Tuesday, May 3, 2016

{life reflections}

 . . . . . . . . . . 
{life reflections}
 Sporadic thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 
Entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; the release of thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 
Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 
If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.
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Loving the Current Version of Yourself

Hi Lovelies! 
Whoa! Another random post from me! ;) 
I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately. On a day such as today I was struck with an overwhelming sense of self and reflection that began with a Facebook post but that I’ve decided to share here as well—as I know most of you are missing posts. 
So, here is my little self-reflection today… 


Firstly, this photo is what started the flow of thoughts. This photo was my first Spring back in my home of Nelson, BC. I cannot believe this was already five years ago! Time flies! 

After this I started looking through an album of old photos from that year and the next few following it. Why? Because I look so damn happy in that photo and it had me thinking about my journey in this life. Shuffling trough those memories back in Nelson I feel very grateful for my journey. 
My life has always been a turbulent one, things have never "settled"; there is always something rocking the foundation on a very deep level, chipping away at depression and anxiety. BUT, when I moved back to Nelson I began a more conscious path of self-growth on the positive side. This is a path most of you are well-aware of as it began this very blog and all the advice and reflections I had to share because of it. Now, I’ve admitted in my last post that I may have gone a little overboard with the whole PMA (positive mental attitude) at first; I realized a year later that it could only last so long for me. But it was part of my journey, part of who I became, and now I've learned to embrace all sides of myself; both the dark and the light. Balance?? I'm a highly emotional person: my highs are over the wall, my lows have me down in the dirt; and they can switch as quickly as the swinging of a pendulum. But I'm more grounded as a person not denying either side of those. 
My Dark fuels my creativity and art. My Light fuels my relationships and life. 
My point? I have none. I just felt an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and satisfaction looking back at the last 5 years of my life (has it really been 5 years?!). This has been a while coming, in all honesty, as I felt a certain bitterness and resentment at the fact I was no longer this super duper happy woman all the time like I was in my PMA year. So, let me tell you: It's a nice place to be loving what I was but loving who I am more now, without bitterness or resent or longing for a different version of me. 
I’m sharing, as I like to do, because these moments of self-reflection are still easy for me to write and share in my busy life. When they come around, I still like to share my thoughts on life. 
I hope that you, too, are doing lots of self-reflection and that, no matter where you are at right now, you can see a light in the tunnel. The tunnel has no end, not at the moment, perhaps never, it is a journey through our ever-evolving souls and there is always room for growth. I hope you find balance, and that you learn to embrace every part of yourself without resent or longing. And if you haven’t found that place yet, don’t worry. The journey isn’t over yet! 

Okay, rambling reflection over! ;) 

Much Love, 
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

{The Fine Print of Life; and an Open Letter to my Readers}

I have not written a new entry in a year. If it isn’t too obvious, this lovely little blog is on stand-by; perhaps forever, perhaps for a few months, perhaps for a few years. All I know is that, at this crossroads in my life I am far far too busy to keep up with it.
Still, I felt I owed my loyal and/or curious readers an update and explanation before I say farewell for now (also note that I wrote most of this half a year ago, but life kept me too busy to post it until now).

Am I still Happy? Yes. Am I happy All the time? No. I felt the need to write this entry for a number of reasons, but one is that while ReLove Plan.et has always been about being light and fluffy and optimistic and positive, I feel it has left out the “Fine Print” as I have come to like calling it.
So, today, I am going to share some overall points, thoughts, ideas, and ramblings of recent Life Reflections—but particularly regarding the work that I have done here on the blog.

First, I have to start by saying that I am overly grateful and blessed to know that I have helped others through this project. It is a feeling that I cannot put into words and leaves me overwhelmed with the warm fuzzies inside. This blog has served a purpose, and it shall remain here for others to enjoy and happen across at their own leisure—even if there will be no new content.

Alright.
The Fine Print.


