If you haven’t read part one and part two of this series please go and read those first. I have yet another quote to share with you that I feel is not always the best advice to take.

“Follow your heart; let your heart be your guide”

Yes, sometimes we should listen to our hearts, but most of the time our hearts don’t guide us towards the best path. I think the better piece of advice is to “follow your heart, but take your brain with you.” When we look to our feelings and emotions to make the decisions we usually fail to see the consequences that could result from our choices. We see what we want to happen instead of what will most likely happen. Our emotions make us human and definitely contribute to a life worth living, but they can also blind us. In the same way, we cannot completely ignore our feelings as they are an important part of our humanity. We must feel pain, joy, fear, excitement, curiosity, and go through many phases in our lives in order to create ourselves and learn how to make wiser choices for our future. But just remember that life is not always about what we want or following a feeling. Sometimes the best decisions can break our hearts, but eventually the pain will heal. Life is a journey filled with endless decisions that are not always the easiest to make, but with a little logic, a dash of heart and the courage to take a chance, we can overcome our obstacles.

The word of the week is: Mellifluous

Pronunciation: [Muh-lif-loo-uhs]

Definition:

adjective

1. sweetly or smoothly flowing; sweet-sounding (a mellifluous voice)

2. flowing with honey; sweetened with or as if with honey; sweet.

Quotes relating to this topic:

“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness.  We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”  -Chuck Palahniuk

“Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.” -Proverbs 16:24

We may not enjoy going through difficult times in life, but sometimes it helps to remember that it is vital to experience struggle before we can learn and become better people. Tough times are also a way to wake us up and convince us to take notice of all the blessings that surround us. If you are going through a battle right now, just realize that it won’t last forever and once it is over you will come out of it learning something new for a better future. And if you see someone struggling in life think back to the hard times you’ve had and use this opportunity to reach out to them. Kind words and a thoughtful gesture is sometimes the greatest gift you could ever give.

We grew up hearing “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and “What’s on the inside is what really counts,” but do we actually live by these sayings, or even believe them? Sometimes it’s hard to make our health a top priority when the world we live in is so materialistic and superficial. You get sucked into the fashion, beauty and physical aspect of things and don’t leave time to take care of what really matters. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with dressing nicely or wanting to look a certain way, but this should come second, AFTER we have taken care of our health and wellness. And when I say health I don’t just mean eating fruits and vegetables and getting some exercise, I mean maintaining a healthy body as well as mind and soul.

Before I continue let me tell you that I struggle with this personally, and I understand how difficult it can be, but just because something is hard to accomplish that doesn’t mean you should just neglect it. We need to push ourselves more, make ourselves believe how important we are and stop throwing it aside to do something more fun or easier. You see, we act like we should accept people for the way they look and love them despite their faults, yet we turn around and criticize ourselves. Or maybe it’s not mental abuse, but we eat food that poisons us or hang out with people who negatively influence us. If we truly believe that the inside counts more than the outside than maybe we should prove it by the way we live. Stop worrying about your crooked nose and start changing your poor eating habits. Stop spending time with those who bring out the worst in you and associate with people who lift you higher.

Yes, change sucks, it requires effort and it means you have to do things that aren’t always fun. But suffering for a short time to reap a long term benefit is worth it. We are only hurting ourselves when we continue to ignore our negative qualities instead of working towards improving them. So, why not approach today with a little different mindset than you usually do. Pick something in your life you would like to be different and do something about it. If you need help then ask someone for help, if you need to write it down then write it down, but just decide to do something. Make the effort for positive change in your life, you won’t regret it.

Have any tips or stories to share about change in your life? Let me know in the comment section below.

*picture above taken by me

If you missed the first “quote you should stop quoting” you can read it here. I found another tidbit of “wisdom” that I wanted to discuss in regards to making decisions. Allow me to explain my gripes with this quote.

“Forget all the reasons why it won’t work and believe the one reason why it will”

You might as well say “forget rationalization and just hope everything works out the way you want.” Yea, that pretty much sounds like a disaster to me. Ignoring all the things we don’t like about a situation makes us unprepared and vulnerable. We should always weigh our pros and cons and then decide on the best move to make. Of course sometimes our fear of failure is so great that we choose to run from a great opportunity  instead of visualizing it as a chance to grow. But fears and doubts are just a fact of life and there is really no justification for pretending everything will be okay other than our own ignorance.

On the other hand, I think there ARE times when we over-think situations and make ourselves more afraid than we need to be, but that doesn’t mean we should ever forget what could go wrong. We need to always aim to make intelligent decisions and think things through instead of jumping into something unprepared.

