Turn on the Light

Over the summer, I picked up this book at the library:

It is a book with daily tidbits of inspiration and suggestions 

that stem from one woman's journey to find peace and happiness in her life.

I didn't read it cover to cover,

but I did find many ideas that were meaningful to me.

 I especially love this excerpt about accessing spiritual light in our lives.

"Making the absolute best of ourselves is not an easy task. It is a pleasurable pursuit, it is the reason we were born, but it requires patience, persistence, and perseverance. For many of us it also requires prayer. That's because we find it far easier to learn to live by our own lights when we access a Higher Source of Power to illuminate our path. The filmmaker and writer Julia Cameron calls this switching on "spiritual electricity" that transcends our own limitations.

"In my own journey I have found this to be very true. Usually I limited the times I requested that the Power be turned on to the occasions when I was appearing in public: giving workshops, lecturing, holding business meetings. Then it occurred to me that this was like living in a house with electricity but turning on the lights only for a couple of hours every few months. And I wondered why I was frequently bumping into obstacles. So I started to ask for the Power to be switched on in my daily life: as a mother, a wife, a writer, and a friend. When I asked, it was turned on. When I didn't, I stayed in the dark. You don't have to be a master electrician to understand what's going on here: someone has to turn on the switch. Asking is the way of activating spiritual electricity. When there is Light we see remarkably well. We see with clarity. And what we can see if we look deep within is that the authentic self is the Soul made visible.

"Do not try to remake yourself into something you're not. Just try making the best of what God made. The sacred art and craft of nurturing our souls and the souls of those we love is Simple Abundance soulcraft. Begin today by turning on the Light.
(February 4: The Authentic Self is the Soul Made Visible)

Sometimes it can be hard to see things clearly. 

Sometimes when we look at others or our experiences or even ourselves,

we are looking in the dark.

We see only the negative things, the failings, the weaknesses.

We see only how things are hurting or inconveniencing us.

We see only our mistakes and disappointments.

I believe that turning on spiritual light in our lives

can help us to see things as they really are.

We can see the good in others and in our experiences,

even if they are painful or challenging.

But most importantly,

we can see who we really are.

We can see and understand the worth in ourselves

and that can give us the power to do both simple and hard things.

finding a purpose

It amazes me how the world molds and shapes our minds to believe that we have to look a certain way, dress a certain way, weigh a certain weight, live in a certain kind of home, drive a certain kind of car, and work our way towards a certain career so to speak in order to be somebody. In order to be "ideal".  In order to be of worth. 

I truly believe that in order to be in a healthy, happy state, we need to push aside the worldly views and appreciate who we are as individuals.  We are all different, and all of great worth. There is no "ideal" person.  That is the beauty of this world.  There has never been one individual exactly alike.  Ever.  And I believe that it is not a coincidence.

It is important to live up to your best self and be happy with it.  Living up to your best self does not include molding yourself to be what the world says you should be.  And as hard as it is to push that aside, the already skewed perspective,  the more you do it,  the more you realize who you are and what your great purpose is. When we have purpose, it is amazing what one individual can accomplish. 

Finding your purpose is the first step to a happier, healthy life.  I found my purpose here.  A divine purpose that has provided me with happiness that has never left me, and I believe never will.  They say to find joy in the journey, but I heard someone else say that the journey is the reward.  

Like What You Love.

So, I follow Emma Watson on Facebook.
I know, I have fallen into the trap of celebrity stalker, but don't judge me. Emma Watson is so cool.

But I digress.

I follow Emma Watson on Facebook, and she (or one of the many people who work for her) posted this quote:

Don't feel stupid if you don't like what everybody else pretends to love.

We've talked a lot about loving yourself. Well, a big part of loving yourself is liking what you love. 

Let me explain. 

It's so easy to get caught up in trends. We listen to the cool music because it's on the radio. We buy the cool clothes because the models wear them. We want the cool phone because the cool people have it. For some strange reason, we (as human beings) have come to the conclusion that if we act like everyone else we deem as "popular", we will become like those people. Known, liked, imitated. 

People spend their whole lives doing things they hate because they think it makes them cool. 

Can I tell you a not-so-secret? It's not cool to hate yourself. If you're ashamed of something you like because it's a bit nerdy, don't be. Honestly, everyone has their nerdy little secrets. It's also not cool to act like someone else when you don't actually like the things they're doing. 

Smoking? Not cool. 

Drugs? Not cool. 

Obviously. 

