This Is It

starttoday“But this is what I’m finding, in glimpses and flashes: this is it. This is it, in the best possible way. That thing I’m waiting for, for that adventure, that movie-score-worthy experience unfolding gracefully. This is it. Normal, daily life ticking by on our streets and sidewalks, in our houses and apartments, in our beds and at our dinner tables, in our dreams and prayers and fights and secrets – this pedestrian life is the most precious thing any of us will ever experience.”

{Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines}

// personal image: taken somewhere between New Zealand and Australia

Yet In His Largeness, Nothing Gets Lost

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…it is broader than the earth and wider the sea.

[personal image]

My New Year’s Wish – Neil Gaiman

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- fireworks from the paddock behind my house, New Years Eve 2013/14 -

Happy New Year, friends!

I wasn’t planning on doing a post today, but after seeing a few of Neil Gaiman‘s quotes floating around I really wanted to share them with you too. For many years Neil wrote a post on 31 December. They’re stunning, often build upon the previous year’s, and beautifully sum up what the New Year can bring.

Below are a few, but you can read the whole collection here.

Enjoy it the first day of this fresh, new year x

—–

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” – 31 December, 2007 (originally quoted in 2001)

“…I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you’ll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you’ll make something that didn’t exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be,  be wise, and that you will always be kind.” – 31 December, 2008

“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re Doing Something.

So that’s my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before. Don’t freeze, don’t stop, don’t worry that it isn’t good enough, or it isn’t perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” – 31 December, 2011

Dare To Be!

sunset3[personal image via Instagram]

Dare to Be…

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.

When there is darkness, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the first to condemn it.

When something seems difficult, dare to do it anyway.

When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.

When you’re feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.

When love hurts you, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.

When another is lost, dare to help them find the way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.

When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.

When the day has ended, dare to feel as you’ve done your best.

Dare to be the best you can –

At all times, Dare to be!”

// Steve Maraboli

You Leave A Trail Wherever You Go

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[image source: Instagram @bethjae]

Storytelling through word and visual are my favourite. The ability to take a thought and express it creatively makes my heart flutter. These past few days I’ve been captured by the new fall issue of Darling Magazine - it’s a beauty. As I opened the first couple of pages, the photo/fashion story caught my attention – “The Anticipation.” Pondering the images of the shoot, the following gem came to mind:

// We make a difference and leave a trail wherever we go – by our words, deeds, where we look & our steps. Sometimes the environment may even look different simply because we were there.

Whether we realise it or not, we’re always leaving a trail and mark in our environment. Be mindful.

And stay constantly inspired by seeking out the beauty in your everyday living.