A Piece of Paper

Saving for retirement, something I am all for and do actually stress about (ridiculous, I know) and saving in general is something that I am all about. Budgeting is my best friend, and I saved quite the pretty penny during my four years as an undergrad while still enjoying things I like such as good food, outings, and lots of shopping. However, now that all the fun of college is over and I've been thrown into the "real world" and spend 8 hours a day sitting at my desk in a corporate office, I've had a lot of time to think about life. In the past, I always thought I would be happy with a job and a roof over my head, and don't get me wrong I am I just need something MORE. So what does a girl do? Buys a spontaneous plane ticket to New York City for one weekend, and another to Boston a few weeks later.

As has been send in past posts, I tend to think too much about the future and not living enough in the present. I decided that as long as I can afford it (between two jobs), I am able, young, single, yeah I think its time to add some adventure into my life. My average weekends are spent in an OCD coma waking up early, being productive, and feeling like I'm missing out from being off which is crazy. So from here forth I will follow my heart, and listen to my head. Who knows what this means, last year it led to adopting a kitten, this year taking some trips, next year.... moving? I am thinking so.

Saving and budgeting is VITAL to living a life where you are not chained to a job you don't love, living in a place you don't like, and feeling like you have to wait until retirement to take the trips you dream of. Save for the future, but still live in the present. Take that trip, move to a new and scary city, you never know until you try it if it is right for you and you will never regret not taking the plunge and trying.

In peace.

    Kelsey.

"The purpose of our lives is to be happy." -The Dalai Lama

A Piece of Time

Thinking, over-thinking, planning, counting down the days. We all do it, some of us more obsessively than others. I am an extremely obsessive and compulsive person. When I get an idea in my head its all I can focus on, think about, and I do everything in my power to achieve it. Don't get me wrong its a fantastic trait to have in some aspects; when I want a new job I GET ONE. When I decide to run a half-marathon I do it. Sometimes however, its a little too much to handle. I am an overly driven girl, I am terrified of failure, backsliding, not accomplishing my dreams. Throughout my life I have always had a set in stone goal I knew I needed to achieve like graduating high school, college, etc. Now that I am an alumni and working in my first career/ full-time professional role I am lost and terrified as sad as it is to say. Some people would be exstatic, fulfilled, comfortable; yet I am nervous, anxious, and unsettled.

My sweet mother would describe me as overly compulsive. However, its just the dreamer in me and the drive I have burning in my belly to always achieve greater things. In life, I am pleased and settled. I enjoy everything I do, I am easily happy. When the sun rises I am over joyed to see the vibrant colors, on my runs I observe the chirps of the birds and the green of the grass, the lush velvety fur of my kitty cat Charlie. But yes, I am usually not completely settled in the fact that I do spend much time looking forward to see what else this world has to offer me, and more importantly what I have to offer it.

This kind of lifestlye does not always allow for complete inner peace, which is something I am more actively trying to achieve. Currently I am striving to allow myself to be completely present which is a huge challenge for any human being. If you were to ask an animal what time it is or what they are doing, they would simply say now. They do not have the brain function to plan far ahead into the future or dwell on the past which is the downfall of human kind. Imagine living in the moment always, which is how we should all strive to live. The future no matter how well planned and put together will never be certain, and the past is over and cannot be tweaked.

My goals for myself and you as well: Enjoy life in the moment. Put down your cell phone, you only have this moment to live and enjoy and are not promised any more. Don't plan too far ahead, you will lose your present time. Splurge, be spontaneous, take that random trip; for who knows what may block you from it in the future. Use every moment of your time to grow and learn.

 

“When life becomes too complicated and we feel overwhelmed, it’s often useful just to stand back and remind ourselves of our overall purpose, our overall goal. When faced with a feeling of stagnation and confusion, it may be helpful to take an hour, an afternoon, or even several days to simply reflect on what it is that will truly bring us happiness, and then reset our priorities on the basis of that. This can put our life back in proper context, allow a fresh perspective, and enable us to see which direction to take.” 

-Dalai Lama: The Art of Happiness

A Piece of Yourself

Your body. Basically the only thing in your life that you truly own completely; it has been yours and only yours since birth, and will be the only thing you take with yourself throughout your journey in this life. It makes sense then, that its the thing many of us think about and obsess about more than anything else, including relationships, work, and dreams.

I like most other women, have obsessed about my body as long as I can remember and it clogs my mind for most of my waking hours.

Wake up: Breakfast. Think about what is nutritious, healthy, won't make me fat/gain weight/bloated
Get dressed: What fits my body, what looks good on me, what is in style, what will other people like to see.
Lunch: continuation of breakfast
Seeing co-workers: wow she looks great, I wish I could look like that. That's it, I'm not eating.