But even silly little things like music, TV shows, books, fashion styles... sometimes, we're afraid to say we don't like them because they're so popular. Who cares if you don't like The Hunger Games? Who cares if you don't like The Office? Who cares if you don't wear colored jeans? Who cares if you don't like Mumford & Sons or Inception? I don't.

The best person you can be is you. The best thing you can do is find out who you are. Like what you love, recognize what you don't, and love yourself. There's no healthier way of living.

Actively Engaged in Your Own Life.

I think that getting into shape is kind of daunting for some people. The thought of going to the gym for an hour every day can almost be painful.

Going to the gym isn't for everyone, but that's not the only way to be healthy. Even working out isn't the only way to be healthy. Yeah, if you want muscle tone and stuff like that, you probably need to go to the gym. But in order to feel good, you really just need to move. Get up. Walk around. Be engaged in something other than sitting.

ac·tive/ˈaktiv/

Adjective:	(of a person) Engaging or ready to engage in physically energetic pursuits.
Noun:	An active form of a verb.
Synonyms:	lively - live - brisk - energetic - operative

Physically energetic pursuits aren't only running or weight lifting. It's all about choices--how you choose to live your life. Instead of spending your whole weekend on the couch, choose to do something different. Engage your mind, engage your body.

A few days ago, my boyfriend and I went on a group date with my sisters and their husbands. We went to dinner, walked around downtown a little bit, and then went to a park so my nephew could play. While we were there, all of us started playing on the playground, and it was honestly pretty fun. Monkey bars, cargo nets, weird spinny things... all that good stuff. I wasn't sweating after, I didn't feel like I was exercising, but I felt good. I felt active. I was choosing to play instead of just watching my nephew, and that made all the difference. 

It wasn't only that my body was active, my mind was active as well. I was focused on not falling off of the monkey bars. I was focused on not slipping from the rock wall. Being actively engaged with your mind is just as important as with your body. Sometimes, pick one. Sometimes, pick both. Just choose to do something. Make a decision, and then follow through on your decision. By not choosing to make a decision, you are choosing to not be engaged in your own life. That's when you start to feel like you're not worth it. 

Walk around the block, take the stairs, do some cleaning, have a dance party, play basketball with the neighbor kids, have a game night, bake some muffins, go to the Farmer's Market, run through the sprinklers, fly a kite, throw some rocks at the annoying birds in your yard. Then, after you've had some fun, rest. Recuperate. And get ready to be active again tomorrow. 

I promise, once you start making a conscious effort to be actively engaged in your life, there's no going back. 

I'm Worth It.

In the last few years, I've struggled with an issue that so many people struggle with: self-worth.

My story is not an original one. It's not even a particularly inspiring or heart-felt one. Everyone in my family weighed less than 100 lbs, and I weighed more. My mother was constantly dieting, my sisters were eating whatever they wanted and not gaining any weight, and I was eating cookie dough all the time.

The sad part is that there were many more people out there who had it worse, which only made me feel more unworthy. It's not like I was struggling with my weight. I wasn't overweight. Most people didn't even know I was having a hard time with my body image. I, however, was having the same mindset that so many people do. I was thinking that if only I could lose ten pounds, I'd be happy. If only I had a boyfriend, I'd be happy. If only I could fit into a size 2, I'd be happy.

If only, if only, if only.

Longing for something doesn't make it happen. Longing for something only makes you sad and disappointed.

After longing so long for the kind of life my sisters had (a skinny life), I heard a saying that really struck me.

If you're not happy with yourself in the present, you won't be happy with yourself in the future. 

This might take a bit of explaining. I'm all for wanting to be better and changing bad habits. But, in this context, being happy with yourself has less to do with unhealthy habits and everything to do with self-worth. If you don't think you're worth anything when you're fat, that's not gonna change if you get skinny. If you don't think you're worth anything when you're single, that's not gonna change when you get a boyfriend. If you don't think you're worth anything now, and you continue thinking about the future instead of the present, your perspective won't change.

You deserve happiness. Everyone deserves happiness. It's ok to want to be better, as long as you know that you are worth everything to somebody. You are.

It took me a long time to figure that out. Once I truly realized that my family and friends love me for me, I decided that I wanted to be healthy. I had motivation to be better.

Honestly, the way to be healthy starts in your head. So, you. Start now. Look at yourself in the mirror every single day and say these words:

I'm worth it. I. Am. Worth. It.

I don't even know you. But I know that no matter how far gone you are, no matter how lost you think you've become, no matter how overweight or lazy or lonely or unhappy you think you are, you're worth it. A loving heart has no physical form.

I believe in you.