#QOTD - Happiness

Long time no see. It's been way to long since my last post. Sorry about that. 2012 has been a busy year so far, but so awesome. So far it kicks 2011 in the butt ;)

None the less, I'll try to blog more, and I'll start with a small post, a little quote :)

"Happiness is the ability to recognize it."

-Carolyn Wells

So far 2012 has been a year filled with happiness in my life, and I hope to share some of that with you. I hope that you know you have the power to create your own happiness, you control your life, and you can make it happen. Well that is easier said than done sometimes, but just try to remember those words on a rainy day. Find happiness in something around you. Whether it is seeing an old couple walking hand in hand and looking crazy in love or a child having fun with something so simple and innocent. The beauty of the sky, or a flower, or a stone. Open your eyes to the small things, because sometimes it is these small things that give us the most happiness in bad times.

I hope all of you try to look for those small things. Sometimes a smile is all it takes to make a day great for someone else. Smile to someone this Monday, at least 10 people you don’t know, and see how that smile spreads like a fire in hay :) Make some happy this Monday, and maybe that person will end up doing the same. Think how much happiness you could spread tomorrow, and the do it! :)

Have a fantastic week!

<3 Christina

One of the beauties in life, a sunset by the harbor where i live, so gorgeous!

#QOTD - Valentine’s Day

Today is Valentine’s Day, so I just wanted to share a little quote and some words:

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"

-Moulin Rouge (2001)

Love this quote, it's dead on. Love is the most powerful thing we have and are capable of making/sharing/giving. Love can make us feel like we can conquer the world, and lack of it makes us feel like nothing makes sense, that life is not worth living. We all have different opinions of what love is and what kind of love makes us feel loved and happy. We all speak the language of love, but as in all languages we find our own way of speaking it. That is why we sometime get confused when we try to make someone feel loved, but they don't respond to our love. To say it plain and simple: learn to speak the love-language your partner speaks and you'll see the result immediately. We all want the same, we just respond differently :)

That was a long wise speech, back to basics. Valentine’s Day is the day we either love or hate. I love it, but I also believe it is not romantic just to be romantic ONE day a year :) Romance should fill all our days. Sometimes romance is giving your partner a hug because you can see he/she needs it. Giving your partner what he/she needs despite the fact that you don't understand why it helps, now THAT is romance: THAT is LOVE :) So, is Valentine’s Day necessary? Maybe, maybe not. The industry makes a lot of money on that one day, but the same goes for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, basically every holiday or special occasion. But for me it is not the expensive flowers, dinner or chocolate, for me it is love. A day dedicated to love, and if I look at it that way, I find Valentine’s Day beautiful. Love is the most important thing and therefore it should also have a special day a year. Just like Mothers or Father’s day. That is a special day for them, but that doesn't mean it is the only day we show them special attention :) Or at least that how I believe/think it should be.

So instead of focusing on whether or not you are single on Valentine’s Day, focus on love. ON the love you have with your friends, family, pets, hobbies etc. It is all about love, and as I said, love is the same but still different for each and every one of us :)

So, lots of love from me. I feel blessed to have so much love around me, and I'll send some your way if you need it :) Made this picture for all of you: Happy Valentine's Day :)

Love

Christina

#QOTD - Choose your way

Another good one and maybe not something we seem to forget:

Sometimes it’s easier to pick the easy road instead of the road that will actually teach us something, make us grow and pay off in the end. Not that I judge, I do it too sometimes :) I think it's become a habit for most people. Choosing the easy way because we may have fear of what will meet us in the unknown. Or maybe we don't feel like we have the time or energy to face it. But sometimes I choose to take the difficult road, and each time I gain something that makes up for all the struggles and heart ships. My brain and heart just seems to forget that every time I face the 'unknown road' :) But I'm getting better, and I hope all of you will face the unknown and choose that road we deep down know but just don't feel like taking :)

Have an awesome weekend :)

Christina

#QOTD - Create yourself

Just wanted to share this with you! So true.

Be yourself, be unique, and most of all, you have the power to write your own life story! SO make that story rock, and remember that you can ALWAYS change your ways. I believe in you :)

#QOTD - Dreams

"Do not lose hold of your dreams or aspirations. For if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live."

