Inspired by Sarah

I have this beautiful, amazing, posi, friend Sarah, who I had the fortune to "meet" through twitter about 4 years ago (wow, when I think about that, it's a pretty long time). Anyway, she has started doing these instagram posts that she calls "Daily Words" and it's always some amazing little chunk of wisdom, written up on a handmade chalkboard (did I tell you she's really crafty, too?).
Every day, no matter what, there it is.
So, I was inspired by Sarah to do something similar to try and up my PMA, and while I was at it, maybe up the collective PMA of my community.
I started writing cheese little inspiring quotes on the squares of the sidewalk in front of my house every morning. It makes me feel good.
I hope somebody reads them and they feel as good as I do when I write them.
Anything is possible.

How it all began, and where it might go.....

When I started this blog a year ago, I had a mission and a plan.
It was all about getting healthy & staying that way. I talked a lot about what kinds of things we put in our bodies and how we feed our children.
I wanted to give easy, inexpensive tips and advice to people like me, people that have good intentions but have trouble following through. I was hoping this blog would be inspirational and empowering. I thought I could use my own life experiences to bring people together who were after the same thing as I was.
I just wanted to have (and help other people have) a healthy mind, body and soul.
I got a lot of amazing support and feedback from friends, family and complete strangers.
It felt great.
I was getting tons of emails and chat messages asking for my help.
I felt like I was doing something good, something right.
Then, during the Summer I had a falling out with some friends and went through a little bout of depression, directly followed by some real soul-searching.
I wrote a lot of intense posts.
I stopped exercising, and I ate my feelings.
I did a bunch of reflecting on the person I was in what I refer to as "my former life".
I thought about how I got to the point I was at presently, and then eventually, after I felt like I had exorcised the majority of my demons (publicly, no less), I began to look ahead.

hold the sun in your hands

I want to refocus on what I started out to do here, but with the realization that living a healthy life is NOT all about the body.
The body is just one small aspect of what makes a person a person.
I know how cliché it is, but I love the mantra of "Live your best life".
For me that means living a FULL life.
Going out of your way to find your happiness, because it doesn't always just exist in front of you.
Living the life you want your children to admire and respect.
A life of purpose and meaning.
Time spent getting to know the people and world that surrounds you.
Making discoveries and sharing them.
Finding the positive as often as you possibly can, for we all have a tendency toward melodrama (myself especially), and just vowing to do the best you can at any given moment.

That's what I want. What do you want?

There are no rules to live by

I have many faults. So do you. Own this. I am telling you, it will set you free.  

The honest to goodness truth is that we all do things that later we will look back at and think "That wasn't very cool of me". 

The problem is that most people think that and then continue to defend their actions. 

The attitude of "So what if you don't like what I did, I'm being me!" is fine. 

If you want to be stagnant. If you don't think you have any room to grow.

I guess most people fear the backlash of being wrong. Of admitting wrong-doing. 

What will people think of you if you show them that you are vulnerable in your absolute fallibility? 

Some people will laugh in your face. A lot will say "I told you so". 

Even more will revel in your mistakes & greedily spread news of your misdeeds like so much wildfire.

But none of that matters. You have to know this. 

You have to tell yourself that you cannot be judged by another person for being imperfect.

No person has a set of rules that you must live by.  

There is no lie that cannot be untold or sin unforgivable.

You must only be willing to admit your wrongs & forgive yourself.

The rest can either follow or be left behind.