Happiness is....Going your own way

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

                                                         -Robert Frost

A majority of the time, when I come to a "fork" in the road with options presented to me, I bring up this last part of the poem "The Road not Taken" by Robert Frost.  Sometimes I do end up making the decision based on past choices, but a majority of the time I do what I feel is right for me and take a different direction than others would.  

Don't be afraid to do things differently or unique to yourself. If you feel like it is something that you truly want or feel that is right, then DO IT THAT WAY!  You have one life and you should live it the way you feel is best (and most fun).  

I have so any friends that get nervous about moving away from home (I went through the same thing).  You are afraid of the Unknown.  You have your dream job presented to you, or you have the opportunity to live in the place that you have always wanted to go to...... but you hesitate because it's new.  GO!  LEAVE! EXPERIENCE!  You can ALWAYS come home if you decide that this is not for you, but you can never take back the "I wish I would haves" that you may have at the end of your life. Being afraid of change is NORMAL.  Being scared to take on a new challenge is something that is supposed to happen.  That is what makes it all such a thrill!  Look at that mountain and tremble with fear.......be scared and be brave, you can do it!  Then when you get to the top and look around, you will see how worth it was to keep climbing. 

Going your own way and taking on challenges is never easy, if it were easy then where would the joy in accomplishment come from?  No grown adult that I have met (yet) has ever called me up saying "OMG, I JUST MADE A PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY SANDWICH!! YAYYYY"!  Nope, not one.  Now, if they made a PB&J in a new unique way--then I am sure that I would get that call!  But my point is, if you keep on doing the same day to day tasks that are simple, easy, and unfulfilling.... your life may seem simple, easy, and unfulfilling. I look at that last sentence now and think... "hmm, simple and easy.... that seems like a great life"  YES it does, who doesn't want their life to be easy?!  Well, it never is nor will it ever be!  The "easy" isn't stating that life will just go exactly how you want it to, it's stating that your life is easy, because you are in a repetitive state.  You wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, cook dinner, netflix and chill, then go to bed and do the same thing the next morning.  With repetition like that, if it were in my life, I would perhaps go a little nuts and probably become depressed with my day to day tasks.  BUT-- That is just me!  Some people LOVE this-- which is GREAT for them! :)  The point is-- JUST GO OUT AND DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT WHAT OTHERS THINK! :)  

Today I challenge you to go out and do the thing that you have always wanted to do!  Maybe it's ordering the salad for lunch when everyone else is ordering burgers, or vice versa.  Maybe it's dancing in the middle of a conversation because your favorite song just came on the radio.  Maybe its finally planning that trip to the tropics over the holiday season so you can escape the family craziness at home :)  Whatever it is!  GO OUT AND KNOW IT'S OKAY TO DO IT!  This is your life and you can live it the way that you see fit!  As long as you always remember to BE KIND! :)

Thank you

Marey

Happiness is.....knowing you are not perfect

"I don't want to be perfect....Perfect is boring"- My 9 year old niece Autumn

That girl knows more about life at age 9 than most people do at age 50.

What is perfect anyway?   I can't even begin to define it because perfection means something different to every body.  Some people may view perfection as having a nice big house where everything is displayed as if Pinterest came to life in all of their rooms.  Other's may view it as having the fittest body and the cleanest diet, not a care in the world and eating carrots like I eat Cheetos....I mean, carrots are nature's Cheeto right?

Perfection to me is eating the salad AND the cookie.  Having a HOME filled with love, laughter, and a few messes from where memories were made.  Exercising to feel healthy and happy, not to have the medias idea of a perfect body. Finding adventures in the small or large city you live in.... no town is too small to have an adventure.  Forgetting to put make up on before your work day starts because you made an epic breakfast and you were dancing too hard in the kitchen to remember.

You have to let go of society's version of perfect.  Nobody is "PERFECT".  We all have our unique qualities and "Quirks" that make up our personalities, embrace them.

