I read a blog post recently where this woman wrote a list of things she wants her daughter to learn, life rules/lessons of sorts. So I of course made my own. And I made a lot because I am not lacking when it comes to the written word.
Never stop learning-be it cooking, driving a stick shift, shingling a shed, or taking a class at the local university. Yearn to learn always.
Don't be stagnant, stagnancy is death and life is a journey.
Travel the world...and don't forget the Imodium.
Be brave and try new things. Have courage.
Save money for something worth it, including emergencies.
High quality [and generally higher priced] things last longer. Have fewer better quality things.
Stuff is filler - think of people. Save mementos but not everything. Things are for people -- stuff is for using, not the other way around.
Time is so precious. You cannot stockpile it. Use it wisely.
Find a hobby, something that is yours.
Hug the people you love, and tell them you love them every single day.
Ignore the insults of others and let your freak flag fly - march to your own drum, always. Don't be discouraged.
Keep it simple. It may not be easy, but it is drama free[ish]
Question your relationship with God, that will strengthen it; He can handle it. But never turn your back on Him or stop practicing your faith...and do right by him. He's got you covered for an eternity.
Do not judge others, everyone has their battles and no one is perfect.
Go to university - have fun, be safe, and get a good degree.
Find your passion, one that you can make a career.
Don't forget where you came from.
Aim for 8 fruits and vegetables a day. Eat clean 90% of the time and drink plenty of water.
Get shit done - don't procrastinate - Carpe Diem
Do the next [right] thing
Think of others' feelings when you open your mouth.
Honesty really is the best policy. Don't lie, it is unbecoming.
Stand up for yourself, for what you believe in.
A sweet attitude and a smile get you far and get what you want relatively painlessly.
Life is not fair, but it goes on. Suck it up, you don't have it nearly as bad as others.
Don't give your body freely. That should be saved for someone you love. Just wait until you're married, then I won't have to worry about you and you won't get your heart broken unnecessarily.
Say your prayers.
Read lots of great books. Find a soundtrack for your life.
When you aren't feeling well, try a long shower and an even longer nap.
Do not be afraid to fail, then get up again.
Guard your heart but do not guard your heart so much that you miss an opportunity to love.
Lose graciously, you cannot always win.
Shake hands and look people in the eye.
You have two ears and one mouth, use them accordingly.
You are not better than anyone, and no one is better than you.
Take care of your body/health, it's the only one you've got and it has to last your whole life.
Surround yourself c good people, quality friends help form your opinions once you're an adult.
Stand up straight, walk with your head held high.
Gossiping never does anyone any good.
Trust your instincts.
Don't settle - there are enough mediocre things in this world. Your job, spouse, and life don't have to be.
Study, study, study.
Take responsibility for your actions and apologize when you're wrong.
Do not be afraid of emotions, you are human.
Each decision affects another.
Do not drink and drive. And do not do either excessively, walk...and watch other people make asses of themselves. Hangovers aren't worth it, and neither is your future.
If you're not comfortable talking about it, you shouldn't be doing it.
Never take yourself too seriously, you will not make out this life alive. Keep a sense of humor.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Saturday, November 23, 2013
Humility
Faith keeps you grounded, hopeful, humble; it lays a solid foundation, keeps you focused on something bigger than yourself. Because we are but a small part of something infinitely greater than ourselves.
Just look at the night sky, at all it's beauty. Think of your scale in reference to everything else. How small we are! We evolved as part of a plan - by no accident, mind you. We are here to make a difference, to make the world better. Each act puts into motion another - a ripple effect.
It's when we start looking at the world as something to serve us selfishly, as something that revolves around us that we get it all wrong. While we may only see things perfectly from our perspective, with only our experiences to guide us, we need to see that Christ resides in others just as He lives in each of us.
And that's something I continuously have to remind myself. Every. Single. Day. That's why I wear the Holy Spirit [in dove form] around my neck, as my reminder. How imperfect but beautiful we all are.
"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less."
Just look at the night sky, at all it's beauty. Think of your scale in reference to everything else. How small we are! We evolved as part of a plan - by no accident, mind you. We are here to make a difference, to make the world better. Each act puts into motion another - a ripple effect.
It's when we start looking at the world as something to serve us selfishly, as something that revolves around us that we get it all wrong. While we may only see things perfectly from our perspective, with only our experiences to guide us, we need to see that Christ resides in others just as He lives in each of us.
And that's something I continuously have to remind myself. Every. Single. Day. That's why I wear the Holy Spirit [in dove form] around my neck, as my reminder. How imperfect but beautiful we all are.
"I'm a practicing Catholic because I haven't gotten it right yet." - Father Marv
sylyb
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Discontent
So, it's been awhile....it's always been awhile.