{The Fine Print.}


Positivity is great, but it’s not perfect.
Thinking Positive is a lovely concept, a magical idea, a wondrous notion. But it isn’t perfect. Not by a long shot. And I’ll tell you why.
Positivity can help, but you can’t be positive ALL the time. If you are, then you’re really just burying a lot of other perfectly natural human emotions, errors, reactions, and general energy-flow. Feeling negative about something is a pretty natural reaction. Feeling sad, angry, or any other “negative” feeling has it’s place. It’s better to feel those feelings than to just think positive and magic it away (again, i.e. burying the problem).
The problem with a Positive Mental Attitude is that it can catch up with you. I mean, how long can you expect to keep up something like that? I don’t want to say PMA is pretending. But it kind of, sort of is. We smack a smile on our faces and pretend everything is happy go-lucky, with the intention to fake-it-’til-you-make-it. All very lovely sounding in idea, not so great in practice. The problem is that it catches up to you. All those negative feelings you’ve been denying yourself end up surfacing ten-fold.
And that’s not to say that PMA doesn’t work at the time, it certainly can. For me, it worked rather beautifully for a long period of time. I genuinely felt happy. I fuelled that happiness with PMA every single damn day. I was on top of the world. But… it caught up to me. As I said, how long do you really think you can keep that up for? When I crashed, I crashed hard—as I generally tend to do. And that’s not to say that I didn’t still bounce back up again—also as I generally tend to do. But PMA is simply not a long-term concept for most people, and there comes a time when we have to accept all parts of ourselves. There is a balance to our emotions and feelings as I’m discovering for myself. There is a place for everything.


The Dark Side of Ourselves.  
Over the last year I’ve come to realize something very important about myself: I have a dark side. But not just me. We all have a dark side. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It is human nature to have raw, natural, human emotions. We are meant to experience them, not simply sprinkle magic fairy dust with a big wide smile to make it all go away. We are meant to feel those parts of ourselves. We are meant to Accept those parts of ourselves.
I’ve read some amazing quotes and parts from books lately. The ones I was able to dig back up are posted below.








My point is, that negative emotions aren’t bad, and we can’t think positive all the time. That’s not to say we can’t feel positive after feeling something negative; I certainly don’t encourage you to dwell in a negative headspace forever, that is dangerous and bad for your well-being. Balance. Balance is the key to everything now isn’t it?
Feeling angry? Then blast that metal music and throw some fists in the air. Happy music simply won’t do in a moment like that. Feel the emotion—allow yourself to experience it and allow it to tell you what you need to know—then you’ll be much better equipped to release it once you’re done with it.
Art is my healing form. If I’m feeling upset about something—whether it be a melancholic feeling, or an angry feeling (or a mix of both)—I start drawing. I start drawing while listening to some pretty angry, aggressive music. This is where a darker art collection of mine has begun to surface and a new side project (which I eventually plan on piecing together into an art book). And I feel much better after I’ve done them. Clearing out the negative feelings through constructive action is far better than just using PMA. Through this process I am able to actually experience the negative feeling and allow to tell me something I hadn’t realized, or teach me something new about myself or about life.
It’s a form of constant healing, permanent yin and yang. And life is simply not quite complete without it in some ways.


Life isn’t always rainbows and unicorns. But it can be pretty dandy.
I don’t want to say that Life is Easy. A lot of the articles I have written pertain to being positive, to always seeing the bright side, to just think happy happy and it will cure everything. Obviously, everything I have ever written is much more complex and I dive quite deep into many ideas and concepts to help you live a happy life. But, life isn’t rainbows and unicorns ALL the time. And that’s okay. Similarly, the article I wrote about “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” makes this point well. But what I want to add again to this, is that life isn’t always easy. If you want life to be amazing, you better believe you’re going to have to work hard at it.
Maybe you’re one of those lucky people where happiness comes quite easily. I envy you—and I am also very happy for you. But, maybe you’re like me: maybe life is difficult; maybe to get a smile on your face it takes a lot of tugging and forcing. If you are one of those people, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean we can’t be happy, it just means we may have to work a little harder at it. It may mean we have downward swings more often than we’re happy with. It’s still okay. Because there’s always another day. There’s always another way to look at life, to learn something new, and to keep trying. There are also happy days—and these days are causes for huge moments of gratitude; don’t forget the gratitude! Gratitude=more things to be grateful for.
The thing is, if you’re a Highly Sensitive Person (like I am, and like a lot of people are) then you’re going to feel Everything on a much deeper level. Your highs will be the happiest highs; and your lows will be absolute misery. Such is the gift and the curse of feeling so deeply. But do remember that it is a gift.