 Those of you who really know me, know that I am basically organized chaos.  I have the worst anxiety about being late so I am typically over an hour early.  I mimic a tornado when I enter a room<-- I still don't understand how I do that?!  I run everywhere I go (I mean in stores to get groceries, helping customers, etc)  and I come on strong like a shot of whiskey.  I own one (maybe 2??) pair of high heels and I cannot even begin to tell you where they might be.... ugh, its like walking down hill all night, who truly enjoys that?   These are all things that I used to be self conscious about.  I would be nervous of how people viewed me or even judged me.  But then I remembered ........ who cares?  If someone doesn't like the fact that I ran across a store to get them a jacket to try on, then they don't see the fact that I just want to deliver great service in the shortest amount of time.  If people see me out and about in a cute sundress rocking some running shoes  and judge that I should throw on a pump... they might get jealous if the zombie apocalypse happens and I can move faster than them.  Sorry hunny, if you aren't fast, you're food.   See?? how simple is it to turn your insecurities into POSITIVE QUALITIES about yourself?! :)  I am still working on the Tornado one.... maybe it will be like the movie "Signs" where the little girl leaves her glasses of water everywhere and ends up saving her entire family.

Another thing that you need to embrace is: FAILURE!  It's okay to fail, it means that you tried!  Every time that you try again, you just get better and better.  Success doesn't happen over night or without failing a few times...maybe even hundreds and hundreds of times.  Keep trying and don't give up on your dream.  This is something from the movie "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"  One of my favorite Disney movies <3  I tell this to myself almost daily, because I fail.... daily!  Enjoy :)

So now, go on and keep failing until you succeed!  And like Rick from the Walking Dead says 

YOU ARE PERFECT :)

BE HAPPY, BE BRAVE, BE COURAGEOUS AND BE KIND!

Happiness is…Love

As the news of what happened in Orlando floods my life over the past 24 hours… I can't help but feel sadness, anger, and frustration come over me.  How could someone have so much hate in their heart that they could do such a thing?  How can this happen?  WHY?!?!

As my heart goes out to all the friends and families of those injured or lost, I will remain a little quieter today.

As a nation that has stated an endless amount of times that "LOVE IS LOVE"-we need to spread that love more than ever right now.

We need to prove that love can over come hate.
We need to be KIND to our neighbors, even if we "think" they are an enemy.
We need to reach out to those who need us.
We need to teach our children acts of kindness instead of acts of anger.
We need to love unconditionally and without question.
We need to remember that every single person we meet is completely different than who we are
We need to remember that those differences are what makes us magnificent
We need to be there for the people who are most affected by hate
We need to speak up when others are being tormented or bullied
We need to remember that even the smallest act can be heroic
We need to ask if a friend, family member, or stranger needs help
We need to spread love and share happiness to those who feel hate in their hearts
We need to show the world that love can conquer all
WE……

Today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life, find ways to reach out and show someone that we are here for each other.  Spread kindness throughout the world.  BE the hero.  Stand up and shout when no one else is saying anything.

The world won't change if we all sit and wait for someone else to speak up.

Feel.  Cry.  Mourn.  Do.

Lin-Manuel Miranda said it best "Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is LOVE cannot be killed or swept aside"

May we all come together to create, share, and amplify the love that we have for one another so that this may never happen again.

You and Beautiful, Smart, and Amazing.

I Love You.

Happiness is Running in Airplane mode

Have you ever had those days where you wake up in the morning and you can't think fast enough about what you HAVE to do that day?  It's like your stress and anxiety of your "TO DO" list is in fact your alarm clock.  You haven't even rolled out of bed yet and you are already thinking about what steps you have to take in order to make your day work as fluent as possible.  This was me almost everyday for awhile.  Ugh I know!  I just wouldn't turn off, and sometimes, I still don't!  I am always a "go go go " person, and I have learned to LOVE that about myself.  The only part that I still struggle with is that I look at taking a nap as a waste of time....I'll sleep when it's dark out because I love the sunshine way too much.

