“Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn, taking us on the journey of a lifetime. We may not end up where we dreamed, but we’ll always end up where we belong.”
~Anne Dennish~
I wrote this quote at what seems like a lifetime ago, but I’m glad I was reminded of it because it’s true and so fitting of my life right now.
I can honestly say that I’m not where I dreamed I’d be, but rest assured, I’m in the place that I belong.
I’m in the place I need to be to take care of my parents, the place to learn patience in adapting to a new area to live in, a place to learn more about myself and the many changes I’m going through, and a place to write my books in.
I’m where I belong and I’m making the best of it.
I believe that our lives are a series of “unexpected turns,” and it’s up to us to step up and be equal to the challenge.
I do believe that we’ll all end up where we dream to be, we just need to learn the lessons that life is teaching us and change our perspective on where we are at this moment.
We all end up where we belong…
And I believe that in time we’ll all end up where we dreamed.
“Each time that I write something I find a piece of myself that I didn’t know was missing.” ~Anne Dennish~
Life as a writer is interesting. I’m always listening to what other people are saying and watching their body language. I love having conversations with people that I just meet and hearing their stories. And with each story I write, I learn something new about myself. I learn about a piece of myself that I didn’t even know was missing.
This is life. It’s learning lessons that we didn’t even know needed to be taught. It’s listening with an open heart and mind. It’s an opportunity to change our perspective.
You don’t need to be a writer to experience these things. You need to be a human being that understands that this world is a gift to explore and that the people in it are the ribbons that wrap it all up.
Be open. Be aware. Be mindful.
This beautiful life that we are all given has so many surprises and gifts that we can’t even fathom…you just have to let it show you.
Sometimes all it takes is one person to help you find the inspiration and motivation that you’re looking for. And I had just that experience during my crazy week!
Every so often a follower reaches out to me to chat. I met this amazing young woman a few years ago by phone. She’s a young, sweet, and inspiring person and I was extremely grateful that she reached out to me last week. Here I am, the positive writer, the “love and light girl” getting some much needed help out of my own funk from this girl.
We spoke for quite some time and I listened to her adventures, hearing the excitement and love of her life in her voice. She was excited! She was driven and focused! She was and is brave! She took a leap of faith and changed her direction, moving all the way to the desert in Mexico. I could feel her happiness and her excitement.
I told her that I was feeling out of balance living here and about leaving my job. She reminded me that perhaps this was a push for me to finish my new book, that perhaps that will turn out to be my big adventure when it’s published.
And she was so right.
When we hung up the phone I felt so much better, more motivated and definitely inspired by her adventure. Thank you, Ania, for supporting me all these years and for helping me remember what I’m here for.
Sometimes it takes one person to inspire and motivate you.
Sometimes it takes one person to help you see the light.
I’m no stranger to feeling “uncomfortable,” especially in the last nine months. I was uncomfortable leaving my job at the Jersey Shore and moving to Delaware for the summer. After that I was uncomfortable when I left Delaware to move to Florida by myself. And now I find myself uncomfortable again. I left the job that I had here for the last two months. It was a difficult decision but one that was right for me. The job took a toll on my body and even more on me mentally. Within two months I was spent. My body was tired and my mind was exhausted. I miss the girls I worked with and the customers that brightened my day each morning, but being treated unfairly just wasn’t working for me anymore.
I cannot put myself in a position to feel taken advantage of and to be treated disrespectfully. No one should. And I had had enough.
It was a rough few days last week coming off of that job but I managed to put myself in 100% self care mode, allowing myself the time I needed to get over the negative feelings from the job. It took a bit of time but I kept telling myself: “Go easy on yourself. You did the right thing for YOU!”
I believe that when YOU close a door that needs to be closed, the Universe will open many more.
I have a few people in my life that feel like I made the wrong decision and have continually brought it up to me all week. Sometimes people who are unhappy in their own lives take it out on those that have a life or mindset that they want, but don’t have. I understand that people project their unhappiness onto others and it’s hard for someone like me to keep remembering that, but I am, with the help of a few good people that support me with lots of love. They are the ones I need to keep close.
None of us should feel bad about making a decision that is in our best interest and we have to stay strong to those that try to make us feel that way.
No matter what you or I are going through, we have to believe in ourselves and our ability to do what’s best for us. Forget the opinions of anyone else.
I’m feeling unusually happy today. It could be that it’s because I have two days off from work, or that I’m letting go of things that no longer serve me. It could be that I’ve accepted that some things will never change and that the only thing I can change is “me!” And I’m working on that.
I’ve been in Florida for four months now and am finally getting used to it. I’m in a beautiful house which is somewhat of a blank canvas at the moment. I have the basics of furniture but haven’t put up anything on the walls or decorated very much. Some may ask why I haven’t done that yet, and I’ll tell you why: I wanted to give myself time to get to know the house and to see who I would become here. I guess you could also add an almost Category 5 hurricane when I got here!
It’s time, though. The house and I have gotten to know each other very well and I’m excited to see how it all looks when I get down to turning it into a home! It’s time for me to understand that this is “home” now. It was a difficult transition from the Jersey Shore to here but this is my reality and I’m finally accepting that.
“Home is where the heart is” but the hard part is that it’s just MY heart here. My heart is scattered around the country with the ones I love the most and it’s been tough getting used to not having those “hearts” with me. I know that life is filled with changes and moving here on my own was my hardest change of all, but I believe with all my heart that this is where I’m meant to be.