I Cannot Help You. (Sort of)
Although I am gracious that I have so many lovely individuals turning to me for help and advice, put simply: I cannot help you. In the past, I have tried to reply to as many messages as possible, but I simply cannot keep up (just as I cannot keep up with new content for the blog). I am also a terrible procrastinator, so, honestly, I am sorry, but replying to individual messages tend to get swept under the river of other works and projects and jumble of my life. In the end, they sadly do not take priority. Why? Firstly, I am not a professional, and, as I have tried to repeatedly urge my readers to do throughout this blog, please seek help when and if you need it (and even if you don’t need it)—it will do you wonders! Secondly, my life is very busy. Very busy. I am an ambitious person and currently all my time and energy is going towards drawing and writing, working towards being a successful Artist and Writer. This is done mostly in my spare time, between orders from my three etsy shops (and markets) and having to get a part-time job to survive. Whatever time is left over, I try to put towards a currently-fairly-lacking social life.
Any help that I have left over is also spent on friends and family, in open discussions. Which is another point I’m getting to. Any advice, any writings here, really, are meant to be interpreted to your own individualistic needs. Everyone is different. I cannot emphasize this enough. Everyone’s needs are different, everyone’s coping methods are different, everyone’s interpretations are different. That is the beauty of being your own person and living your own unique life. I encourage you to take these ideas, to bend them, to shape them, to expand them, to explore them, to discuss them, and to keep keep growing. Always.

So, I cannot help you. Sort of. As previously mentioned: the content of this blog will forever be here for you to use to your liking—and I might add that there really is a lot of content here! All the help I have to offer, really, can be found in the hours upon hours of blog content still available right here. And it’s not because I don’t care about your problems, it’s just that, as I said, I only have so much time and answering every message takes more time than you think.

Thank You!
I shall end by saying, thank you for all your support and love and readership. I hope you revisit the content on this blog whenever you feel you need a boost or if you’re missing new content. All these lessons are worth revisiting—even I find them helpful and interesting, and I’m the one that wrote the articles!

If you’d like to keep up with me I still post to the ReLove Plan.et Facebook page. I’m on Instagram. And you can also check out my art pages.
I will also share a new post soon on how you can keep up with my life for those interested—another of those side-projects I was mentioning. ;)

https://www.facebook.com/ReLovePlanet/
https://www.facebook.com/biancaloranart
(Personal) https://www.instagram.com/reloveplanet/
(Art) https://www.instagram.com/biancaloran/

So, with that…  I love you all, and to all, a good night (or day)!


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Thursday, January 29, 2015

♥ Valentines Love, Goodies and Shopping! ♥


Love is in the air!

Valentine’s Day always comes with a mix of emotions for many of us. Either we love Valentine’s Day and all the lovey-dovey magic icky-smoochiness that comes along with the territory; or we tend to feel miserable and enter the world of the anti-Valentine’s parade. 
Regardless of your initial feelings and reactions, I have long said that Valentine’s Day should be a day to focus on Self-Love and Self-Worth, regardless of whether you get to spend it with someone you love or if you are spending it with friends, or alone with your lovely self. Love is Love is Love. And Love is a wonderful thing. I’m always one to focus on the positive side of things, so focus on love in all its glorious forms! 
Now that I’ve gotten full-steam into my artistic side again, I have to admit there is also a dark romanticism I’m inclined towards as well. ;)

Well, I thought—regardless of how we feel about the actual day—that I would do a blog post. Some of it is some shameless self-promotion (okay, a large chunk is some shameless self-promotion), and the other part of this post is to sprinkle a little fuzzy warmth to your own lovey day—including links at the end to previously helpful blog and video blog posts. 