I have learned to find a healthy balance between stress and just not caring.  A little stress is good! It gives you drive and determination.  No stress can sometimes be bad, you just end up not caring or you sometimes don't make the best decisions.

When the "Struggle is real" as the T-shirts say... I have learned to set myself up on airplane mode.   No, I do not shut off my phone or email (although at times I should) but I literally turn myself off from letting the irrelevant stresses get to me.  Judgements from others, passive aggressive banter, and gossip are just some of the many stresses that I just seem to let go of.  Who cares?   You will always have people who think "Oh.... you're going to wear that?"-- YEP and I am going to rock the crap out of it! Or "Oh... you need to do this at your wedding, not that... this is tradition"...... WELL HONEY, Traditions start somewhere, so maybe we are starting a new one! :)   Don't worry about it!  Be true to who you are, and if someone is going to fault you for it....then they really are more envious that they don't feel as comfortable in their own skin as you do in yours.

Why do I say "Airplane mode?"

When I am running through the woods and the sunshine is peaking through the tree branches as the wind plays tag with their leaves.....I breathe in.   Here I am completely free.  I run a little further and my legs almost grow more youthful, as does the rest of my body.   I am untouchable.  My smile is as wide as it can get and my arms begin to reach out on either side of my body.  I am running with my arms out, banking left and right, laughing at myself.  I am a kid, pretending to be an airplane with not a care in the world besides where my next footstep will be. This is something that I do so often that it's no longer embarrassing.  I get giggles from other trail runners as we pass each other, but more often than not, they like the idea too and instantly start to play along.  These moments are priceless

My friend, and coworker, Amy and I ran a half marathon this past weekend and we ran in airplane mode quite a few times! Our goal was just to have fun and laugh the entire way!  We had runners laughing and cheering each other on! It was by far the greatest energy that we could give out.  Rather than think about how much pain their legs were in, they have two goofy girls to laugh at while they ran.  Sometimes you have to share your airplane to get others to join in on the fun! (MarathonFoto captured it perfectly!)

When you are feeling overwhelmed or a little stressed out, visualize what is causing it and try to think if the stress is worth it.  Why is the stress there and is it necessary?  Most of the time, it's out of your control and the worrying will just take second off your life and happiness from your heart. You are beautiful, amazing, and down right awesome!  Never foreget that!  And as always, remember to BE KIND!

Have the Best Day EVER!  And if you are stressed out, go into airplane mode :)

There is no path to happiness, happiness IS the path.

"There is no path to happiness, happiness is the path"-Buddha

I purchased a greeting card that said this at Trader Joes the other day, just because I loved what it represented.  No one in their right mind wakes up and says to themselves "I hope that I am not happy today".  If you do please call me right now because I would like to pick your brain a little bit, then make you laugh your butt off.

"I just want to be happy" is what a majority of us hope for throughout our lives.  Some days we have really hard, sad, and frustrating days.  The others are GREAT, quite possibly the "BEST DAY EVER!" I want you to look back on all of those days and connect the dots.  When I do that, there is not ONE hard day that can be missed for me to obtain the great days.    Along side the days of pain and saddness came the days of laughter and sunshine, and this is what makes my happiness great!

My path to Happiness is so much different than yours.

Do not compare paths.  Do not look at someone elses happiness and think "That is what I need to be happy", because it's not.  When we start to compare and judge others is when we get lost from our own path. Stay true to what makes you happy.  Smile more often, even when you don't feel like it.    I am that crazy girl cheering at mile 23 of a marathon telling people to SMILE because it makes the running easier and less painful.  I have to confess-- smiling does NOT stop your legs from going numb and your knees from aching.  Some people look at me with the expression of  "Oh yeah?? why aren't you out here running?  Shut your face happy person".  Others smile, and for a moment, they believe that the pain will fade away and it will be just as joyous of a run as it was at mile one.  If you believe hard enough, it actually does!  

