♥ 2013 mantra ♥

It's a new year, which I suppose means new goals... but this year I am going to keep it simple. Yes, there are a few big ones I will write out on my wall so I can work towards them everyday (shoots I aspire to, places I dream about), but this year I want to focus more on the journey itself. By that I mean living more presently with more intention. So I wrote a few things that I will keep as my mantra for the year to create a more meaningful and happy world :)

♥ laugh often (I can get quite serious, laughing always brings me back to the moment)

♥ love deeply (is there any other way? give give give)

♥ forgive all (let go and move on, from big to miniscule)

♥ dream big (if your dreams don't scare you they aren't big enough!)                            

♥ live with intention (don't live passively. Create it!)

Wishing you all an extraordinary year of good health, abundance and laughter!

2013.jpg

blues

It's the summer season and I'm fully immersed in weddings and engagements and babies... which I LOVE... however, I can't stop dreaming of the exotic blues...

Spaces, places and things that inspire

I am very visual. I need to see things to clearly understand them. Perhaps that's why I enjoy writing... seeing the words before me help me to get a better grasp. I imagine that's why I'm also an image junkie. Photographs of any kind... I seek them out, sometimes in a desperation of sorts. I want to be whisked away, I want to imagine another place, I want to feel something. I want to be inspired. This collection of images does just that. They all make me feel... they all inspire something...

 

Hmmm, can you see a theme here??

 

I have a new love... her name is Santa Ynez

Sometimes the best things are just stumbled upon. The B&B looked quite lovely from the website, but as we drove up through the majestic oaks, I knew something special awaited. In fact, the whole Santa Ynez Valley was intoxicating with its vibrant fall colors and aromas of sage and dry grasses drifting in the breeze.

This truly is a special place... and I can't wait to go back.

re-write your story...

Home from a month long voyage. I needed this time away from my Vancouver life... my working life. I needed to stretch my legs and expand my spirit. I needed a visit with myself... check in and see what was going on. Sometimes it can take a while to process our experiences... to feel where we are, and how we have changed. I remember my father telling me years ago, that this anxious feeling I get every now and then can be explained as if I have outgrown the box I call my life. When I am not inspired, when I can no longer stretch my legs fully... I have changed, and I need to change my box accordingly. For me, this requires a bit of distance from it all. I need to disconnect from certain things... and reconnect with others. Sometimes, all the things that make us come alive get pushed to the back-burner... work emails have to be answered and bills need to be paid, right? This is reality. But my happiness lies in remembering... and living those other things. Like travel and adventure, great food and wine, connecting with friends and strangers, laughing and singing, feeling the ocean's salt linger on my body, feeling the sun warming my skin, driving along a road I've never driven... so many things! Don't get me wrong, there are so many wonderful experiences in my every day life that I cherish (and I am so very blessed!), but it's when I lose touch with all the other things that bring life to every cell in my body... that's when the box I call my life begins to feel cramped.

It's just a matter of remembering. And rebuilding. Rearranging a few things to accommodate this new place I have grown into. In fact, it's a very exciting place to be. Taking responsibility and initiative to create something new is empowering. The possibilities are endless.

Recently, I decided I was going to re-write my story. It's time to put it in writing. Tell the story not of my hardships, but of the opportunities and growth that came from them. Not of the losses, but of all that was gained. Gratitude. And more importantly, it's not about where I came from, but where I am going. I can't wait to write about that...

Instead of posting more desert photos (I know, enough already!), I thought I 'd post some inspiring quotes... some good reminders.

Good luck with re-writing your own story...