-Henry David Thoreau

I think this is a very beautiful quote, and very true. We often find ourselves lost when things don't turn out the way we wished them to do. Or when a sudden turn of events changes our nicely planned life. So when it says; don’t lose hold of your dreams or aspirations; I see like this:

Dreams can change, take you in a different direction than you planned, but does that make it less of a dream or more? I think more, or I believe :) Because, the road we sometimes end up taking in life sometimes give us more than we wished for, we just don’t see it because we are so busy looking down the road we didn't get to take. So hold on to your dreams, believe in them and they will come true, just maybe not in the way YOU planned them to do. If you give up, well, the quote says it beautifully: if you do, you may still exist but you have ceased to live.

Don't lose yourself in your own attempt to seek happiness and success, believe that you will find it :)

Christina

#QOTD - Love conquers all

"It is vital that when educating our children's brains we do not neglect to educate their hearts."

-Dalai Lama

So very true, I read this today, and I couldn't agree more. Today it’s all about getting the best grades, knowing everything about nothing in particular, and being able to use fancy phrases and look like you're IT (whatever that means). When you grow up you need to be something special, something smart, and one who makes a lot of money and knows how to conquer the world. And you're absolutely nothing without a fancy title to brag about (ever wonder why titles today sound more fancy than they are? :) ). But one thing misses, where is our hearts in all this, where is the love? (and yes, I know it sound like that Black Eyed peas song, but it’s true ;) ).

We're so busy being clever and wise, and often forget that it is not the only thing that counts. Being a good person, helping those around you and give unconditionally is one of the greatest gifts to do. Today, more people just don't have the time for it and it is not necessarily the individual persons fault. Our lives are hectic, we have to do everything and achieve it all, and it is natural for people to think of themselves first. Survival comes first (then there is the discussion about what is important to survival, but we'll take that another day ;) ). So it's not the individual person who is at fault, it is rather a responsibility we must take together. We must decide to change our lives. It's not something that happens in a day, but together it is certainly happens faster :)

Of course I know A LOT of people already doing that, but there's still work to be done, and many still don't believe in this way of thinking. I hope one day that changes. Because when we start focusing on the heart and the love it is capable of showing, we truly will discover just how awesome we all can be :)

Christina

#QOTD - Win your battles

"The true mind can weather all the lies and illusions without being lost.

The true heart can tough the poison of hatred without being harmed.

Since beginningless time darkness thrives in the void but always yields to purifying light."

We often get many things "thrown" our way without being able to control when and how. People can come up with rumors and falsehoods to hurt us, they can use hate as a weapon, basically they can make our lives seem so dark and sad.

And it's not always we can respond equally well when we get thrown bad things against us, we often decide to throw again, or hide away. None of the solutions is obviously the right thing, but we often choose to use them. Not that it makes us equally bad, no, that makes us human, and as humans we aren't perfect. Far from in fact.

We just need to remember that we know what is true, we should not let false people drive us crazy or make us feel inferior.

Darkness tends to enclose us in its embrace and make us unable to see the road ahead, but remember it is only when it is darkest that we can see the stars :) and those stars leads us home. Darkness always yields to light, if we let it. You win if you remember who you are and what is inside you.

Believe in the power inside you :)

#QOTD - Smile :)

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."

 -Mother Teresa

There is nothing more relieving and fun than smiling!! A smile can make your troubles go away, a smile can light a candle in the darkness, a smile warms the heart, and a smile brings peace of mind. And what does it cost? NOTHING! I smile so much I think I'm going to wrinkle up to early, but I don't care, it is the best feature we have as human beings!! And it spreads so easily, so give someone you don't know a smile today. Smile at someone you meet on the street, at the girl/boy behind the cash register in the store or smile to you colleagues, friends, family, boyfriend or girlfriend. Maybe a smile is all one person needs to save their day, to make it seem easier, more bearable. I absolutely love this quote, and I try to make the best of it each day :)

Christina

#QOTD - Regret

"Regret comes in all shapes and sizes.

Some are small, like when we do a bad thing for a good reason.

Some are bigger, like when we let down a friend.

Some of us escape the pangs of regret by making the right choice.

Some of us have little time for regret because we're looking forward to the future.

Sometimes we have to fight to come to terms with the past.

And sometimes we bury our regret by promising to change our ways.