Wake up and tell yourself that today is going to be the BEST DAY EVER.

Drink your tea or coffee in the sun shine, or open all of the windows to hear the rain fall outside.  Embrace the rain to appreciate the sun.

When my brothers and I were little our mother used a magic trick to make us not scared of the storms.   When the rain clouds began to roll in, my mom would look out the window and say "It looks like a great day to bake cookies".   As the rain would fall and the thunder and lightning would begin to play it's music, we would be in the kitchen making rows and rows of cookies as Elton John would be playing in the background just enough to distract us from the "scary noises" outside.  By adjusting the environment my mother took a scary situation and turned it into a memory full of laughter, love, and excitment.  There is not a rain storm that goes by where I don't smell the fresh baked cookies from my memory. To this day I still bake a fresh batch of cookies when it storms.

There is no end to happiness, which is why we need to start viewing it as the journey and not the destination. Stop worrying about what yours looks like and what others may have that you don't, you have so much in your life that others don't have as well. You are beautiful, amazing, and worth it.

Don't forget to laugh, cry, dance, sing, call your loved ones, or eat chocolate today!

Do what you need to do to have the Best Day Ever.

I am going to start mine off with a run--- I hope that those strangers are ready for my HIGH FIVES!

Marey

Happiness is Dreaming Big

This is the mantra that I tell myself before any big event in my life that I dreamt up to accomplish.  Why do I say this? Because... I am scared to death the months leading up to it.  I am quite the dreamer.  I love to challenge (and scare) myself with crazy dreams. So much that my mother and aunt came together and decided that they were going to have me watch the movie "Everest" in hopes that it would freak me out from ever doing that---don't worry, I have no desire to freeze my butt off with little oxygen :) On the other hand, Never say never right? :) 

Live the Life you dream up for yourself.

You can do anything you dream up.  Seriously.  10 years ago if you had told me I would run marathons, do a half iron man, hike 14ers, do the Rim 2 Rim 2 Rim of the Grand Canyon in 1 day, and become best friends with people around the world from working my DREAM JOB I probably would have hid in my room because of how scared I was of that fact.  I kid you not, I was an anxiety stricken lady scared of anything outside of my comfort zone.  I saw that dream that I wanted, but feared the work to accomplish it. I am not going to lie, it's a LOT of work--but the work is both hard and rewarding at the same time. Some of the hardest parts deal with changing your attitude towards life.  Even when your life seems hard, bad, "un-doable" you have to see the good. You have to believe that you can do this and that you are capable of anything you work so hard for.

Make friends with the strangers you run into

We are told many times throughout our lives to not talk to strangers.  Well, if I stuck to that as an adult... I would have very little written in my accomplishment list.  Climbing the 14ers in Colorado started with a conversation on a run with a new friend that I had just made the week before.  2 months later we are stuck at the keyhole section in a snow storm on Longs Peak.

Stairway to Heaven in Hawaii began as a researched dream before arriving in Oahu for work.  Day 2 I meet an awesome stranger who asks me "Do you like to work out"---ummmm yes. "Well in the morning we are going to do a little hike called the stairway to heaven, if you want to join you can".  The next morning  I am texting my brother at 2 am telling him what I am doing and he responds with "Isn't it 2 am there?? You are crazy!"  On that hike, the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim hike came up in conversation and I remember thinking "This guy is just nuts... I don't know how that is even possible."  5 months later, there I was, part of the Canyon Slayer crew and part of a new Family. Yesterday,I dreamt of heading back to Oahu to Finish the 3 peaks hike and swim out the "China Mans hat" to hike up to the top and swim back....Next Time :)  Had I been reserved and freaked out to meet new friends, my life would be extremely different than it is now.  Don't be scared to chat with the person behind you in the coffee line or at the grocery store. I have made some great friends and got some of the best advice from the people sitting next to me on airplanes (that is when I am not passed out with my mouth wide open).