I am a content person, but even me, the Positive Patrice that I am can get disgruntled. We all have our moments of weakness. That being said, my life is good. So good in fact that I should erase this post and entitle it gratitude - list off all the things that I have the privilege of being honored to have and take part in. But I'll admit, that's not going to happen. Now I'm not on here to complain about my day. "OMG, Starbucks ran out of pumpkin spice and I had to take full fat milk. My thighs are gonna be huge." I'm here to complain about the current limbo status of my life - everyone goes through this, I just didn't think it would be limboing this long.
I am a content person, but even me, the Positive Patrice that I am can get disgruntled. We all have our moments of weakness. That being said, my life is good. So good in fact that I should erase this post and entitle it gratitude - list off all the things that I have the privilege of being honored to have and take part in. But I'll admit, that's not going to happen. Now I'm not on here to complain about my day. "OMG, Starbucks ran out of pumpkin spice and I had to take full fat milk. My thighs are gonna be huge." I'm here to complain about the current limbo status of my life - everyone goes through this, I just didn't think it would be limboing this long.
You've heard me gripe before about the struggles of my near end and post college year where all my plans were scattered and my life appeared to be crumbling from the pavement. Yes, at that stage in my life, it did. It was THE. WORST. THING. EVER. To happen to anyone, in the history of forever (please say you caught the melodrama). Funny how hind sight is 20/20 and suddenly there's enough time between you and the event to forget how painful it had been to go through. We never stop having growing pains. It wasn't that these happened to me - its that they happened all....at....once. Kick me while I'm down please. But I did get through it on top and have some wonderful life lessons in my back pocket for later use.
No, now I talking about my current state - the obvious horrendous endeavors of a twenty something. These are exciting times that I know for a fact I will look back on with smiles - again grateful for the lessons learned and grateful to never go through them again.
I've declared September 2013 Hell Month, I've also labelled it Get Shit Done month. Because if the month is going to be awful, you might as well use that frustration for something worth while/productive (you know, after I'm done griping blog style).
Long story short - work is entirely too busy and we've had additional projects put on my plate. And with a coworker being gone 3 of the 4 weeks you can imagine how über excited I am to see September go away. Not to say this month is to be forgotten (I did do my first triathlon without any major snafus, which was entirely too much fun). What I'm saying is, I won't be sad to see September go.
What with all these frustrations and my need to look past them to keep my sanity during the day, my mind has resorted to sending me very evident messages of my utter lack of self direction in the form of nightmares. As in - stuck in the open ocean surrounded by sharks and unable to swim, watching your town crumble and flood with no help of salvaging it, or resorting to living underground where bombs above can't hurt you. Yeah, maybe that's the plan. I'll call for a life hiatus - go underground for awhile - live the life of a recluse until I can safely say I've dealt with my concerns the healthy adult way (if that's what we're calling me these days) and moving on.
It's just a matter of all the what ifs in this limbo I'm living. But is that my new normal? Uncertain of the future in any aspect of my life. "When nothing is certain, everything is possible" and TERRIFYING I might add. Remember, I'm content. I need a good shove in the right direction to see that being in my safety zone is actually getting me nowhere.
So on that fine note, I've purchased a personal trainer kit, been (kind of) on the lookout for new jobs and have informed myself that living life happens each day. And making the most of it means I'll be working towards something great but also living the content life.
So if all this life frustration is good for something it's a fire under my behind. Because a woman on a mission - this woman (the one my mother calls a bulldog) can move some mountains (or at least a sizable mole hill).
What's that sound you say? Hang on, let me change into my cut off shirt and sweat shorts. That my friend, is the sound of Eye of the Tiger playing in the background. Getting me pumped to get shit done.
As always, SYLYB
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Peruvian Holiday -Setting Off
Peru April 30 - May 12
"Miss, would you like a drink?"
I turned my face from the window and say "water" through the dry air.
There is a fine line between getting enough water and it being a nuisance for travel. So I begrudgingly requested a drink. I didn't want a headache and I know the importance in keeping your wits about you- don't get dehydrated. I could feel the need for a bathroom already, but on a plane as small as that one I was going to hold it, pretty sure my kidneys and bladder weren't happy but I'm not overly enthused with airplane bathrooms. Not that I'm a germaphobe, its just inconvenient.
She handed me the little plastic cup. "Thank you."
I gulped the water down quickly and turned back to face the window. Lost in thought about the next two weeks - what they would bring, what we would learn, what we'd take back. Just the first leg of the journey, still several more hours to go - more time to get lost in thought, or a book. I would be landing in Miami around the same time as my travel companion Jessica.