If a tough decision is ever stressing you out, sometimes it is best to just find time to breathe and calm yourself down. Remind yourself that great success does not blossom overnight, it requires perseverance and going through a handful of unsatisfactory situations. If you are unsure which road to take then think about what will happen if you say no to this opportunity, would you regret it 5 years down the road? Would it make you a stronger person to take advantage of it? Would you be proud of this decision in the future? Asking yourself these questions and visualizing the outcome can help bring you to a smarter and more beneficial solution.

What do you think? Please let me know your comments down below and stay tuned for another “quote you should stop quoting” coming soon!

*picture above taken by me

Stop hiding behind what’s pretty and stand up for who you are

The word of the week is: Purport

Pronunciation: [per-pohrt]

Definition

verb

-to present, especially deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim; often falsely
(a document purporting to be official)

-to convey to the mind as the meaning or thing intended; express or imply

noun

-the meaning, import or sense (the main purport of your letter)

-purpose; intention; object (the main purport of their visit to France)

Thoughts on this word

I read a quote from Cheryl Hughes that said “the truly scary thing about undiscovered lies is that they have a great capacity to diminish us than exposed ones. They erode our strength, our self-esteem, our very foundation.” Sometimes we are unhappy with ourselves so we create these “fake versions” of us in order to impress other people. We might pretend to be skilled at something or conceal an unfavorable trait we possess, but every time we do this we fail to recognize the true beauty of who we are and what we could be.

We need to stop hiding and start living. If you are ashamed of something then stop putting it on the back burner for no one to see and start making steps to fix it. Hiding things can be exhausting and the longer you try to keep it hidden the more you will start to hate yourself. The truth can be ugly, but locking it away in a closet won’t make it any prettier. Being truthful is the foundation to any relationship, without truth there can be no real love. If you want to stop hating things about yourself than stop lying, pretending, and locking things away. Make the choice to be true to who you really are and be happy in your own skin.

Pasting quotes everywhere has become pretty popular on all forms of social media, but have you ever read one that just didn’t make sense to you? I’ve read quite a few pieces of advice that rubbed me the wrong way and I’ve decided to highlight a few of them in a little blog series. Now, some of these quotes I am not entirely sure who stated them and I may not use the exact words, but it is the general meaning that matters. Today is part one of the series so I will start with one quote. Follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter to read the second part coming soon.

“The most important thing in life is to enjoy your life- to be happy – that’s all that matters”
–Audrey Hepburn

This quote I see over and over again, but stated in many different ways. I’m sorry to break it to you, but life is not all about being happy. Sometimes we need to go through times of sacrifice, confusion and experience tragedy in which we don’t feel even an inkling of happiness. It is not only impossible to be happy all the time, but it would prevent us from learning new things and evolving as better individuals. Life is not all about us! Life is about giving up the last seat on the bus to the elderly man, breaking up with someone who wasn’t right for you, and always doing what is necessary even if it doesn’t make us feel good. Sometimes we don’t like what is going on in our lives and that is okay! We have more than one emotion and we shouldn’t feel the need to constantly be happy. What we should aim to do instead is to treat each other, as well as ourselves, with love and kindness. To do what is right no matter how unhappy we may feel in that moment and to always remind ourselves that it is not all about us.

I think sometimes people are so focused on finding happiness that they create their own misery. When we try so hard to please ourselves, we create a disconnection from other people and miss out on the real purpose of life. So how about we stop searching for the formula to happiness and just live life. Let us not become selfish or make poor decisions just for the sake of being happy. And always remember that we are just a small piece of the puzzle in this giant world. Happiness is not the main goal, just a step along the way.

What do you think? Share your comments down below and don’t forget to stay updated for the next “quote you should stop quoting” by following me on Facebook and/or Twitter. Thanks for reading!

A plant in our yard. The outside shell may look ugly, but the inside has beautiful red seeds hiding away.

The Negative Eye

Its bulky appearance, its ugly shade of green,
Although it is tasty, I can’t stand its seeds.
Its stomach is filled with pink delight,
But its grainy texture attacks me with a bite.
I’d buy it more often if it weighed less,
Even though one taste is enough to obsess.
But just because of its few flaws,
I’d rather not enjoy it at all.

I know it seems quite fussy to pick at little things,
But I see it done every single day,
To strangers, to friends, or my own siblings.
Food and people may seem much different,
But the concept is still the same.
We choose to judge the outer layer,
Instead of looking past the frame.
But in order to get to the pleasant core,
We must first rise above our negative minds,
Look past the empty shell we see,
The thoughts that seem to make us blind.