This is a vicious and RIDICULOUS cycle we are trapped in, yes, trapped. Its not easy to escape. Modern society is largely based on aesthetics. Our cars, our homes, advertising, our clothes, even our food and our pets. Rather than what is pleasing to the soul or to the mind, we choose what is pleasing to the eye. This has created a society based largely on fitting a certain "image." Today, for the most part that image is driven by models and celebrities and whatever advertising has decided to feed us for the time being. Women, are now seeing those images and get the idea into their head that it is the only and best way to look and begin to obsess. This leads us to shopping malls, hair dressers, the gym, certain grocers and restaurants. We skip meals, work our asses off at the gym, spend money we don't have to achieve this "image" that is actually completely unachievable. More women that ever are in hospitals and recovery centers for eating disorders (I have battled one myself) and bloggers are beginning to come out and erase their perfect foodie/athletic images (thank you Jordan Younger!) to tell us that this image isn't achievable, none the less healthy! What is healthy, is to be yourself and be your best.

Size is more than the number of your jeans, the style of your hair, how perfectly polished your nails are. Its about what is in your head, and your heart and how you achieve THOSE DREAMS. The image we should be trying to reach is that of peace and happiness, inner peace. Peace so when you lay your head down at night, you know you have done all you can and you are content.

How do you achieve this, you ask? Eat to nourish and fuel your dreams, write down your dreams and how you are going to achieve them, be all of yourself (no matter who that is!), do everything you can to achieve your dreams, never try to please anyone but yourself. In the end, that person who lives in your body and is on a little journey in it called life, is the only person who's ideas about it matter when you look yourself in the eye. So stop worrying about achieving a silly image that someone at a desk decided was going to matter, and matter to yourself.



In peace,

    Kelsey.

“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the basis of that. The purpose of our life needs to be positive. We weren't born with the purpose of causing trouble, harming others. For our life to be of value, I think we must develop basic good human qualities-warmth, kindness, compassion. Then our life becomes meaningful and more peaceful-happier.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

A Piece of .....Crap

Now I'm not one to curse, but when it comes to my ideas on this blogpost, well it just makes complete sense. It's hard for me to begin to compose my thoughts for this piece: Materialism. Money. The root of ALL evil. Some say money can buy you happiness, I say it can just buy you a bunch of crap, and a very empty heart. It is no stretch to say that much of life, and the world we live in today revolves around and by money. Currency, bartering, trade dates back to the earliest recorded history; taxes in ancient Egypt, so on and so forth. But until recent times materialism wasn't so out of hand. Sure, you had royalty sitting on beds of wealth and luxury, but the average person for the most part didn't work their life trying to achieve that because they knew they couldn't, it was simply reserved for the royalty.

However, in today's society, money really seems to be everything. Marketing, advertising, business, even the culture of America or "the American dream" having a house and 2.5 children is funded by this. Recently, my distaste for money became more apparent when conversing with a very good friend, I asked him what his dream in life was. He replied, "Have a big house, a boat and a pool table." I was very taken aback. A dream in life is something that will fulfill your every being and radiate love in your heart, I never thought having a big house could do that for anyone. I began to think, we were raised to plan to go down a path not just to pay our bills, but to pay for our "things." Michael Kors bags, Armani sunglasses, luxury vehicles, trips to Cabo. But would any of that make you happy? Maybe for a moment in time, but not for more than a fleeting second. Happiness and inner peace are achieved through embarking on your journey and achieving your own dreams; through helping others, being yourself, loving one another, your spiritual relationships, and enlightenment. Desire is "threatening danger to spiritual life," letting things get in the way of pursuing the bigger scheme of things; your passions, serving the Lord, growing in your spiritual relationships. Desire is evil. You will think, dream, lust, do anything to get what you want. But that is truely the root of evil, blocking your mind from what is really important.

Money in this world can't only buy you things, but it can buy you people. Sickenenly enough, in almost any area of the world you can buy women for your own pleasure. A very precious friend of mine recently shared an eye-opening document that will light a burning fire in anyone who sees it, Nefarious. I urge you all to watch, share, and think deeply about it. http://nefariousdocumentary.com/
I won't go into much detail on that, saved for another post. Money funds wars, sex, the objectivity of women on a magazine, drugs, guns, pop culture warping people's sense of reality and changing society into a money hungry, power thirsty crowd of people living in the rat race of life, racing towards what? A bunch of stuff to enjoy in the afterlife?

I will share an incredible Ted talk that put my thoughts into statistic, explaining how material things do not ever buy you a shred of happiness, yet lead you down a path of sin, remorse, and addiction to swiping your card and holding more of that thin green paper in your greedy little hands.
http://www.ted.com/playlists/4/what_makes_you_happy

Money, obviously is an apparant necessity of life. It can be used for good or evil. For good, pay your bills, treat your friends well, give to those who need it, travel, learn, grow, give back to the earth, find your passions, but don't let your passion be the newest form of technology or the newest designer garb.


In peace,

    Kelsey.

