Knowledge, Action, Happiness

Photo Credit: Tony Roberts Flickr

I'm learning to move forward.

Not only am I learning-with-my-head to move forward, I am actually moving forward.

I'm taking knowledge into practice and letting my actions follow through.

I'm letting go of frustrations before they overwhelm me.

I'm releasing anger before it consumes me.

I'm patching up past hurts as I heal and not letting them linger.

Moving forward means I am allowing God to help me, to calm me and to heal me more and more.
I'm also verbally thanking God more than I used to. 

Oh sure, I thanked Him and knew all the good things He's given me, but I am actually saying it out loud whenever I think of something to be thankful for. Which, incidentally, is quite often.

It lifts my soul to be able to move forward from the negative and feel the positivity of love and gratefulness flow through my veins.

Things I HAVE(n't) Done

Back in November of 2011 I made a list of...

21 Things I've Never Done. (Go read it!) >>

I recently read over that list and it looks like I need to do a bit of updating and maybe add a few new items to that list to replace the ones I can now cross out. 
 
Update: I am now 35 years, 3 months and 15 days old.

And I have never:

1. Drank a cup of coffee - DONE! Read about it here >>
2. Been outside North America (I long to get to the UK sometime soon!)
3. Seen the Niagara Falls
4. Watched "The Notebook" - Done. But did not like it! Waste of 2 hours!!!
5. Hunted an animal

6. Pet a dolphin
7. Gone on a cruise
8. Driven a bus
9. Run any kind of marathon
10. Knit anything - Done! Need Practice at it >>
11. Tried surfing
12. Written a novel (Hmmm, started one...)
13. Broken a bone
14. Help sail a boat - Done. I think I'd forgotten that I've DONE this the summer after grade 12 on Sylvan Lake with family friends in their little 2-man sailboat. 
15. Sat on a Mexican beach
16. Sold anything over the Internet - DONE! I made my 1st online sale for West Coast Creations last summer via my Etsy store (which will be refilled soon!)
17. Gotten a tattoo
18. Bungee jumped
19. Been to New York
20. Been engaged (to be married)
21. Tasted a beer! - Done. Tried one only once...not really a fan.

Forks - Fans of Twilight will get it.

So, instead of just crossing things off a list and looking at the daunting amount I still have yet to do or go through (not that all are desirable), I decided to make a list of . . .

Interesting Things I HAVE Done: 

1. Been to Forks, Wa
2. Been Para-sailing over the Pacific Ocean off Victoria
3. Fixed a Vacuum
4. Kept my outdoor Christmas lights up until March
5. Held a living (& huge) Tarantula
6. Driven over North America's longest truss bridge (at night, in a storm!)
7. Had a couple adult teeth removed (small jaw)
8. Not decorated at all for one Christmas
9. Lived with both my siblings at different times as adults
10. Held a living Emperor Scorpion
11. Scorched my hair with a candle flame
12. Had abdominal surgery
13. Travelled to another country for the day by accident!
14. Caught numerous wild garter snakes and salamanders 
15. Graduated from University
16. Driven all around Dallas, Tx on my own.
17. Flown in a Helicopter
18. Researched all the way back to my 8th Great-Grandparents
19. Dyed my hair blue
20. Been whale watching over 15 times
21. Owned 3 Chevy Sprints & 3 Nissan Versas

Astoria Megler Bridge 2013	Tiny backyard salamander	Para-sailing in 1999
My Versa Note	Blue hair Summer 2013	Best whale watching ever in Tofino Summer 2008

So. 

What are some interesting or unique things that YOU have done? 

Make a list. Don't forget about all the odd and funny things along with the amazing things!

Five Minute Fridays - Willing

On Fridays a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Unscripted. Unedited. Real.
Your words. This shared feast.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back HERE and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Thems the rules!

OK, are you ready? 

The topic is:

Willing…

GO!


I hope I am willing. 

I hope that I can let go of the bonds that hold me tied to the earth and trust that there is a good and prosperous plan to help me soar. 

Sometimes I feel like a grumpy child, pouting in the corner, arms crossed, not at all will to go r come or do this or that. 

I just want to sit in my funk and not do anything. 

It's so very difficult to remove myself from that state of mind. 

But I think, that if I am willing...simply willing, God can and will take my hand and lead me forward. 
Lead me out of the mire and up onto solid groud. 

If I am willing, not struggling against Him, He can help me to soar and reach for lofty dreams and goals that I couldn't even see down in that pit of self-loathing and gloom. 

But the first step is my own. 

I have to be willing to reach out.

I have to be willing to look up and beyond myself. 

I have to be willing to put my hand out and risk no hand reaching back. 

But He will help me. I know He will. 

He has many times over. 

He is always willing to love me back. 

STOP!

Bean Trying New Things

Lovely cup at the White Heather.

 I'm a tea drinker at heart.

Orange Pekoe runs in my veins.

I have British roots and have grown up appreciating "Tea Time" around 3 o'clock with a hot, sweet, milky cup of tea to top off the afternoon.

I've been to many Tea Rooms around Victoria, Oak Bay and abroad. I adore their quaint atmospheres, delicate tea sandwiches, fresh scones and Devon cream and having tea with someone I care about.
(The best in Victoria, in my humble but knowledgeable opinion is the White Heather!)

Simply put, I love tea.

But this story is not about tea. It's about my very first ever coffee!

Thankful for...100 List: #26-50 (a year later!)

As an exercise in positivity, I am continuing to make a list of the:


 

100 Things 

for Which I am Thankful.

A year after I began this list, here are my next 25. 

Here are the other segments of my Thankful Lists: #1-25, and #51-75

(Note: They are listed in no particular order, other than my rambling thoughts at the moment.)

26. watermelon without seeds
27. digital books (so many at my fingertips!)
28. classical music (Karl Jenkins & Tchaikovsky)
29. easily accessible photos and videos of puppies

30. my new niece...and how she has my nose

31. my mom's homemade scones
32. gifts or cards for me left on my desk at work, just because
33. watermelon with seeds...if anyone around is in the mood for a seed fight!
34. bosses that pull the best out of me
35. Irish movies (Secret of Roan Innish, PS I Love You, Leap Year, War of the Buttons etc)
36. documentaries about...anything
37. Etsy!!
38. snow, whenever it falls
39. getting to know extended family much better
40. the noisy but pretty birds that make quite the racket every morning
41. real paper books...the smell, the feel, the pages...
42. access to excellent medical care, supplies & medication
43. encouragement from unexpected sources
44. evening park walks with my dog
45. meeting so many amazing people during last year's market season
46. friends of all different types who all understand a different part of who I am
47. clodhoppers
48. all the amazing stories I've learned about my ancestors
49. my natural hair colour
50. that I am a NERD GIRL!

Definitely a random order!

Watch for more updates to this list in the coming days.


What are you thankful for?

Start making your own list.

(PS - It does wonders for your current state of happiness.)