So! First up, hearts, love, and cute suggestions for this Valentine’s Day for yourself or a loved one (from my art to your heart ^_^) 

ReLove Plan.et Goodies:
Get 15% Off (etsy store only) until the 14th with Coupon Code: VALENTINES

Necklaces:


Adorable Cards: 



Pouches:

Kits + Other Fun Items:





Valentine’s Art Collection
I have released the first of my new Valentine’s (influenced) Art Collection as well—keep your eyes peeled for more on the way. 


You can find my artwork:


Blog Posts to Survive and Thrive this Valentine’s Day! xoxo



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If you found this article to be helpful, please consider a small donation or visit the shop. Thank you for your love and support.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

☺ 2014 in Review - My “Jar of Happiness”☺

. . . . . . . . . . 
{New Year Inspirational Kick-Off!}
 Continuing the trend from last year’s “New Year Kick-Off!” 
Keep your own life bustling with gratitude and awesomeness.
New Year Positive Power! Huzzah!
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This was such a rewarding practice last year, so there was no way I wasn’t doing this again for 2014… Just like the year before, emptying my “Jar of Happiness” has been incredibly heart-warming; bustling with forgotten (and deeply remembered) moments. Reading through my little moments was a lovely reminder of all the memories, laughs, smiles, and accomplishments cherished throughout 2014—including moments through the first several months I’d forgotten about—shining a little light on the undertone of emotional turbulence going on at the time.  
As the year before, this practice fills me with hope and joy, and a positive outlook heading into 2015. Life truly is beautiful and we all have so much to be thankful for. Truly truly. 
I highly encourage you to create your own “Happiness Jar” (if you haven’t already). It is a Must for positivity and encouragement at the end of the year. I promise you will love it! I’ve already started my third year doing this wonderful little jar. 

Continuing with tradition, I decided it would be fun to compile my list of particular highlights of my year. Before beginning this list, I have to say it is quite obvious to me (and probably any of my followers) that the biggest highlight this year was finding the love of my life and making this huge life change. So, apologies if some are a bit sappy, but I would prefer you to be encouraged by love, rather than respond with envy or jealousy or anything negative—if I had lived my life that way I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today, so remember you choose your outlook; the more gratitude you have, the more you welcome it into your life.  

Alright, getting to the highlights of my year…


2014 Gratitude Highlights!

Personal Highlights:

  • Potlucks + Tea Dates with fun friends, both close and new. I had the fortune of being able to socialize with some wonderful people during the beginning of the year. 
  • As always, tea dates, tea dates, tea dates. ;)   
  • Meeting one of my best friends’ baby for the first time, and getting to see her more this year after she’d been away. 
  • Connecting with some amazing women and having some amazing discussions; getting in touch with feminine energy, reconnecting with my personal “Fire” and finding myself again.  
  • Completing the David Suzuki 30x30 Challenge again this year. And taking part in the #100HappyDays, doing “The Magic” again, and other New Years fun.  
  • Reconnecting with old friends—thank you Skype! 
  • Tool Concert!
  • Lots of Family time—always great!  
  • I feel at this point I have to give my ex-husband a thanks at least for trying in our relationship at the beginning of the year, even if it took me six months to finally realize it was over for me in January. The effort was appreciated and he was very supportive during everything.

  • Getting my Moon Cycle Tattoo!
  • Healing lots of broken relationships this year, makes me feel incredibly fortunate and grateful.  
  • Getting to see my Grandma and Auntie who I hadn’t seen in several years. 
  • There was this sunny day in May that stood out to me where I got to have tea dates with my brother, with Tam (before we were dating), had dinner with one of my best friends, and had girl time with two of my best friends after that, and finished the night with another visit with Tam.  
  • Skate park day in Kaslo; hoola-hoops and drinks at the park. 
  • Costume parties!
  • The night me and Tam confessed our feelings and things changed forever.
  • Finally doing what I needed for myself, finding myself, and having the courage to make such a huge life change—yes I feel very proud for all of this ;)
  • First date with Tam; fireworks, champagne, and perfectness
  • Vancouver Trip that started my new relationship and getting to visit one of my best friends. :) 
  • Drinking at the park with Tam and Talia—probably my two favouritest people in the whole world!  
  • Doing Hot Yoga for the first time—wow did it kick my butt! 



















