Simple Things

It's wild to think how much social media has an impact on our day to day lives. Not just instagram, but blogs, youtube, Redditt. We look to escape the present moment by watching other people live out their lives. I say "we" because I'm just as guilty of this as the next person. It's cool to see famous people in their thousand dollar clothing stunting for the gram. How fun is it to just get a glimpse into the world of people's lives so much different than our own? While it is pretty cool, It should not be used to devalue any part of our own lives. Just because someone else's life looks amazing and fabulous, at the end of the day, they are just human like they rest of us. They have struggles and they have triumphs just like we do.

When I stop to think about my life; I don't have my dream car or house or get to travel the world all year, but what I do have could never be measured in numbers. When I take a break from thinking about all that I don't have and planning how I can change things, I stop and enter in the present moment and rejoice in all the things I'm grateful that I DO have.  Everyday, I get to be in the presence of people who just love and adore me and support me and what can be more beautiful than that?

I think about people like Anthony Bourdain. Ask any of his followers and they would tell you that he was living their ultimate dream. He got to travel the world and eat delicious food and get paid for it. Deep down, however, he was broken and he took his own life because of it.  Here we are wishing we could have his life and he just wished he had the kind of life that some of us have.

The more and more you express gratitude the more you appreciate your NOW. You take a step back from scrolling and online shopping and really enjoy your life.

This year I've begun almost everyday thinking of things that I am grateful for. I've come to discover the things that I love most are the simple things. Everything from singing my favorite songs out-loud with my sister, grocery shopping with my boyfriend, and sitting on the steps of the downtown courthouse eating pizza with my kids.

It's my dream life because it's mine.

Watching people live is cool, but actually living is better.