girlinawhimsicalland:

Today I posted a video, and the response made me take a step back and evaluate things. It was a simple video, one where I showed my inspirational fashion rack, which I consider my real-life mood board that I can change out with the seasons. The overwhelming response though, was people getting upset that I lead a seemingly perfect life. 

“Do you ever have bad days? Do you ever cry?”

These comments break my heart. And so, I wanted to come on here to explain something. 

I am not perfect. I have bad days. I cry. I get upset. I get emotional, and unmotivated, and sad. I’m human. But… I also have amazing days. Beautiful, inspiring, happy days. Days that make me think, “I am so lucky”. And it’s those days that I choose to hold on to and cherish, rather than to hold on to the bad ones. 

I am lucky enough to be able to reach out through the internet and talk to lots and lots of people. And I choose, quite intentionally, to share positive and happy videos and ideas. Nothing would make me happier than knowing that I am doing what I can to make someones day a little more cheerful… so that’s what I do. It makes me happy to know I might be making someone else happy. 

We are lucky enough to get to choose how we want to portray ourselves, and behave on the internet. I am a big believer in “Internet Karma”, and that if you spread happiness you will get it in return. If you spread hate… then that’s on you. 

One of my best friends once taught me something. I was having a rough day, during my first year of college, and she explained to me her secret for happiness. She told me that the way she lives her life is this; that as long as she gets her work done, and cares for the people around her and herself, she does whatever she wants to, whenever she wants to. And it made me think… it seems like such an obvious piece of advice, but a lot of people do not take it. Think about it. Have you had days where you have completed your basic responsibilities, but you have 100 other “secondary” responsibilities that are stressing you out so badly that you can’t even think straight. And all you want to do is curl up in bed and read the new book you got. Most people wouldn’t even consider putting their secondary responsibilities on hold to curl up and read, thinking it lazy when you have other things to do, but that hour you would have spent reading might have enabled you to go about your day in a much happier way. It’s those little things that you let yourself do that can affect happiness long term.

So next time you want to read, or take a bubble bath, or go for a walk outside, or watch a movie, or hang out with a friend, but you say no to yourself because you have “to much to do” (granted, this doesn’t include your main responsibilities… you should do those), consider treating yourself. And then doing it again the next time. And the next.

I still think of Brittany every time I catch myself giving into a moment like that. That’s how she lives her life… and she is one happy girl :)

LOVE this! Really good advice that I needed to hear on a particularly depressing day.

YAY! :P

Also very true.

It’s true.

nanalew:

mimmblemimmble:

I think we can all relate to that cat.

love me love me love me hold me hold me let me put my face on yours please

cuuuuute. :)

mishalmoorebloggyblog:

As seen on Facebook. (posted by Homestead Survival)

A sweet lesson on patience. 

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. ‘Just a minute’, answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90’s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. ‘It’s nothing’, I told her.. ‘I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.’
‘Oh, you’re such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, ‘Could you drive
through downtown?’
‘It’s not the shortest way,’ I answered quickly..
‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued in a soft voice..’The doctor says I don’t have very long.’ I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
‘What route would you like me to take?’ I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, ‘I’m tired.Let’s go now’.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
‘How much do I owe you?’ She asked, reaching into her purse.
‘Nothing,’ I said
‘You have to make a living,’ she answered.
‘There are other passengers,’ I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

My eyes, they water!