Just Write

I recently came across this letter I had written to Makayla and Mason:

"Peace.  It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.  It means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart."

makayla and mason ~

life is filled with hardship, struggles, sadness, heartbreak, and pain.

it is also filled with beauty, happiness, magic, miracles, and joy.

 your biggest worries right now in your little lives are trying to put a pair of tights on and struggling with the pain of molars coming through your baby gums.

i hope that as you get older and you begin to experience anything other than the good of this life that you will always be able to find peace within your heart.

how you get there, or whatever it is that helps you get there, is up to you.

 i want you to always be able to remember a feeling of love, appreciate and be thankful for all that you have, and focus on that.

life is good.

very good.

but it's up to you to be able to see and feel that.

mommy, daddy, and everybody else that loves you, are here every second of every day to mold you, guide you, and teach you how to love

...and hopefully one day you'll be able to learn on your own how to find peace amongst the chaos - to be calm in your heart.

love, mommy

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One reason for this blog is to help me focus on the GOOD.

When things get bad or people get mean, I write.
I write about the good.

To keep calm in my heart when there's chaos, 

I turn to this blog.
I write.

As I was reminded in church this morning, everybody has a bad list and everybody has a good list.

How you react to a situation, the negativity or positivity you bring to a moment, determines where your life goes next...
and I refuse to let the negative control who I am or how I live.

I choose to to write about the good and to photograph the beautiful.

By doing so, the bad kinda disappears...
the bad doesn't seem so bad.

I began this blog over three years ago and have written 300+ entries.
Since I started writing about what I love and what brings me JOY, I have begun to see life more beautifully and I find myself appreciating so much more.

Don't get me wrong - 
the people and the situations that I can write on my "bad list" are still there, but the weight of the bad isn't as heavy when I am able to focus and record all of the things on my "good list".

...so back to my letter to Makayla and Mason (and now Mia), my hope for them is that they will always have peace in their hearts and to rejoice in those moments when they feel like they can't.

My advice to them will be to write.

Write down what makes you happy.
Write down all of the goodness that sparkles in your life.

Write down those moments that make you close your eyes, take in a deep breath, and smile.

Write down your blessings.
Write down what you love.
Write down who you love and why.

Just write.

"Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart."

- William Wordsworth

...and that's what I do.

I write about things that matter to me.

I am honest and raw and vulnerable and passionate.

I write about what keeps my heart beating.