  • Beach days!
  • Dyeing my hair pink ;) 
  • The night Talia randomly came for a visit. :) 
  • Moving day! One of my besties lending me her car so I could pack, and Tam helping me pack his Delica full and helping me move into my new place. 
  • Tam making me a bed frame ^_^
  • Getting Lyla back after moving into my own place. ^_^ 
  • Shambhala! 
  • The entire Coastal and San Francisco trip adventure! 
  • Halloween the day we got back from our coastal adventure + the hangover day afterwards with cuddles, comfort food, and movies. 
  • Watching “Adventure Time”, “Spirit Science”, and a few other great shows with Tam. 
  • All the ridiculously sweet things Tam did for me this year—the list is ridiculously long
  • The night Tam came home from Utah after two weeks being apart—and getting to Skype with him while he was away. 
  • The most perfect birthday ever and being absolutely spoiled by the most amazing boyfriend in the world.
  • The amazing hikes I got to do this year! 
  • Snowy walks!
  • Finally having a perfect Christmas, with both mine and Tam’s families. ^_^
  • Ending the year with a kiss with Tam at midnight ;) 
  • Having the courage, in general, to follow my heart and make my dreams come true. 

ReLove Plan.et Accomplishments:

  • Republic of V carrying ReLove Plan.et gear! 
  • All the focus and work that went into my Artwork this year and starting my personal art page. 
  • Finally posting artwork for my book series “Everwake” 
  • Summer Markets!
  • All the positive and inspiring words from my amazing readers and viewers! xo  
  • Doing my “New Year Kick-off” here on the ReLove Plan.et blog—it was fun! :) 
  • The series of blog posts during my “New Life Chapter”—I was rather fond of that series, and got some great feedback :) 
  • At least a few Video Blogs! ;)  
  • Redbubble shop growing! 

I hope you all had an amazing year and start your own Jar Full of Happiness and take lots of photos to capture memories and moments :) 

So much love and wishing you all the best in 2015! xo


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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

☺ How to Create an Awesome 2015! ☺



*This post was originally posted January 2014, reposting for the 2015 New Year Kick-Off!*

Hello beautiful New Year! 
How exciting! A fresh start, a fresh new page in this book of Life! 
First and foremost, I hope you all have set some awesome intentions for your new year; I hope that you are filled to the brim with positive change in mind, with love, with hope, with the courage to walk the path of your dreams! With this in mind, I wanted to make a list of reminders and tips of how to truly and fully make your dreams and intentions a reality, and where the bumps can often arise along the way so that you are armed and prepared for the best year ever! Because a New Year has the profound opportunity for you to make your life magical, to make a fresh start, to make the changes you want and to really set those amazing intentions into action, However, none of this happens unless You make it happen.