Work Hard

Hard work truly pays off, so set yourself up for success.  Work isn't something that you should dread doing every day.  Don't get me wrong, there are the tedious tasks that you may have at your job that you don't LOVE but at the end of everyday it's a good thing to have a sense of accomplishment before you go to bed.  I tend to set small work goals every morning for the day ahead of me and cross them off mentally as I go.  If you are a list person, make that list of tiny daily goals that you can physically see crossed off, this will help so much in your daily work life. My goals for today?  CRUSH my clinic that I have tonight, make people laugh, and don't be scared to embarrass myself.


I hope that you all dream bigger than you could possibly imagine!  Write those dreams down and look at them every day.  Find ways to motivate yourself to accomplish those dreams and set aside time everyday to make sure that you are able to visualize where you want to be in your life.

 You really can do anything.


Thank you!
Marey

Be a Good Teammate

Everyday that we wake up, we are already part of a team.  Whether that team is marriage, family, friends, going to work, or simply standing in a long line for coffee.  Hell, we are all stuck together in the same traffic jam on the free way coming home from a long day of work.  In the love of team work we are caring, kind, and joyful.  In the cold of the team work, we seem to forget that we are all in this together.  

Yes, man in the red chevy weaving in and out of traffic, I am talking to you.

WHO LIKES BEING STUCK IN TRAFFIC?!  I mean.... seriously.  Okay Okay, put on a solid Bruno Mars song and I may enjoy it a LITTLE because I will enjoy a little dance break in between the stop and go pedal pushing, but in the end... I want to go home and eat that left over burrito that I made last night for dinner.  But as you look at the other drivers next to you, you realize that they are feeling that same way.  We are in this toghether.

In love, being a good teammate is crucial.  The two of you are one of the greatest teams that you will ever be a part of, and one of the most important.  The only way that you will survive, is by being a good teammate.  When my cousin got married her pastor said some awesome words that stuck with me as I watched them get ready to say their vows.

"Let it be me first."

No, he didn't mean to put your needs before the others. He meant, if there are dirty dishes in the sink that need to be done and I am the person to see it, "let it be me first".  If the Laundry hasn't been folded "let it be me first".  This is so true in sustaining a happy relationship.  If you keep brushing things off for your partner to take care of, there is going to be struggle.  It takes work from both players to make a great team.  Encourage each others dreams.  Andrew knows what my spirit is, he may not understand it fully, but he knows what I need as a person to be happy and succeed in life-- to work hard, travel, and play hard!  Supporting each others craziness is the best thing that you can do.

At work, communicate, share, and enjoy each others ideas and presentaions.  I LOVE the team that I work with in my company.  We are spread out throughout the county, yet we share ideas and communicate almost daily!  We praise each other and help each other out.  When we come together from not seeing each other in 6 months it's like a family reunion where there is no drama <3  We all sing karaoke and dance the night away.

In friendship, make time for each other.  Be there.  Be present.  That is really all that there needs to be.

Be a good Teammate.  Buy the coffee for the stranger behind you in line.  Pretend the food some one made for you is amazing, even if it's just "so-so".  Praise the good and forgive the bad.  Do the dishes and start dinner early.  Hang up your kids artwork for the world to see.  Do things with your partner that you may not enjoy, just because you know they love it. Say "Please and Thank you".

Above all: Be Kind and Love!


Thank you Guys and Gals!

Marey 

Wildflower

When I was a little girl I hated getting my hair brushed.  I remember running loops around the house as one of my family members would chase me, brush in hand, until they caught me.  Some how my hair was always nicely brushed before school.  I DID go through an aggressive "Elvis" stage where I wanted to be my oldest brother Aron and slicked my hair back... I thought I was stylin', my mother felt other wise.

