing to realize you've found one of the "secrets of life," just to simultaneously realize no one cares. Of course people care about the secret of life part, they just don't care that I've found it.

Parents are more concerned with their children being able to support themselves. Secrets of life are something they're happy to hear about after you've found a steady job, found a man "to take care of you".. you know, the things parents are primarily concerned with.

It's really friends that care about the little steps in your life, the mundane details, the instances that lead to your finding the "secrets" of life. They probably find it more interesting because they're often going through similar life events.

Plus, I've pushed my friends away. Ever since I broke up with my first/only serious boyfriend, I decided I didn't want to be that close to anyone.. for a very, very long time. To lose someone who knew you better than you know yourself.. that's hard to recover from. You can make new friends, but you just can't replace people.

Plus, the people I've since befriended have turned out to be complete idiots. So for now I guess I prefer to keep the secrets of life.. a secret.