A Piece of Passion

Most people have a passion; music, reading, a sport, their job, gaming, what have you. But not many go the extra mile (no pun intended) that Chance Stephens does. I learned about Chance while at dinner catching up with old college sorority sisters, and one told me about Chance's mission and his journey. I did not have the pleasure of meeting him, but Sarah told me about how much he touched her and it affected me deeply as well. He decided that his passion was helping those who need it most, namely those who are the victims of sex trafficking.

With a goal of $160,000.00 to raise for the cause, Chance began to walk from Santa Monica, Ca. to Virginia Beach to spread the word about the horrors of sex trafficking to as many people as possible. His passion is eminent, and deserves much more recognition that he has been given. Visit his site to learn more and donate to his amazing cause.

http://achancefor.com/


So drop everything, follow your passions whatever they may be. Run a marathon, travel the world, dust off your old guitar. Life is far too short to do anything but what makes you happy, and our passions are truly what makes us unique and who we are to the core.

With peace,

    Kelsey.

A Piece of Your Mind

Road rage. Everyone experiences it in one way or another; internally, the anger you feel when traffic is just not moving fast enough, and externally when someone leashes out on you. I'm not perfect, I can be a furious driver. But I have become much more peaceful about my driving over the last few years. The average person spends years of their life sitting in traffic, sitting at a stoplight, yelling out their window at some stranger. Is that kind, or fair to scream profanities at someone that just like you, is trying to get to their destination?

Not too long ago, I was heading home from work and taking the more scenic route to see and appreciate some wide open spaces (hard to find in Orlando), and sing my favorite tunes. I rolled along to a four way stop at about the same time as another vehicle and motioned for them to go ahead. The couple flew past me flipping me the bird with hatred spread over their faces at me, for no reason what so ever. Know what I did? I cried. Why do people hate and despise people they don't know? They didn't know me, they didn't know how my day was. What if god forbid I was on my last straw of life and contemplating suicide? Moral of the story is: be kind to one another. Spread kindness and joy rather than hatred and despair. The world needs it.

More so than just this, taking this lesson into the real scheme of the world, Israel vs. Palestine. The Hamas sending rockets into Israel and them back into Palestine to protect their people killing INNOCENT people; families, women, children, destroying infrastructure. What makes someone hate another so much as to kill and destroy these lives? Could this have been prevented? How far back does hate exist? In one way or another "war" is saying its ok, we have to stop this through more hate and propaganda against one another. War is not ok, ever. No life is worth it.

Some say its the way of the world, just "the circle of life." However, I believe life is about love, joy, happiness, humble experiences. There is no room in this world for hate and rage although it seems like lately there is much more of this than anything else. My piece of advice to pass on if not to one person: pass on happiness. Wake up and see the sun shining with a smile upon your face, play some cheerful tunes as you sit in traffic going to work, wave and smile to that stressed out stranger beside you. It may just make their day. Think of your day as a gift rather than a curse, be thankful for your 8-5 office job, thankful for your errands to run and the fact that you can provide food in your fridge. If we all treat our days and our endless list of errands and to do's as blessings rather than curses we can spread this mindset and make the most simple and mundane tasks cheerful.

So next time you want to scream at someone for cutting you off, let them in. Is it really going to make a difference in the long run?

With peace,

    Kelsey.

A Piece of Encouragement

Encouragement: something that makes someone more determined, hopeful, or confident. It seems however that these days encouragement isn't too easy to come by. We live in a world over-run by criticism, hate, and jealousy. I was inspired to write this piece after hearing about a friend who recently took a leap of faith and moved to the big, ferocious New York City in search of a job. He told me about getting on the subway, going about his daily routine when he noticed a frightened passenger and struck up a conversation. The passenger told him that he was en route to a job interview, and desperately was hoping to snag it because he had just moved there without a job. My friend told him he had done the same, and that the cards had fallen into place and that everything would work out for him as well. The passenger felt encouraged, and got off the train with an extra spring in his step and a boost of confidence that isn't often come by in the big apple.

How different would the world be if we encouraged each other more often? Rather than live in the mindset many of us were taught in elementary school to "only worry about ourselves," but instead to worry about one another and build each other up and encourage others to do our very best, and believe in one another. Personally, I believe in myself whole heartedly that I can accomplish whatever I set my mind to because I was raised with that mantra. However, when I know someone else is rooting for me and they can see me from a different perspective, I feel more confident than ever before to take on the world.

We are not all enemies, and not everyone is in competition with you. Life is not a competition, it is not about achieving that sacred CEO position, it is not about becoming a millionaire, or finally being able to afford that sports car. We are here. This is life, this is all we get and we should cherish every single inch of it. When you stop seeing others as competitors and life as a game, you begin to enjoy it and can see other as fellow bits of stardust on this journey through time, and then you can pull back the curtain and love and encourage one another.

My challenge to you, think more positively about people; your family, friends, and that stranger taking too long in line ahead of you at Starbucks. Pass on a word of encouragement to someone you know facing a challenge, or simply someone beside you in the rat race.

With peace,

    Kelsey.