 In Elementary School

We played with snakes and salamanders.  We were scared that E.T. lived in our basement so we always fought over who would be the last to run up the stairs after we turned off the lights.  We built questionable tree forts and created our very own Fern Gully in the woods next to our house.  We went door to door playing unpracticed songs for neighbors with a 3 string guitar and a drum set that was made up of an upside bucket and 2 pencils, and we were shocked that no one wanted to donate money to our band.  I remember making up an entire roller blading routine to the Spice Girls album because I had just watched the Disney movie "Brink" and I thought I could go Pro.  

In Middle School and High School

We stayed out all night in the Cul de Sac because our friends lived within the block radius, this hang out was later to be shortened to "The Sac".  We put dish soap on the trampoline and set the sprinkler underneath it because that seemed like a good idea at the time.  I jumped off of my roof after curfew to go blast the radio and dance all night at Becky's house (sorry mom).  Our lives consisted of trying to fit an entire bag of skittles into our mouths and swollowing without spitting any out.  We were the best sandwhich artists that ever lived, Subway really screwed up when they got rid of the Zesty Red Sauce. We crushed hard on boys and filmed everything we did.  We purposely woke my mom up at 3 in the morning dressed up as hill billys, Geisha's, or something else crazy.  I will always remember her face when we blackened our teeth dressed in Overalls and sang "Now gather Round my Possom pals, join the jamboree" from a Goofy Movie--I think she both wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. 

In College

We brought flash cards to the bars so that we didn't miss out on the fun just because we had a French test the next day.  We dressed up in Footie Pajamas and rocked side ponies for a night out on the town.  We fell in love.  We lived with our best friends and pulled pranks whenever possible.  We dressed up for holidays and used Lucky Charm boxes as purses and tipped with chocolate gold coins. We went sledding on lunch trays and stayed up in the hot tub all night.  We started to find out who we really are and what we wanted to do with our lives.  We started to plan for a future and check off the boxes before graduation.  We began to grow where we had planted ourselves. 

You are beautiful.  You are exceptional.  You are always growing.

Some of us are more tame, beautiful and planned.  We go with our set lives and love every minute of it!  We check off the boxes and continue to grow into what we hope to be our future.  

Then there are the ones who don't really know or plan their next step.  They are the ones that live every day as if it were their last.  They embrace fear and accept change without a blink.  They are the Wildflowers.  Just as beautiful, they grow where they are blown that day. 

We all may have started wild at one point and life brought us to grow in a planned row. However, we all still have a little of that spunk inside of us.  Don't be scared of it, don't try to hide it, and don't be shy if you want to embrace it. 

My advice today is:  Don't forget about your Wildflower. Be a Wildflower.

Marey <3

Happiness is being Grateful

"Unhappiness stems from being ungrateful for what you have"

This quote is true to so many lives out there, mine included.  There are always things that we want or (think) we need that make us a bit frustrated with our lives.  Maybe it's the Dream job that seems so far away in the distance, or we aren't living in the area or situation we want to be living in.  Maybe it's simply a new pair of shoes or even a CUP OF COFFEE (me this morning).  Whatever we want (sometimes) makes us forget about what we HAVE in our lives that really shines.

I am in Sioux Falls, SD briefly this morning with a couple of co workers putting on a clinic for the brand that we know and love (Brooks baby).  We woke up at 5:30 to do a big group run with over 80 associates and not ONE of us had a cup of coffee before the run :).  I was a little groggy-- but for those of you who know me, I was ready to dance out this run!  Between stop sign dance parties and breathing in the sunrise we crushed that 5 miles and ended up happier than we were at the beginning!  There was even coffee and BACON at the finish-- which made it a bit more exciting :)

Fast forward to the clinic and when my Co-worker Bill started to talk. Now this man is ALWAYS happy.  He is the most giving, loving, friendly person I have evern met and is ALWAYS smiling--just simply amazing.  He gave a few words of wisdom that I just had to share with the world because they were DEAD on!    One of the first topics was what I had stated previously-- his grandma used to say that "Unhappiness is just being ungrateful for what you have".  I am sure that as a little kid, that was hard to hear.  As an adult, this makes the MOST sense to me.  The idea of wanting and needing something sometimes drowns out the image of what we have in our lives that make us happy.  Friends, Family, Love, Sunshine, Music....there is so much Good in this world that is over shadowed by want.  What do you have that you are grateful for?