Jessica, is what I lovingly consider my travel mate. We have now traveled out of the country twice and have driven and flown from one coast to the other. Even though I am an introvert, I never tire of her on trips as we both manage alone time [together] well. We work well as a duo/tag team and have a lot in common...and she puts up with me, even when I ask her to take very specific pictures or make her listen to my ramblings. At this point, it has been months since I have seen her and I feel giddy. Giddy because she has that energy and personality - she sucks you in and you smile. Because she's go-with-the-flow, sometimes ridiculous, and almost always upbeat [excluding times when she is hangry or her patience runs dry. Any who would be upbeat then anyway?]. Jessica is really one of a kind, the kind of person you wish you knew if you didn't. I love her and know she was placed in my life at just the right time, a friend I needed to help develop as a person during my formative year in Oklahoma for graduate school and beyond...and now, moving on from the sentimental.
Our remaining flights went without a hitch, I slept through the 6 hour flight like a champ. That was the intent in working a full day and catching a red eye [apart from it being cheaper and my strict budget].
We arrived in Cusco, Peru and headed out into the open autumn air awaiting our ride to the company we used and then to our hotel. We waited. And waited for another 40 minutes. Now, having traveled out of the country enough I know punctuality and schedules are not quite as tight as those in the US. So when we waited a half hour we weren't surprised, but when we became the only people sitting outside and a group of restless taxi drivers started circling we knew we'd been forgotten. I had written down their phone numbers just in case and this was one of those cases where I'm especially glad Jessica and I are list makers and prepared travelers.
Within 10 minutes of our phone call we had a driver meet us and take us to the company we booked with, Wayki Trek. The great thing about first leaving an airport in a foreign country is the beauty in it. Everything is new. You work so hard to absorb everything you feel like a deer in the headlights - wide eyes and speechless. It's like a first impression of the country. You are immediately immersed in the world you've dropped yourself in. Suddenly your senses are in overdrive - what you see, the sounds, the smells, how things feel and eventually how things taste. From what I could see, Peru did not disappoint on it's first impression. It was old, had that old worn feeling. It was busy and the streets on that end of town weren't the cleanest but the colors of buildings were bright and the Andes remained ever present in the background. The closer in to town we got the cleaner it looked and the more pieces of history we could see - the parts of Incan culture that remained and those that had been blended with Spanish. The streets were filled with vehicles weaving in and out, the sidewalks bustling with people selling their wares or walking to work. I was ready.
After arrival we had a few scheduling glitches - a misunderstanding on our part, and an itinerary mistake on theirs. Things did not start smoothly, but we didn't expect perfection. We had, in fact, booked our entire trip via email with an organization whose first language is not English. You can't expect perfection. A few mistakes are to be expected, and I'm thrilled we had so few. So we spent a good chunk of time that morning remedying the issues. By the time we were taken to our hostel I was ready to take a shower and a eat a light meal...but check in time wasn't until later so we stored our bags and headed into town...
The first time I traveled out of the States I was in high school and was blown away. I blame my mother for infecting me with the Wanderlust Bug, and my older brother for inspiring me. He demonstrated the benefit of, not being fearless but, courageous to travel/live abroad. Mom was my companion to Italy and then to Ireland a year later. Those first two experiences were wonderful, life-changing times. For those of you who have stamps in your passport you know what this means - it isn't just about a stamp in your passport.
Traveling isn't just some expensive excursion. It is a learning experience from the minute to set foot on foreign soil until the minute you arrive home. You can't get the full effect from a blog or some pictures. There is so much more to it. It is knowledge you cannot learn from a book, and I love learning. I will work my longest, hardest, and live frugally to travel as much as I can: to never take for granted how good I have it, to see how fortunate I am, to view the world from a different perspective, if even just for a little while, to eat/sleep/drink/breathe a different culture - to immerse yourself in it. Traveling is more than a scrapbook or a souvenir. It is an experience that worms it's way down to your being and settles in your soul, shaking you and leaves you unsettled...always wanting more.
Doesn't that sound romantic? Don't get me wrong, there are the not so glamorous portions of traveling. This trip was no exception - several days without showers, the interesting toileting arrangements, the altitude sickness, adjustments to different food/drink, and blunders a foreigner [you] will make in another territory [especially if their native language is anything but yours]. The point is not that these things happen, but that you learn from them, you grow, and you are not hindered by the fear to keep on learning and growing - to keep traveling.
You only have one life to live. Soak it up. Sip it down, and keep your appetite for life [and traveling] hearty. Part 2 coming soon.
sylyb
"Miss, would you like a drink?"
I turned my face from the window and say "water" through the dry air.
There is a fine line between getting enough water and it being a nuisance for travel. So I begrudgingly requested a drink. I didn't want a headache and I know the importance in keeping your wits about you- don't get dehydrated. I could feel the need for a bathroom already, but on a plane as small as that one I was going to hold it, pretty sure my kidneys and bladder weren't happy but I'm not overly enthused with airplane bathrooms. Not that I'm a germaphobe, its just inconvenient.
She handed me the little plastic cup. "Thank you."