But our biggest regrets are not for the things we did, but for the things we didn't do, things we didn't say that could have saved someone we care about.

Especially when we can see the dark storm that's headed their way."

If only I could take credit for those words, it pretty much sums up what regret is and the regrets we often have in life. The questions is how do we get past the regret? How do we not let it take us down?

Regret is the negative version of reflection in my opinion. It's healthy to reflect over the this we have been through, the decisions we make or don't make. But when we think too much about our mistakes, or something we did or how we reacted, it tends to be in a negative way, and that leads to regret.

Learn to reflect instead of regret the things you do, it takes practice, and you will not be perfect:) But the sooner you learn to let go, the sooner you will find that life doesn't have to be so damn hard :)

Have a great weekend!

Christina

#QOTD - Within you

"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."

-C.S. Lewis

I believe in these words!!! They are so true; at least to me they are :) We all have different beliefs, and it doesn't matter what we believe in, it matters only how we treat each other!! Still, I hope you find this quote inspirational, or maybe it makes you think twice about what life is all about. Please feel free to comment if you want to discuss it; I'm open to all kinds of discussions :)

Hope you are all enjoying your Thursday!! I am, todays my brother's birthday, congrats bro:) So proud of the man you have become, I know the future has so much good in store for you. The weather is so beautiful, the last breath of summer before autumn begins, so nice. Have a great afternoon peeps!

Christina

#QOTD - LIVE LOVE LAUGH

 "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about learning to dance in the rain."

-Vivian Greene

This one I absolutely LOVE :) When we were kids we always put on old sweats and ran outside whenever the rain started to pour down!! It was SO much fun, and afterwards we would take a warm bath and watch a movie or play a game wile we drank hot chocolate/tea. Those moments I remember so clearly, and in those moment life was so easy and fun, and more importantly I felt extremely loved!! So don't se rain as something negative and dark, see it as something fun, something that can wash all your troubles away and make you feel completely new :)

#QOTD

Just a little story to ponder over and start the week with :) :)

An old Indian told his grandchildren: "In every human life is a terrible fight. A fight between two wolves. One of them: fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self pity, resentment and betrayal. The second: joy, love, humility, trust, generosity, truth and compassion."

One of the children asked: "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man looked him in the eye and replied: "The one you feed"!

#QOTD - Unity

"People inflict pain on others in their selfish pursuit of happiness and satisfaction. Yet true happiness comes from a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood. We need to cultivate a sense of universal responsibility for one another and the planet we share."

-Dalai Lama

#QOTD - Sorrow, loss, grief

There is no despair so absolute as that which comes
With the first moments of our great sorrow,
When we have not yet known what it is to have suffered and healed,
To have despaired and recovered hope.

-George Eliot

#QOTD - Live in the moment

Do not look back and grieve over the past, for it is gone.
And do not be troubled about the future, for it has yet to come.
Live in the present, and make it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.

-Ida Scott Taylor

#QOTD

Find this very inspirering, and also very true :)

Be not afraid of life.
Believe that life is worth living,
And your belief will help create the fact.

-Henry James

#QOTD - Invictus

Out of the night that covers me
Black as the Pit from pole to pole
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate
How charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley

This is, if not my favorite, then one of the most inspiring poems I know!! I also know it is nelson Mandela’s favorite poem :) I find i truly inspiring. We all have a saying in how we choose to react to what it thrown our way, and we also get to choose how to act towards those who treat us wrong. WE ARE THE CAPTAINS OF OUR SOULS!
It is not always easy to choose the right direction or attitude, but hey we are only human, that’s the beauty of life. Learn from your mistakes, give yourself a second change. It is always harder to do right than wrong, so it will be a struggle, but it feels damn good when you climb that mountain ;)

Quote Of The Day (#QOTD)

I love to find quotes or poems that inspire me, help me or that I find beautiful in their simplicity. So therefore I have used my twitter account for sending out a daily quote (by daily I mean whenever I remember;) ). So now that I have decided to start this blog, I might as well spread the beauty here, maybe you can use their beauty and inspiration in your own life, maybe not.

On twitter # is used whenever you are discussing a certain topic, and I will do the same here. #QOTD (Quote Of The Day), followed by whatever quote, poem etc. that I for some reason stumble upon or have known for a long time :)

Hope you will enjoy :D

Xx