This morning it was Bacon, Coffee, AMAZING co-workers and a run with new friends.

Tomorrow may be different.

Another topic that was touched on was this (another one of Bill's Grandma's quotes):

"There are 2 types of people in the world-- the "IM HERE" person and the "BE THERE" person."

The IM HERE person is the one that is the life of the party-- they love being the center of attention and their presence in a room is just huge!

The BE THERE person is the one that is the listener.  The person who acknowledges the needs of others and really pays attention to what they are asking for.

Now it's really good to put on both hats but at the end of everyday my daily goal is to "Be somebody that makes every body feel like some body".  We all have our uniqueness that make us who we are, no body is the exact same, which is AWESOME!  Make it a point every morning that when you leave your house that you will make at least one person feel like they were heard, loved, and understood.

So there are your 2 little messages for the day:

-Be grateful for what you have and happiness will find you
-BE THERE for someone everyday to make them feel like an IM HERE person for a while

You are all amazing!  I hope that you smile more today than you did yesterday :)

Marey

Day 1.

Be the best version of you.

If I can give any advice out there, it is to truly be who you are.  Forget judgment for a minute.  Forget about makeup, clothing, materialistic things and just think about what defines you. Think of a moment where you are blissfully yourself.  Is it the early morning kitchen dance parties while your family is still asleep?  Maybe it's the time that you bake a new cookie recipe, or when you head out on a 2 hour bike ride.  Maybe it's when you can hold all of your children in both of your arms while you read them stories or snuggling in bed late on a Sunday morning. Whatever it is, hold that moment where ever you go.  Everyone has their own version of who they are and the moments that define happiness.  We all have to embrace what those moments are and accept who each other is.  The moments that define me?  The quietness of the early morning drinking coffee and eating breakfast.  I get to embrace the day that is heading in my direction.  I get to feel excited about my upcoming workout or run.  I get to go over my work schedule for my day.  I get to start my morning off with half a bottle of Cholula (best hot sauce out there).  I also get to visualize any stresses that I may experience that day, and this is what helps me balance my happiness.

You create your own happiness by how you respond to your surroundings.

Choose happiness.  Every time.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't get upset or that you shouldn't feel hurt.  If something is bothering you or someone isn't listening to what you need, speak up.  You deserve to be heard.  However, we cannot control the actions and words of others, but we can control how we react to it<--- this is harder than it looks, trust me! :)  But we can all start with a little practice right?

Be the kindness that you wish to see in this world.

Smile at strangers.  Try the food that you may find unappealing (who knows you may just LOVE it).  Start the dance party on the dance floor.  Do not be afraid to embarrass yourself, if it's something you want to do.... just go out and do it!  Who cares if everyone or no one is watching, you are OWNING it!

I went on a trail run with a very amazing lady who told me that I should start a blog ;).  So here it is!  I considered it for a little while...I thought "who would read this?!"  BUT-- then I realized that I would be going against my own advice.  DO THE THINGS THAT FREAK YOU OUT A LITTLE BIT! :)   From my experience, those are the things that end up defining you!

So today I leave you with this!  When you are in a stressful situation-- find the moment of happiness inside of you and mentally escape to that place until you can get there physically!  You are an amazing person, there is only ONE you!  Make sure that they are happy :D

Also-- play your favorite song and dance to it whenever you can ;)

Thank You!
Marey