Life changes

Happy Wednesday,

How are you all doing on this wonderful Wednesday morning? Did you get to enjoy the eclipse on Monday? What part of the world were you in when we experienced the total eclipse? Would love for you to share some photos if you have any cool ones.

John and I were in Arizona, so we really didn’t get to experience the eclipse like so many others did around the US. I will say though, the sky wasn’t as clear as it was yesterday. On Monday, the sky was filled with the most wonderful clouds. The beauty in the clouds were like a cascading waterfall, one over another, and yesterday and today, the sky is clear and blue, without a trace of a cloud.

It’s a gift to wake up each day and embrace the marvel that surrounds us. To wake up to see any sky is wonder in itself. When I get up and open all my windows, no matter what kind of day it is outside, I am reminded of the many blessings in my life, yet, struggles in life still exist. I think this is true for all of us. We do happen to live in a perfectly imperfect world. We might not have a challenge today, tomorrow or the next, and maybe our life is on auto pilot and challenges are scarce if any at all, but we’ve all faced something in our life. We’ve all faced changes, some good, some not so great and for some of us, those changes have been and can be difficult.

“Changes can be hard. It requires no extra effort to settle for the same old thing. Auto-pilot keeps us locked into past patterns. But transforming your life? That requires courage, commitment, and effort. It’s tempting to stay camped in the zone of, That’s-just-how-it-is. But to get really good stuff in life, you have to be willing to become an explorer and adventurer.”-John Mark Green.

The other night John was talking with his youngest kiddo on the phone and something came up in their conversation and the little guy told his dad, “I just don’t like change.” John then went onto explain to his little man how changes are hard. He acknowledged what his son was saying, then, he went onto talk about how sometimes changes open doors to things we never thought possible.

When we create a world where we live in a bubble without ever trying something new, we more than likely will miss out on so many wonderful new things. We’ll miss out on meeting new people. We’ll miss out on new experiences and who knows, we might miss out on the life we are meant to live.

I’m not a big fan of change either, however, I’m opening my mind to change and I’m learning to embrace trying new things, going places I’ve never been and the best part is, I know I can always come back to the safety of home.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”-Socrates.

One thing I’m learning is when I fear change, it’s because I’m actually stuck in a mind set that isn’t allowing growth. Growth is essential to our success and development in life. When we allow ourselves to grow we are one step closer to our goal. Each step we take towards growth is simply a stepping stone to achieving something new in our life.

I know growth requires change and that can be very uncomfortable, it can be messy and it can stir up feelings we weren’t even expecting, but in order to grow, we need to accept the uncomfortable, navigate the messy and cope with the feelings. It’s all a part of becoming our best self.

“When it comes to change, goals, and dreams, you have to bet on yourself.”-Mel Robbins.

Last night as John and I sat out on our balcony, having a beer, we couldn’t help but express our gratitude for our home, for our life together and for the people who bring so much happiness to our lives. We were reflecting on our trip to Arizona and we were saying how we’ve yet to find anywhere else that brings us this much peace. Our lake home gives us the warm and fuzzies.

John and I dream so many dreams together. One of our favorite things to do is dream about our future. In order to make those dreams come true, it requires us to venture into the unknowns from time to time. It requires change on both our parts and it is essential we set goals.

John and I have some big changes coming up soon and I am trying to keep the what-if’s out of my thinking, but I’ll be honest, it’s not easy. “Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from experiencing a life greater than you have ever known.”-Jeff McClung.

For me, it’s a fine line between the fear of the unknown and the excitement of the not knowing what taking certain steps will look like at the end of the path, but, I love being pulled in the direction of the excitement of how much more amazing life will be, struggles and all.

Over the last 8 years I’ve learned so much. I’ve grown as a person and I’m learning how to accept rather then judge. I’m learning to get out of the black and white world and see how beautiful the gray can be.

Life can change in the blink of an eye, “do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”-Prov. 27: 1-ESV.

Let’s embrace today and each day we are blessed to wake up, because there are no guarantees for what tomorrow may or may not bring. The more we feed our mind with the positive, the more we embrace the changes, the better chance we have to attract great things into our life.

I truly believe it is our birth right to succeed and experience changes, experience greatness, even when those changes make us uncomfortable. Life is meant to be lived and we are allowed the choice to decide to embrace all that comes with living the most fulfilling life ever, or living in our comfort zone and staying safe within our bubble. Either way, we get to choose.

Changes are coming my way and I’m excited to see what those changes may bring, all while trying to live in the now. It truly is a balancing act, one I’m not great at, but one I will do my best to embrace.

I hope your today is wonderful. I hope no matter what you choose to do, you are safe, happy and living your best life.

Until next time, don’t forget, Love Life++ Hugs.