Cleaning the Slate.
A New Year doesn't magically clean the slate. It doesn't magically make everything okay again. It's really just one new day. BUT, you can make it the first step towards your happiness and bliss. That one step is so important, but the motivation and courage to follow is even more important. You get to create the momentum of your life and to guide it into a positive direction; to welcome love and gratitude and all good things into your life. Now, with this, you cannot simply brush all the mess of your life beneath a rug and expect it to stay there. If you want change then you must make it happen. If you want a clean slate then you must actually resolve the past. 
I speak about this from a place of deep deep knowing, from the experiences of my own life, from observing the lives of others, and from this journey that continually surprises me with lessons. Taking the steps to Heal Yourself are steps that cannot be overlooked. All the positive thinking, the optimism, the smiling, and love in the world will not mend the holes that have already been made in your heart and mind; these are things that you must address, that you must take charge over, and that you must find true resolve in. Only then can you mend that broken heart and live your life without that burden. If you don't, they will arise again and wreck havoc on all the work you make towards your happiness. This is a most valuable lesson, and I share this with you today because I want you to find resolve, to welcome all the good in your life that you deserve, and to truly start your new year right: without the burden of your past to weigh in your heart.
There are many ways that you can do this, but I encourage you to do it right. And by do it right, I encourage you to see a councillor, a therapist, someone who can really help to heal you. EMDR (Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) changed my life. And EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) is another method that can heal old wounds. These are the only two methods, that I know of at this time, that will truly and purely heal those wounds, to mend those wires in your brain that attach the past to negative feelings and reactions. Both of these methods work by activating pressure points and different sides of your brain to become okay with trauma, problems, and even physical blockages in your body. 
While EFT is very new to me, I am very excited to be trying and experimenting with this more. And it is even something you can do yourself at home--though I encourage a session with someone who knows what they're doing so that you understand the pressure points and wording to use this method properly. 
EMDR, I know works, because it was one of the most healing experiences of my life that allowed me to put a rather tumultuous past behind me. After I was done this session, I literally felt as if I was walking on clouds, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from within my soul. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for this experience. This new year, I intend to do another sessions as soon as possible, as there are issues that have risen that I did not resolve, or was not so aware of, the first time I did EMDR with my councillor several years ago. 
I cannot emphasize enough the importance of resolving your past. And I mean Really Resolving your past. I've seen the past wreck havoc on my own life and the lives of people around me, and, so, addressing problems before they grow into something much less manageable is vital. If there is one lesson I could give you this new year it would be to do it Now.  


ReCreate Yourself; Be Yourself.
New Year's resolutions often come with some sort of personal or physical changes we want to see in ourselves. You Do get to recreate yourself. Every single day. And I encourage you to do so. Because it is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself; to come into yourself, to be the greatest and truest version of yourself, whatever that might be at the time and know that it may, and very likely will, change with time. 
Allow yourself to change, allow your opinions to change, your dreams to change, your life to change. Change is a natural and wonderful part of life, learn not to resist it and instead embrace all that it carries with it. No one should want to remain stagnant. Be the person you're meant to be! 

Work on Yourself Every Day.
Every day is a profound opportunity to make changes, to take charge, and to be the change you wish to see in your life and in the world. However, all those things you want to accomplish won't happen unless you make them happen, and this requires an every day action. It shouldn't be a chore, it should feel inspiring, uplifting, motivating and exciting! And those actions every day can be as simple as making yourself smile, to repeating affirmations, to speaking words of gratitude. The importance is to cultivate positive thoughts, feelings, and emotions to fuel the passions of your life and to attract greatness into your life. 

Don't be Afraid of Failure.
You will fail. You will fall on the ground and kick and scream and have breakdowns, and cry, and be angry and frustrated. But you will also climb back up, be awesome, inspired, happy, motivated, and all the more powerful if you let yourself climb back up after every fall. Falls are inescapable. We all stumble, we all fail, we all make mistakes. These are vital lessons and important steps in life. Don't resist them, simply allow them to happen, learn the lesson, and move onward. 
The fear of failure should never be a reason not to do something. Inner instincts can tell us when something is wrong or should be avoided, but fear of failure should simply never be a reason not to do something. So charge headfirst, take risks, take chances, be bold, and step out of your comfort zone! 

Make a List.
If there is something you want, don't forget to write it down. This is why creating a Vision Board is such a powerful tool, because you place your wants and dreams into action. Writing things down makes them twice as likely to come true. Getting specific with what you want is even more powerful. If you want that dream job, partner, friend, or whatever it is your heart desires, make a list and be as specific as possible. Write down every detail. If it's a job, write down the hours you want to work, the responsibilities you want, the sort of work your job entails, the happiness and freedom you want from it, your wage, and so forth. If it's a partner or friend, write down characteristics, details, activities you want to do with this person. Get as detailed as possible! And, last but not least, make sure you have made room in your life to accept those things into your world. The Law of Attraction is a useful tool, learn about it and cultivate it into your life to make magic happen. 

