We’re all looking for love and I believe in love. I am a hopeless romantic and believe that love can be all that we dream of, all that we hope for, all that we wish for. When it’s with the right person, it’s amazing.
What is love to me? Love is wanting someone so much that it hurts when you’re not together. Love is sharing your most intimate wishes and dreams. Love is being able to be vulnerable to express your feelings without judgment. Love is disagreements without hurtful arguing. Love is 100% honesty, no matter what. Love is respect. Love is knowing who the other person is and never hurting them for being who they are. Love is joy, love is happiness, love is everything.
Love isn’t complicated, it’s people who make it that way.
Love doesn’t always have to be easy, but it should never be hard.
Love shouldn’t take work, but it should take effort.
No matter how many failed relationships I’ve had or how many people have hurt me, I will always believe in love.
I have to believe in it because without that belief, there’s no hope in thinking that it’s possible.
Everything is based on love.
Love is the basis of all things.
Love can change a life, change a person and could most definitely change the world.
We all want to feel important to the people who are important to us. We want to know that we’re a priority, not a convenience. We want to know that the relationship means as much to them as it does to us.
It doesn’t always work that way.
We are all different and what’s important to the people we care about may not be important to us. It’s crucial that in any relationship you have to communicate. You have to be vulnerable with your feelings and not be judged for them. You have to listen and understand that the other person may feel differently than you.
And that’s what makes life interesting. We’re different and if we weren’t, life would be boring. We have to accept the people in our life for WHO they are, not what you want them to be.
You learn from the differences of others. You may learn a different perspective, or different way of thinking, and you may even learn more about yourself.
I know that disagreements happen but I also know that through communication comes a deeper understanding about the nature of the disagreement. You have to be vulnerable to communicate with others, especially those that you are closest to, and that honest vulnerability should never be judged.
I think it’s a gift when someone in my life is vulnerable to me. It means they trust their feelings with me and know that they won’t be judged or told that they’re wrong.
And when disagreements come up in your relationship, friendships or family, remember this: “Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it.”
Kindness, compassion and understanding go a long way.
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.
And just like that, my staycation is over and I’m back at work. And life seems to be back to where it was before the staycation as well. As for me? I’m pushing myself to remember the girl that I had forgotten about until that time alone. I’m being diligent about not letting that girl go so far away again. And I don’t want to forget that amazing time of writing like I used to, of feeling sure of myself, of truly letting the “real me” shine through.
Life is a funny, wonderful, crazy thing. We live it in our day to day routines, not noticing much until we’re given the time to notice, to remember, to be who we are. And I won’t give that up.
We spend so much time doing the same things every day that we forget to take the time and “make” the time to notice the people in our lives, the beauty that surrounds us, and more importantly, we forget about ourselves. We forget why we’re here. We forget who we are. We forget to love ourselves.
Yes, my staycation is over. Yes, I’m back at work. Yes, my old life seems to be creeping into the life that I found during that short period of time.
But I’m not going to forget how I felt, what I learned, and what I want to do from here on in.
My staycation changed me yet it brought out the best in me.
I found myself.
And I’m not going to let that girl go again.
Pay attention, my loves, to the world and the life that surrounds you.
More importantly, pay attention to “you,” because you are amazing and “you” have the ability to change the world.
So, I did a “thing” today. I signed the contracts with my publisher to do another book! This one is way different than what I’ve written before and definitely a bit out of my comfort zone but I am so excited to be back under contract and ready to get published. Sometimes I need the pressure of a deadline to get myself moving. I believe with all my heart that this is going to be part of my moving forward in my life.
It’s been a wonderful “staycation” so far, one filled with changes and decisions and I’ll say it again, I’m grateful for the time to do so.
Life is precious and as I get older I realize just how precious it is. No day should be wasted, no minute should be wasted. There’s so many things I want to do before my last breath is taken and now is the time to do what it takes to do them.
It feels good to be back to being “me.” I missed her.
As I end this post I say this to all of you:
Forgive those who have hurt you and forgive yourself.
Have no regrets because mistakes are to be learned from and make us a better person.
Love hard and love long.
Laugh as often as you can.
Mean what you say but don’t be mean when you say it.
Your actions will always speak louder than your words. Choose them wisely.
And every day that you’re blessed to have another day to do it better than before, spend it with your loved ones or be aware of the beauty that surrounds you, be grateful.
Sometimes we need to look at each other the way Linus looked at the tree. I believe there’s good in everyone even if you can’t always see it.
It could be that they’re afraid to get hurt.
Maybe they’re afraid that if they show who they are they will be judged or disliked.
Or it could be that they have trouble trusting other people because of someone that broke their trust.
And the list can go on.
We don’t always understand why people are the way they are, but I’m going to continue to believe that there’s good in everyone just waiting to shine through
You’re here for a reason. You woke up today for a reason. You’re alive for a reason.
Have you ever seen the movie, “It’s A Wonderful Life?” If you haven’t, you should. And if you have then you should watch it again.
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” said Clarence the Angel.
You’re here and if you weren’t, life would be completely different. It would be different for everyone. Your existence matters and you’re here for a reason.
Your life touches each and every single life that you’ve met along the way and if you weren’t here, the journey of those people would have been different.
Think about that.
Your life has made an impact on each and every life you have met along the way.
You’re here for a reason.
You woke up today for a reason.
You’re alive for a reason.
Think about that.
Be grateful.
And take that “wonderful life” of yours and make a positive impact in the world and in the lives of each and every life you touch.
The truth is, you don’t know how much time you have.
The time you spend being angry with someone is a waste of precious time, which none of us are promised. The time you spend not speaking to someone is a loss of time that you will never get back in this lifetime. The time you spend paying someone back for upsetting you is holding you back from moving forward with them.
People talk about missing loved ones that have passed, that they wish they could talk to them one more time. I understand that but what I don’t understand is why they wouldn’t feel that way about someone who is still here and in their life? I have lost loved ones throughout my life but their passing has taught me to embrace the loved ones who are still here. I don’t want to miss any time I have to spend with them or talk to them.
Don’t waste the time you’re given on this Earth being angry or ignoring someone you love. You’ll never get that time back and you never know if that’s the last time you’ll talk to them. It’s like that old saying, “Never go to bed angry.” And it’s true.
I don’t want the last thing I say to someone I care about to be negative, hurtful, or spiteful. I don’t want to treat someone badly because I’m upset. I don’t want to waste one minute of my life holding onto negative things and missing the good things.
Don’t waste this precious time you are gifted. Be grateful for each day that you wake up and use your time wisely, not wastefully. Let someone know that you love them. Tell someone that you’re sorry. Communicate your differences together with love and respect. Use your time to do good things that can make a difference in the life of another. Don’t waste it on negative things that will only hurt you or someone else in the end. One day you’ll wish you had that time back to do things differently but once it’s gone, it’s gone for good.
What difference do you want to make in this world with the time you’re given? One that people will remember with a smile or one that they’ll remember with sadness?
Anne Dennish - Writer/Author 