A quick thought about love.

The older I get the more I love holidays (especially the holidays-Thanksgiving through Christmas) for the time I get to spend with family and friends.  I don't need the store-bought "stuff" anymore to enjoy a holiday.  Give me the people I love and time to share over all the rest of it any day!

Today, as you all know, is Thanksgiving and I just got to thinking a little bit about the generalized idea of love.  Today I was blessed yet again to be the recipient of the great love demonstrated by my awesome, awesome family!  The gifts given to me today--overall, the gift of love--reminded me of something very important:


We do not have to search for love.  Love is everywhere.  And we are ALL one hundred percent susceptible and deserving of it.


My awe-inspiring family and friends are prime examples of that.  I never feel the need to prove one thing to them.  I don't have to explain myself, I don't have to justify myself...I don't have to wonder whether or not I'm worthy of their attention.

While we as people may have created skewed ideas about some weird hierarchical standing of the distribution of love, love itself doesn't know the difference between one person and the next.  All it knows, because of by Whom it's been created and for what reason He has done so, is that every single one of us has been created to love AND to be loved.  No one person is the same, but love sees past our differences and bonds all of those differences together.

Isn't that so beautiful?!
I sure think so.

Happy Thanksgiving and happy holidays, my beautiful friends :)

Beauty in the exchange.

I'm sorry that this post is so similar to the last one, but I've got to say it again because it's just that important.

I am thankful beyond words to have been blessed with the community of family and friends that I get to know.  Honestly, the beauty and love that I'm able to witness and receive from each and every stunning person I know--all of you reading this, I'm talkin' to you! :)--is more amazing than any of them could ever be aware of.

We journey through life with people.  Directly and indirectly, we are influenced by the people with which we walk.  I'm both humbled and honored by those with whom I get to share these days with, whether we be living in the same city or on opposite ends of the world.  Distance, no matter how far we're talking, is but a short measurement compared to the grandness of the power of compassion.

Those I'm able to know are the best because their openness with expression of such selfless emotions is the definition of encouragement.  It's always so real, so honest...I know everything they say and do is coming from the roots of their hearts because of the joy that comes along with every gift they give.  Whether it be a smile, a laugh, a compliment, advice, a listening ear, every person I know gives it all with equal importance and utmost necessity, and to me this is the most absolute beautiful exchange to get to be a part of.

This post could go on forever, and this girl's brain is getting sleeeeepy sleepy, so I'll just close by saying this: Those of you who read this, please remember all that you do for those around you.  I can't speak for everyone, so I'll simply speak for myself when I say that what may seem like a small act of nothing in your mind (...A "Hey!  How are you doing?" or a "Thank you." or something of that sort...) is more than everything in my mind and in my heart.  Nothing goes unnoticed.  Everything is hugely appreciated.  It's what makes me so excited to be able to wake up in the morning knowing that the relationships between myself and the other members of my family and my close friends--and even my distant acquaintances--are alive and real and founded on true compassion and grace.

When you think you're doing "nothing," I promise you, it's everything to me.

Thank you.

A huge thank you for some big, big hearts.

            I consider myself to be a very lucky girl.  Lucky and blessed beyond measure.  The people I am able to know—the close friends I have, those I, unfortunately, haven’t had the chance to grow all that close to over the years, as well as the new people I’m meeting daily—are some of the most incredible people (whether they’re aware of it or not).  Absolutely incredible.

            Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been receiving a lot of feedback on my Facebook status updates by wonderful people in my Facebook community.  Since this fall semester started, so over the last two and half-ish months, the number of “random” words of kindness (I say “random” only in regards to the unexpectedness of the comments!  Not the comments themselves!) has very much increased.  I’ve been overwhelmed—in a great way!—with such encouraging thoughts and positive messages, honestly I don’t even know where or how to begin my list of thanks.  I always feel bad, too, because posting a reply comment or sending a thank-you email just doesn’t suffice!  Really, it’s the best I can do most of the time, given the distance factor and the fact that I don’t have most peoples’ phone numbers, but I really find myself wishing I could fully express the gratitude in my heart for all the unselfish, genuine displays of kindness from friends, family, and strangers alike!