Live the Life You Want.
In life, we make far too many sacrifices. We talk ourselves down from things that we want and deserve. Often times, we aren't honest with ourselves at all about what we want for ourselves, of what we need to grow, of what we need to do for ourselves to be happy. This year, I challenge you to really discover yourself; to let the walls down, to see yourself truly, and to be honest with yourself with what you want. No more excuses, no more tiptoeing. If you want something, claim it, make it your own. Live the life of your dreams and don't let anyone or anything stop you! Have the courage to say yes and to make your dreams a reality. 
Don't belittle your dreams, don't feel selfish or needy. Be Honest with yourself! You are allowed to ask and want amazing things in your life. So do! And remember that you Deserve Happiness and Love. 

Be Grateful, Be Happy.
More than anything else, be Grateful. Gratitude is the single biggest key to living an awesome life--regardless of anything else around you. By being grateful we harness appreciation for ourselves and the lives we already have, and we open the door to even greater things by doing so. Gratitude cultivates love and happiness. Gratitude is the greatest key, use it daily! 


I wish you all a very happy new year filled with adventure, love, laughs, excitement, and change! Be bold, be yourself, and have courage! 
So much love from me to you! 
Create an amazing day, and create an amazing life! 

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

{Goodbye 2014 - Reflections of the Year}


. . . . . . . . . . 
{life reflections}
 Weekly thoughts and rambles. A glimpse into my mind and world. 
Entries that I might jot down in my Happy Diary; the release of thoughts to flow uninhibited. Reflections from the soul. 
Reflections of life.  

I hope to leave you inspired. 
If you want to share your own reflections of the week please leave a link to your "life reflections" entry in the comments for all to find and see.
. . . . . . . . . .


Goodbye 2014 - Reflections of the Year

Wow! We’ve already reached the end of 2014! What a year! As I sit here in my new little apartment, my eyes glancing to the large painting my boyfriend made me for my birthday, with my kitty on my lap, and the twinkle lights strung about the walls giving my creative space a cozy, moody feel, I can’t help smile. So much of my life is so immensely different from December of last year. The end of 2013 was a very bumpy road, as I previously blogged about. The feeling this year feels much much different. A feeling of fulfillment, excitement, and bliss sing in my heart with a very happy song. 
What a year indeed! 
To start upon this reflection, we can all be thankful we survived Mercury in Retrograde! What a ride that was for most people I know. I remember watching couple after couple breaking up—some of these were short-lived relationships, some of them fifteen-year marriages—but they collected one by one until over twenty people I knew had ended their relationships. I remember watching this domino effect, wondering when my turn would be. It was a feeling of mixed emotions, of relief and of fear. My turn certainly came—which has been no secret to my readers, starting with a rather large handful of blog posts that began in July. Because of this, and because of many other things, 2014 has been a year so divided in black and white that it still amazes me.  
As I made my cheesy “year in review” (like so many others) on Facebook, it only felt right to conclude that: as far as I was concerned, 2014 began in May. As I allow my fingers to roll over my keyboard with flowing thoughts, I can’t help realize that the first several months of 2014, however, were vital and necessary for the greatness that was to follow. Light cannot come without darkness. Breakthroughs don’t often come without turbulence, and happiness doesn’t come without first realizing what isn’t right in your life. So, the first half of 2014 was one of self-discovery, of getting honest with myself, of waging the war in my mind of what I really Wanted and Needed in order to enter a better phase of my life. I’ve spoken before about the vows I made myself in March, of the intentions I set, of the general turbulence of my own emotions. Although, thinking back, the first half of the year was truly an emotional struggle, there is no way I cannot be immensely grateful for it. Timing was everything, and I couldn’t be happier with how the wheel of time, and my own resolve and determination, unfolded my new life. It was all necessary. 
When the flower blossomed, it was all the more sweet and reassuring. Getting honest and clear with myself was such a blessing. Although I would have gladly gone without the immense heartache, it was all part of the process. New love has been such an eye-opening, warm, fuzzy, fulfilling change. If any more gratitude filled my heart, it might explode. There was plenty of cleansing, clearing, and healing of relationships in general this second half of the year; all of which have made this year all the more magnificent. 
Conclusion? 2014 was undoubtedly one of the greatest years of my life—even if the “great” part was felt mid-year. It has also been, undoubtedly, one of the hardest years of my life on an emotional level, and in relationships that extend beyond my love life. I learned a lot about myself, about what I wanted, about what I didn’t want; about what Made me Happy, and what made me not so happy; about what was blocking my personal growth, and about how to heal myself; about what was going wrong, and what was going right. I also learned a lot about Love; in various relationships and various forms, about not settling, and about being Deserving and Worthy of good things.


