Just thoughts

I have been thinking, in all honestly I like many other people have dreams and desires.  There are so many things I look forward to and there are some things I have on my bucket list of life (like a biking cheese tour in Europe).  But I don't want my desires for the future to hinder my enjoyment of the present.  Yes it is very good to dream and go for them, but I don't want to forget that life is now.  I may not enjoy me dreams if I can't enjoy the blessings I have.  Yes there are rough days and yes life is not always easy.  In fact it is easy to focus on our struggles and our desires for the future and miss our joys of the present.  This is why I am doing this blog, to help me focus on the small moments each day that bring a smile to my face.  True many of my dreams have not been achieved yet (ie I have not finished my PhD completely, but I am closer than I have been before), but I need balance, we all do.  I need to balance my dreams of the future with my life in the present.  Why would God spend time to create a beautiful world if He did not want us to also enjoy it?  We need dreams.  I need dreams, they define a part of who I am, but I also need to enjoy the present because one day my dreams will be the present and I may not recognize them.  It is living with an eye toward the future and a heart in the present.

So little reminders of joys of the present is the joy of reading a good book and having an annoying headache finally go away.  Granted I have been doing a lot of reading good books (even staying up until 7am to finish a good book), but those are things that I enjoy as well.

In today's attempt to try and look on the bright side of life, or focus on the good... I am pleased to announce that BLTs are a happy moments in my life.  They remind me of childhood or of simpler days.  What is it about memories of the past that help us enjoy the present?

So I need to get back to thinking about and writing about those small moments that make me smile, because inevitably it will bring a smile to my face.  So today's smile is brought to you courtesy of good friends and a delightful dog.  I was able to spend time with friends I haven't seen in 6+ months and honestly it felt just like yesterday.  A good friend is a blessing and a joy.  They love you as you.

I truly want a dog and at the moment I can't have one, but I am not going to let that hold me back from enjoying the moments I get to walk a dog.  I was able to walk a friend's dog this week, what a delightful dog he is.  Even if I don't have what I want I still get to enjoy the time with a good dog who loves the attention.  One thing that made me smile was just sitting outside reading with Cody (the delightful yellow lab) going after a fly, it was amusing.

Girl Time

So lets face, or maybe I should face it, women need women.  We need that interaction with other women.  We need the friendship of other women.  Today's blog for yesterday is just that, the joy and friendship of good women.  I got to spend a little time with 2 dear friends.  We didn't do much, we had a bit of driving time, went to the temple, more drive time and had dinner.  But the most important part was just being around friends who uplift you.  Who understand and accept your weaknesses, who don't judge you and you don't judge, but love you for you and find joy in each others company.  I am grateful for those wonderful women in my life, who are truly uplifting friends and women.  Who love me for me.  Who I can laugh with, cry with and just be with.

find a smile

So to be blunt, some days are a LOT harder to find a smile, these days may not actually be bad days, they are just days that it is harder to find something to truly smile about.  So today's smile that I found was the 7 or so deer in a yard in my neighborhood.  Deer remind me of my Grandma.  She passed away almost a year ago, but she loved deer.  She would collect small deer. 

Hope and forgiveness

Have you ever felt like you were trudging along on an endless journey. That is how my PhD feels at times.  Today I spent a few hours discussing my PhD with my advisor.  What a blessing those few hours meant to me.  It gave me hope and a little bit of direction on a journey that sometimes feels like a pulling at straws (and out hair).  Later I had the moment of saying I am sorry and also hearing someone say sorry to me for frustrations felt.  What a blessing it is to be able to have that forgiveness in our lives.

So today's smile is brought to you courtesy of hope and forgiveness in our daily lives.

two days are better than none

I realized that I did not write for two days and this happy moment is brought to you curtisy of the time between two days, namely the joy of resting.  The enjoyment of a quiet moment thinking before I sleep and the quiet moments enjoy the coziness of my bed before I have to be fully awake for the day.  How delightful and refeshing both moments can be.