I know no matter what I do, people will always judge,
But I’m thinking of opening my heart this time,
I’m thinking of letting go of every grudge.
That ugly green doesn’t look so bad,
Those seeds I guess aren’t the worst,
In the end we all need to be given a chance,
Because frankly, I’d want someone to get to know me first.

The word of the week is Perennial

Pronunciation: [Puh-ren-ee-uhl]

Definition:

adjective

-lasting for an indefinitely long time

-(of plants) having a life cycle of more than two years

-lasting or continuing throughout the entire year, as a stream

-perpetual, everlasting, continuing, recurrent

noun

-a perennial plant (daffodils & tulips are perennials)

-something that is continuing or recurrent

Thoughts on the word perennial

Time is something we are always either running out of or have too much of. It seems as if we are never truly satisfied with the amount of time we are given. When we are busy juggling work, errands, family life, and everything else that makes up our schedules, it seems that time is speeding by and we can’t catch a break. But then there are times when we are bored and just want time to pass already. Or we are going through a difficult time in life and just keep wishing for the month to be over with. It could even be that we are looking forward to something and want the weeks to go faster so we can do something exciting.

We all go through this love hate relationship with time and it makes me wonder, is it necessary? What is the solution to this issue we all seem to have? Well, it all really comes down to our attitude and effort. If we want time to slow down then maybe we should tone down our busy lives and allow time to catch up with us. If we wish for time speed up than we should become more active right now and the time will pass without us realizing it. It all seems so simple when written out and it is never as easy to implicate, but it is very possible that we just make life harder than it really has to be. If we adjust our attitudes and find ways to mend our relationship with time, we might be able to finally find the perfect amount of time we always hoped for.

Here are some great quotes on time I want to share with you. Maybe it will help change your perspective.

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
-Andy Warhol

“Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door”
-Coco Chanel

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”
-William Penn

“There is more to life than simply increasing its speed”
-Ghandi

Me & my many scarves

I’m the type of person who has to have a million of everything. If I like something I not only want it, but I want it in every color, shape and texture. I’m ashamed to say that I tend to go a little overboard sometimes, but I always make sure to put things in perspective and finally say enough is enough. Thinking about this led me to realize how consumed we can become with unimportant things in our lives. We can’t be satisfied with a piece of candy, no we want the whole bag. We aren’t happy enough with the clothes that we own, we want more. The newness and excitement of a purchase is short-lived and we soon want something else in our life. That is why it is so important to take a step back and pay attention to what we are really doing to ourselves when we crave material possessions. Yes, they are fun and entertaining at first, but then we get bored and it’s as if our current possessions aren’t good enough anymore. But think about it, what good is another THING going to do me, especially when it leaves us wanting more?

It’s easy to lose interest in our current possessions, but there is no reason we can’t learn to enjoy them again. Be grateful for everything you have in this moment and don’t forget that they do not define your happiness. Instead of using your energy to wish for material things, make an effort to invest in more productive activities. Form new friendships and increase the bond in your current relationships, volunteer and help someone who needs it, pray and count your blessings, learn a new skill or improve on something, do something you have been putting off. You see when we put our superficial ways aside and attend to our soul we not only learn to be more grateful, but we begin not to care so much about the things we don’t have.

Stop suffocating in the beauty around you and learn to appreciate all that you have.

I haven’t been very active on my blog lately and I have missed quite a few “Word of the Weeks” so I would like to do somewhat of a catch-up post today. So for this post I will be defining numerous words with quotes and pictures. Hopefully this will make up for lost time. I aim to continue with word of the week so stay tuned next Monday for a new word.

1. Chatoyant

Pronunciation: [shuh-toi-uh nt]

Definition

adjective

-changing in color or luster; chatoyant silk
-reflecting a single streak of light when cut in a cabochon

2. Conflate

Pronunciation: [kuh n-fleyt]

Definition

verb

-to fuse into on entity; to merge. To conflate dissenting voices into one protest.

I found these snails stuck together. Mating perhaps?

3. Nascent

Pronunciation: [nas- uh nt, ney-suh nt]

Definition

adjective

-beginning to exist or develop

Found this little guy hanging out

Found these moth eggs in my backyard

Great Quotes:

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready
-Henry David Thoreau

Supposing you have tried and failed again and again.
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose,
for this thing we call “failure” is not the falling down, but the staying down.
– Mary Pickford

Use this time of fresh beginnings. Use it as an impetus, the force or energy toward change. Become stronger, a better leader, more focused in your thoughts. Exert more influence over your dreams by bringing them closer to your thoughts, every day.
– Mary Anne Radmacher