True contentment is a real, even active, virtue--
It is the power of getting out of any situation all there is in it."
--G.K. Chesterton
I am a naturally exuberant person.
I'm thankful.
I smile.
I think life is a wonderful, continuous dream come true.
It's a state of mind that comes from deep inside my soul...
but it wasn't always this way.
I used to be the most intimidated girl in the room--
comparing my big nose to that other girl's little button one,
or worrying that I'd come across as clumsy or awkward.
Then, I sorta bumbled my way
into an astounding truth
(in a Dr. Seuss book of all places)...
Today you are You. That is truer than true.
There's no one alive who is Youer than You.
It seemed the year I turned fifteen
I was released from the debilitating prison of
comparing myself to everyone else out there.
I suddenly felt it was okay to be different...
to be scatter-brained or kitschy.
What good is being the best, anyway?
Egos are such a waste of time...
there will always be a girl who's
smarter and prettier and more wildly talented.
I was a music major in college, and when I sit down to
play the piano, husbie will look at my music and ask,
"How do you read all those notes at the same time?"
Because....
practice makes perfect.
I don't think about it anymore. It just happens.
Life is like that.
I've spent years practicing a mindset of acceptance.
Sure, I'm an expert at knowing all my
blunders, rationalizations and cover-ups.
These things are intrinsically a part of me.
I am all the memories, experiences, people and places
that have made me the woman I am today.
Recognizing the worst parts of myself
and practicing at finding the notes of contentment
and peace make my life, not easier...
but more beautiful and satisfying.
I've spent so much time making a conscious effort
to be grateful for all the good things and
amazing people surrounding me that
I don't think about it anymore.
It just happens.
And while my life is no longer governed by the
emotional giddiness I experienced as a young girl,
most mornings I wake up irrationally happy
and singing with Michael Bublé
Birds in the sky, you know how I feel.
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel.
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel.
It's a new dawn.
It's a new day.
It's a new life for me...
And I'm feelin' good!
So yeah, I am a naturally exuberant person.
I'm thankful.
I smile.
I think life is a wonderful, continuous dream come true.
Because...
practice makes perfect.
(Anthropologie Ardennes skirt, Target Chambray shirt, Miz Mooz flats, Charlotte Russe shades)