I gulped the water down quickly and turned back to face the window. Lost in thought about the next two weeks - what they would bring, what we would learn, what we'd take back. Just the first leg of the journey, still several more hours to go - more time to get lost in thought, or a book. I would be landing in Miami around the same time as my travel companion Jessica.
Jessica, is what I lovingly consider my travel mate. We have now traveled out of the country twice and have driven and flown from one coast to the other. Even though I am an introvert, I never tire of her on trips as we both manage alone time [together] well. We work well as a duo/tag team and have a lot in common...and she puts up with me, even when I ask her to take very specific pictures or make her listen to my ramblings. At this point, it has been months since I have seen her and I feel giddy. Giddy because she has that energy and personality - she sucks you in and you smile. Because she's go-with-the-flow, sometimes ridiculous, and almost always upbeat [excluding times when she is hangry or her patience runs dry. Any who would be upbeat then anyway?]. Jessica is really one of a kind, the kind of person you wish you knew if you didn't. I love her and know she was placed in my life at just the right time, a friend I needed to help develop as a person during my formative year in Oklahoma for graduate school and beyond...and now, moving on from the sentimental.
Our remaining flights went without a hitch, I slept through the 6 hour flight like a champ. That was the intent in working a full day and catching a red eye [apart from it being cheaper and my strict budget].
We arrived in Cusco, Peru and headed out into the open autumn air awaiting our ride to the company we used and then to our hotel. We waited. And waited for another 40 minutes. Now, having traveled out of the country enough I know punctuality and schedules are not quite as tight as those in the US. So when we waited a half hour we weren't surprised, but when we became the only people sitting outside and a group of restless taxi drivers started circling we knew we'd been forgotten. I had written down their phone numbers just in case and this was one of those cases where I'm especially glad Jessica and I are list makers and prepared travelers.
Within 10 minutes of our phone call we had a driver meet us and take us to the company we booked with, Wayki Trek. The great thing about first leaving an airport in a foreign country is the beauty in it. Everything is new. You work so hard to absorb everything you feel like a deer in the headlights - wide eyes and speechless. It's like a first impression of the country. You are immediately immersed in the world you've dropped yourself in. Suddenly your senses are in overdrive - what you see, the sounds, the smells, how things feel and eventually how things taste. From what I could see, Peru did not disappoint on it's first impression. It was old, had that old worn feeling. It was busy and the streets on that end of town weren't the cleanest but the colors of buildings were bright and the Andes remained ever present in the background. The closer in to town we got the cleaner it looked and the more pieces of history we could see - the parts of Incan culture that remained and those that had been blended with Spanish. The streets were filled with vehicles weaving in and out, the sidewalks bustling with people selling their wares or walking to work. I was ready.
After arrival we had a few scheduling glitches - a misunderstanding on our part, and an itinerary mistake on theirs. Things did not start smoothly, but we didn't expect perfection. We had, in fact, booked our entire trip via email with an organization whose first language is not English. You can't expect perfection. A few mistakes are to be expected, and I'm thrilled we had so few. So we spent a good chunk of time that morning remedying the issues. By the time we were taken to our hostel I was ready to take a shower and a eat a light meal...but check in time wasn't until later so we stored our bags and headed into town...
The first time I traveled out of the States I was in high school and was blown away. I blame my mother for infecting me with the Wanderlust Bug, and my older brother for inspiring me. He demonstrated the benefit of, not being fearless but, courageous to travel/live abroad. Mom was my companion to Italy and then to Ireland a year later. Those first two experiences were wonderful, life-changing times. For those of you who have stamps in your passport you know what this means - it isn't just about a stamp in your passport.
Traveling isn't just some expensive excursion. It is a learning experience from the minute to set foot on foreign soil until the minute you arrive home. You can't get the full effect from a blog or some pictures. There is so much more to it. It is knowledge you cannot learn from a book, and I love learning. I will work my longest, hardest, and live frugally to travel as much as I can: to never take for granted how good I have it, to see how fortunate I am, to view the world from a different perspective, if even just for a little while, to eat/sleep/drink/breathe a different culture - to immerse yourself in it. Traveling is more than a scrapbook or a souvenir. It is an experience that worms it's way down to your being and settles in your soul, shaking you and leaves you unsettled...always wanting more.
Doesn't that sound romantic? Don't get me wrong, there are the not so glamorous portions of traveling. This trip was no exception - several days without showers, the interesting toileting arrangements, the altitude sickness, adjustments to different food/drink, and blunders a foreigner [you] will make in another territory [especially if their native language is anything but yours]. The point is not that these things happen, but that you learn from them, you grow, and you are not hindered by the fear to keep on learning and growing - to keep traveling.
You only have one life to live. Soak it up. Sip it down, and keep your appetite for life [and traveling] hearty. Part 2 coming soon.
sylyb
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)