I look forward to emptying my “Jar of Happiness” once the clocks turn over into a brand new year as well; but that will be a separate post as it was the year before. For now, I will say that each year is a gift, filled with profound opportunities for growth and enlightenment. If there was one lesson that was most significant this year, it would be to Listen to your Heart. And I mean truly truly listen. The Heart Knows. Be honest with yourself, believe you are worth Happiness and Goodness, and good things will surely follow. 
Myself? I am extremely excited for 2015—and this year it’s not because I want the last year to end, but because I feel so blissful in my current state of affairs that it excites me of what’s to follow. 

So, here I am wishing you all a very Happy (and safe!) New Year’s Eve and a brilliant best New Year! 

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{this moment} - and the weekly {Smile-Up}

. . . . . . . . . . 
"There are no ordinary moments." ~Way of the Peaceful Warrior

{no ordinary moments} - Photos capturing moments from the week. Simple, special, extraordinary moments.
 -  using Daily Gratitude to see the world as anything but ordinary. -

Served with the weekly {Smile-Up} - gratitude practices to love and appreciate your life. 

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' and 'smile up' in the comments to share with the world.
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This year has been filled with so many amazing “no ordinary moments”. While my lack of blogging has left holes in the fun and adventure of my life the last few months, I felt it appropriate to end the year with a little post to add to some of these amazing moments I left out. 
So… here’s my “no ordinary moments” and my “Smile-Up” combined for the last couple of months! ;) 

{no ordinary moments} 

{my week of photos - 365 Grateful Project}


{Smile Up}:

Having the Best Birthday Ever
Harvesting Greens and making Kale Chips!  
Good times and late nights with friends   
Fall and Winter walks 
Cute “Sandpaper” black kitty who has made my boyfriend’s place her new home 
Kitties, kitties, kitties! ;)
How everything is so perfect and romantic with the boyfriend ♥ 
The Most amazing Oregon and California trip ever! (this is a different post in itself! ;)) 
Fun and ridiculous Halloween the night we got back from our 3 week trip! 
Oracle Card readings, and I-Ching consulting.     
Watching movies and shows with the boyfriend, all cozy on winter nights ^_^
Painting!     
Making Christmas Presents
Late night walks in the snow, and searching for twinkle lights.  
All my amazing customers and readers, and the super sweet messages I get    
An amazing Christmas with my family and boyfriend’s family ^_^ 


Loving: Fluffy snow • Twinkle Lights • Tall Socks and leg warmers • Painting and Crafting • Green hair • Walks • Chakras • Gemstones • Life-Reflecting • 


Interests for the week:
Reading: online articles 
✯  Current Anime/Manga: Hiiro no Kakera (anime)
✯  TV Shows/Movies: Adventure Time! Spirit Science (youtube videos)
Music Playlist: Death From Above, Blood Red Shoes, Elliot Smith, Kylesa, Jack off Jill, Draconian, so many more! 
Food Faves: Homemade Truffles Daiya Pizza Birthday PB CheeseCake   Crepes Tofu Scrambles Vegan Nog Tofurkey everything


Lessons of the week: 
 Self-worth issues: learn to work through them, it’s a really important issue that immensely affects your life! Balance out listening and talking; good communication is key! Patience: for yourself and others.   Make sure your Chakras are balanced — more on this topic to come. Love Yourself, love yourself, love yourself! ☀ 


Wishing you all an amazing end to 2014 and a fantabulous 2015!  
So much Love and Hugs! 



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