So, on this chilly night in Florida, my house and I are spending a quiet night at home together with my thoughts spread out throughout the country to those that I love and miss.
Home may be where the heart is but while my heart is here alone with me, it’s learned to travel the distance to be with the ones I love the most. They are forever in my heart and always in my thoughts. I’m beginning to believe that “home is where your heart travels to, not where it’s living.”
“Go easy on yourself, darling. You’re in something new.” ~S.C. Lourie
I saw this quote and wanted to share it with you. It definitely resonated with me today.
Everything for me in Florida is new. It’s a new house, a new job, a new town, a new state, new roads to get used to, new way to live by myself and that’s just to name a few.
But how do you live with all the “new” when you still have a big piece of yourself invested in a piece of the “old?”
A big piece of my heart is still attached to something important back home. I can’t change that, it’s a reality, but how do you incorporate that important piece of the “old” into the “new?”
I’m struggling with that a bit today and trying to understand how to do it and do it well.
But for now, I’m going to go easy on myself. I’m in something new.
I love watching people. I love watching their interactions and their expressions. Today at work I saw some pretty awesome stuff.
I saw a couple holding hands over coffee. I saw a couple cracking jokes and laughing with each other. I saw a table of friends talking about their troubles and their good times over breakfast.
You know, it’s moments like these that I smile and think how lucky I am to have witnessed such random, beautiful moments.
The moments are simple, uncomplicated and honest, yet it’s moments like these that I think to myself: “This is what life is all about.”
It’s the day to day routine that can bring the most joy to those involved in it and to those witnessing it.
And today I was blessed to see joy, to see laughter and most of all, to see love.
Keep your eyes open, my loves. You never know what life has to show you.
I woke up this morning, looked into the mirror and said, “What happened to you?” If you’ve been following me you’ll know that I’ve been in a strange place in the last few weeks and I’m not talking about location. I’m talking about my mindset and feeling lost, needing a routine and needing a kick in the pants to get back to where I was with my writing.
So it was no surprise that the girl I saw in the mirror was a bit disappointed in me. It’s as if she was saying “Why’d you let this happen to you? Get back to doing things that make you feel good about yourself and make you feel happy.” And she was right.
I got to thinking about the last few weeks. I’m a girl that loves to wear make-up yet I haven’t had any on in weeks. I didn’t see the reason to put it on if I wasn’t going out. I usually get a pedicure every few weeks but didn’t see the importance of it right now. I haven’t listened to much music lately because I didn’t feel the need to dance.
Now there’s something to think about. Why was that? Why wasn’t I still doing all the things that made me feel good about myself? Was it just because I moved? Was it because I wasn’t working? Was it because I wasn’t going out as much?
Yes and no.
And as I thought about it I changed my mindset. I shouldn’t have to have a reason to do what makes me happy and feel good about myself. I should be the reason.
Suddenly, it all made sense. Circumstances and location shouldn’t matter. Nothing should matter except that it makes me feel good and if I feel good then I can do more good for others. If I’m happy I can share that with the world.
Take my advice and my lesson learned and “do what makes YOU feel good,” no matter what. I’ve realized how important of a piece these things are for me in getting back into a routine.
“You don’t need a reason to do the things that make you feel happy and good about yourself. YOU are the reason! And YOU are a very good reason.”
I’ve been in Delaware for about a month now and have had way too much time to “think” about why I haven’t been writing as much as I used to, why I haven’t finished the final edits on my new book or why I feel so lost.
After much soul searching I got my answer: I lost my routine.
And in losing my “routine” I’ve lost my balance and a little bit of myself.
Back in Jersey I was working full-time and writing in my free time. I don’t miss working the daily grind BUT I do miss the routine. I’d get up everyday at 5:30, grab my coffee and do my hair and makeup as I peered out the window to see the sunrise. I was off to work by 8 and home after 4. It was a “routine.”
The other piece I’m missing is the daily interaction with my boss, co-workers, customers and vendors. I was always meeting someone new and interesting, yet I can remember coming home some days and not wanting to talk to anyone because I was “talked out” from work. Now I long for those days of communication.
It’s quiet here and unless we go out, there’s not much communication with the outside world. There are days that I wish my phone would ring with a friendly voice on the other end just ready for a nice, long conversation.
But it doesn’t and I feel as though I’m left with too much idle time and that’s not me.
This move wasn’t easy but I know that finding a routine here is in my best interest. I’m lost without one. I’m lost without accountability for a job. I’m lost being away from the friends and places that I loved.
Maybe I took too much of that for granted and can now see how important all of that was for me. I can definitely see it now and while there’s no sense in missing it all, there is a sense in being grateful that I had it in the first place.
Today is a new day and I have to push myself to find a new “routine.” I need to make myself accountable for a full time job as a writer. I need to stop feeling lost and find what works for me. And instead of missing my friends and places, I need to incorporate them into a new routine of seeing them when I can.
“Mindset and perspective” are what I’ve been lacking and thankfully this time of feeling lost helped to change mine and hopefully has me moving forward in the right direction.
I believe that “it’s the times we feel most lost in our lives that we’re actually finding ourselves.”
And I believe the last month of feeling lost has helped me to find myself again.
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 