the human spirit

Michelangelo said this wonderful thing, "every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it"

  The hardest part of moving somewhere, or starting something new, is accepting the fact that your a  blob of clay. 


We spend all this time building up a life in one place, and it looks like a beautiful masterpiece,.  After awhile we start to harden, and without much warning, were scooped up by the winds of change and water drizzles down on our heads. Were kneaded, crushed, and sculpted into something completely new, even if we didn't ask for it.  


In the moment it can feel awful and even painful.  But really we just have to know God has a plan for us, he just needs to break us down to build us back up.

Moving keeps us in check.  Strips us bare, leaving you standing there naked with nothing but your head and your heart. The past only existing inside of you.  And for the first time you can see what is truly you.  A beautiful yet terrifying process.  

I love the thought that everything leading up to the present moment has prepared you for right now.

Every morning I wake up and think, "its too cold to exist!"

I didn't realize what an "easy life" I lived in Hawaii. There you have the beach, your close friends, and that's about all you need. You feel like a coy fish in a cozy pond and then your shipped off to the "real world", where its cold, gets dark early, and you can walk around for days without bumping into anyone you know.  

 It took awhile to get over the culture shock, but my Grandma pointed something out to me the other day, that I don't want to acclimate to...

  She said, "it seems like everyone is in such a hurry these days". And shes right. There's this sense of urgency all around us, and were tricked into thinking if we pack our days full, we will be more successful, more happy. But I feel the opposite. I feel happiest when I slow down, focus on a few things and do less.

For awhile I was like stuck in one of those revolving doors in a fancy hotel and needed my grandma to stick her foot out and break the cycle.   

So now I only work part time and hang out with kids. I learn so much from them.  

Eating goldfish snacks, pizza, honeynut cherrios, reading tons of wild bed time stories, changing diapers like theres no tomorrow, bribing four year olds to potty train, there are moments in the day when I think--

How?!  Why?! Never again! 

But there is nothing in the world as beautiful as a happy child.  Kids have the wonderful ability to bring us to the present.   

 The greatest lesson I've learned being home is to be patient, because, rain ALWAYS clears, no matter what.

  Things I enjoy lately

a beautiful view

walking and enjoying all of Heavenly Fathers creations

being around people, learning from them

cleanliness and a budget (these make you feel really good)

creating things for loved ones

exploring a new place

The more I live the more I realize that usually the world is just a giant mirror for whatever we are feeling. When you smile at someone no matter what country you are in, the world will usually always smile back.

I recently read about this and think it is incredible,

In the late 1970s, a team of psychologists led by Philip Brickman came to a startling conclusion about humans and happiness: In comparing the happiness levels of a group of lottery winners and a group of paraplegics to that of the general population, the psychologists discovered that both life-altering events made no significant differences on the groups' well-being after one year. The researchers attributed this phenomenon to the adaptive functioning of the human spirit.

p.s. just incase you were wondering, this is what I look like platinum. Mia had this great wig just lying around so I tossed it on for Halloween.  Originally I wanted to be Legolas from Lord of the Rings but didn't have time to complete my cloak.  

Luckily Nicki Minaj has a similiar hairstyle.  As the night wore on the wig got a bit itchy and hot, but loved wipping it back and forth. 

 I heard this at church its awesome,

"Everyday invite people [to church, into your life, to have fun...]  Theres always a chance people will say no.  

But theres a 100% chance that they won't have the opportunity if we don't invite them."


  Everyday we have the opportunity to try something new, make a friend, or chip away at an old challenge. Everyday is a chance to do anything.