            Here’s why I’m in as thankful a state as I am.  I feel like the credit I receive from my community may be a little off.  Because really, this is an example of one of those cyclical systems—it’s the definition of a “give-and-take” scenario.  Without one, the other will suffer.  Every thought and view I post online is developed because of the experiences I have and is influenced by the people I know.  As people, we’re not designed to walk through this life completely alone; we’ve been given the gift of relationships in order to build solid communities on which to lean, and I’ve got to say, the growing community I’ve been blessed with is such an amazing, amazing support system…I honestly couldn’t ask for a better group of people to know!  The things I write have been received by a lot of people these days, which is something I’m thankful for!  It’s so encouraging to me to know that the thoughts that I’m having are shared by those around me!  The only reason I’m able to be thankful, though, is because the awesome people whose lives I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of in some way or another have vocalized their reactions to what I’ve shared.  They constantly refuel my well of energy with their honest faith, and because of that I’m able to have the confidence to keep saying what I do.  Again, it’s that cycle—the people I know allow me to experience such joy every single day, thus leading to positive status updates and blog posts.  The encouraging responses and more times of shared laughter then cause more happy thoughts, resulting in more posts!  So really, it’s only a small portion my doing!  When you’re giving me the credit that you do, PLEASE take a minute to thank yourself!

            If you’re reading this, I want to extend a huge, huge thank you in your direction for this very reason.  If I’m able to know you, to whatever extent, know that you are a piece of this girl’s life.  Even if we’ve only met once or twice, or only exchanged one or two words, we’ve still established a relationship and you’ve still impacted my life more than you know!  Whether or not you all realize this, as encouraging I may be to you, every single one of you serves as a constant source of inspiration and encouragement, every single one of you brings something different to the table, and every one of you has so many admirable traits that I look up to and value with all my heart!  So please, on this beautiful Saturday, I ask that you remember to give YOURSELVES the credit you deserve.  If it weren’t for you and all that you give—yes, you are giving at all times…Just by living, breathing, acting, speaking, you’re giving—I would not be the same person I am today.  Every one of you is beautiful.  Every one of you is beautiful.  Every one of you has a heart that I’m so glad I’m able to know.  And for everything…EVERYTHING…I thank you with all the love I have!!  Let’s keep this cycle going…and see how far we can spread it, how many people we can include, how much love we can give :)  

Beauty. What really is it?

BEAUTY.

My family is beautiful.  My sister, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my cousins, aunts, uncles....so beautiful.
Grace, faith and compassion are beautiful.
So are my friends, my art form, my fellow collaborators.
Days off and time of rest is beautiful.
The ocean is beautiful, as is a forest on a mountainside or a foggy, empty Western Loudoun County road at sunrise.
Knowledge is beautiful.  But knowledge can't be acquired without uncertainty and questions.  So those are beautiful, too.
Smiles and laughter are beautiful.  The joy of a child is absolutely beautiful.
Warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on the side and whipped cream on top is the most beautiful of all treats.
New York City, in all its chaos, is stunning.
Confidence--without cockiness--is beautiful.
Passion--without close-mindedness--is beautiful.
The dresses on the racks at the designer boutiques down the street are pretty.  But the appreciation for them by those purchasing those garments is what's beautiful.

In my mind, to be beautiful is more than a state of being.  For me, it's more about the meaning behind the given.  I feel that no matter how cliche it may be, saying that inner beauty is greater than outer beauty is accurate.  I've recently noticed myself placing so much more valuable in constants, found myself appreciating what is.  I see standard-meeting "beautiful" people on the street every day, day in and day out and while yes, they may be aesthetically pretty--"perfect" hair, "perfect" physique, well put-together ensembles, etc, etc...--influential beauty in my days come from the hard-working, passionate dancers I'm surrounded with all day every day at the studio.  From the kid on the sidewalk who stops at a street musician to put some money in their open case.  From the sun and the sky.  Even from the grey clouds on a rainy day because I know that somewhere behind those clouds the sun sits, waiting patiently to be soon.
 I find beauty in truth, in purity, in honesty, in value, in appreciation, in gratitude, in solidarity, in questions, in answers, in love, in laughter, in thanksgiving, in selflessness, in thoughtfulness...I think you've got the picture.  This list could go on for a long while.
So for me, it's not so much the visual "attractiveness" of someone or thing or place, but it's more about the answers of "why" and "how" my attraction to it has caught hold of me with such strength.

I feel that beauty exceeds the visual range of my eyes and delves into that of my heart.  The heart able to respond much more readily to and read much more honestly the underpinning bases of what is beautiful.




But that's just me! This is just something I had on my mind and on my heart today so I felt compelled to share!
I'd love to make this a more interactive blog...Please feel free to comment with responses, thoughts, questions, stories...As much as I love sharing all of these thoughts that manifest in my mind so often, sometimes even I get tired of listening to myself talk!  :)  No pressure, no obligation, but consider this your standing invitation :)

Have a beautiful week, my friends :)
M