Scenic World

Going to Moraine Lake in Canada...definitely on the bucket list 

When I feel alive
I try to imagine a careless life
A scenic world where the sunsets are all
Breathtaking

Life, can push pretty hard. It can be unfair. It throws things at us that we never expected to happen. But people can push back. In sports, this concept is called stepping up; to rise above yourself; to do a little more, to show you're something special. In life, it’s called pushing back.  

Most of our lives are a series of images; they pass us by like towns on a highway. But then there are those moments that stun you. Moments where you are walking and you all of a sudden realize how surrounded by beauty you are. And in that moment, you know this is more than a fleeting image. You know this moment will live on forever. Well, I had one of those moments today and ta-da, this post was born.

I definitely have a type A personality as I am very organized, a bit OCD, and love to have a schedule. So it was funny as I was talking to my friend Sarah today and she told me that I was spontaneous because I always get these ideas in my head to go on spontaneous adventures. Which is true. I have always wanted to jump in a car, begin driving, and see where the road takes me. But alas, life gets complicated and everyday responsibilities bog you down and you feel as though you are stuck in a perpetual cycle of routine.

Responsibilities are important but I think it’s equally important to do what makes you happy and to enjoy your life. Maybe I’m naïve, but I have always felt that happiness is more important than money. Yes, money makes the world go round. But you can’t take money with you. We believe money to be a concrete object & I’m sure that many of my teachers would gawk at the fact that I am even questioning the tangibility of money. We say that money is real, that it’s concrete because we can touch it. Yet money is also something that you can physically rip in a matter of minutes & that can emotionally rip your life apart if you let it take precedence.

I’m not exactly sure why but I have always had this feeling that I would marry someone who builds snowboards and that we would just live in a cabin in Colorado in a very passé manner. I’m fully cognizant of the fact that I’m crazy in wanting life to be a Norman Rockwell painting. But in truth, all that I have ever wanted is a life full of simplicity. To me, simplicity equates to happiness.  I’m often told that I am living in the wrong decade and I usually feel that way. I think my homemaker self would have loved the 50’s & my carefree, music-loving self would have thoroughly enjoyed the 70’s.

I wish that life had simplicity for a variety of reasons. The main one: having the time to admire the beauty in the world instead of dealing with the complexity and reality of it.  It’s important to remember that there’s more to life than the day to day tasks.

You know, most of us don’t recognize the significant moments of our lives when they are happening. We grow complacent with ideas, things, people, and we take them for granted. It’s usually not until that thing is taken away from you that you realize how wrong you’ve been and how much you need it, how much you love it.

I received a phone call from my favorite Marine in Afghanistan this morning. He always seems happy and content and I’m blown away by the fact that each time we talk he makes me laugh. How amazing is it that he is to be able to sit out on post in the middle of no-where, across from people who don’t want him alive, and he’s able to laugh and to make me laugh. He said something to me today nonchalantly but it really struck me. He said, “When I get home, for the rest of my life, I only want to do things that make me happy.” I think that a lot of people say this but only a few mean it. And today, Mark really meant it. And I know this wish will come true for him because he deserves it.  Every time that I feel like complaining about anything, I think about my friend, who has yet to complain about anything while he’s stationed in Afghanistan.

Every once in a while people step up, they rise above themselves. Sometimes they fall short, but more so than not, they surprise you. When you´re tested, you truly discover who you are and who you can be. The person that you want to be does exist. On the other side of hard work and faith, belief and beyond, heartache and fear, you discover all that life has to offer and you decide to go out and LIVE.