inside, outside, and through my mind

I've had a lot weighing on my mind lately. Since I've had a little more time than usual to "think" I'm just wanting to put a few things out there.


1) "Knowledge comes from experience. Everything else is just information." (Einstein)
Life isn't a text book.


2) "Your abilities don't define your character. Your choices do." (Dumbledor)
Typically those who claim to be open-minded are some of the most narrow-minded I know.


3) "The best way out is through." (Anonymous)
I have no problem admitting or attempting to persuade those I know and love to see a therapist. I recently started seeing one and I'm so grateful I made this choice (thanks to Ashley persuading me). There's nothing wrong with doing all one can to heal properly.


4) "Make the most of yourself for that is all there is of you." (Emerson)
I may not be the best musician out there. But I don't care. I love my music and will keep doing all I can to develop musically.


5) "If we judge, we have no time to love." (Mother Teresa)
People are the way they are for a reason. I may not know why so-and-so is the way they are, but there's usually a [good] reason. It's very humbling to be, repeatedly, reminded of this.


6) I mourn because I love.
My Angel Mercydez and my Angel Grandmother (Ruby)...What can I say? I refuse to "forget". I love these two elect ladies. I am so grateful for them.


7) "The good man is the friend of all living things." (Ghandi)
This is my husband. Wow. Did I luck out or what? Honestly. I don't think Travis has a single fault or character flaw. Truly. And that's been on my mind for a while now. I love my husband.


8) "Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” (Aristotle)
School is hard. Sometimes I just want to quit. Pull the plug. Flip the switch. Go back to the ease of work only. No homework. No school drama. No am-I-failing-this-class drama. No annoying class mates (I told you I'm judgmental. urg!). No late nights doing homework. No nightmares about memorizing music. No anxiety about performance. But if I quit now I know I'll regret it for the rest of my life. Excellence is attainable.

I can do this, right?!


9) "An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it." (Ghandi)
Secrets and privacy are polar opposites. If the understanding is they are one and the same, there's a rather large misunderstanding taking place. I'll just leave it at that.


10) "Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's true." (Steve Eastmond)
Emotion is merely that. Emotion. Nothing more, nothing less. Really think about that quote. I have. Just because I feel angry or hurt doesn't mean so-and-so intentionally meant to make me angry or hurt. Just because I feel guilty doesn't mean I SHOULD.


11) "You become what you habitually admire." (Pres. Thompson)
Our thoughts stem from our beliefs. Our thoughts and our beliefs are not the same thing. One is nearly ingrained in our souls. The other is the offspring of it. To truly change a thought we must dig deeper and change our beliefs. But to do that takes incredible determination, discipline and work. It's completely possible. With patience.


12) "Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." (Oprah)
Time, yes time, is a gift.


13) "Every soul is precious." (Joseph Fielding Smith)
Families are forever. Thank goodness.


14) "Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher." (Oprah)
Things happen for a reason. I need to remember this. Sometimes people choose to end relationships. Sometimes it comes out of nowhere and other times it's completely expected. It's been hard to watch those I care about hurt. It's also been hard to deal with my own "issues" as I feel I've been treated wrongly. When one door closes another opens - and if it doesn't - look for an open window.


15) "Be the change you wish to see..." (Ghandi)
To be genuinely good, through and through, is a worthwhile goal.


16) "Without fear, courage could not exist." (Unknown)
Fear is crippling. And I'm determined to fight mine.


17) "I'm [_________], I don't feel burdened by it and I don't think it's a huge responsibility. It's part of who I am. It does not define me." (Oprah)
I am fiercely loyal. I had no idea I could snap so quickly when it comes to certain things until recently: my husband, my family, my religion, my country, my God.

Oprah filled in the blank with "black". I could fill it in with: a wife, a sister/daughter, a future mother, a Mormon, an American, a believer...and so much more. These descriptions alone do not define me. No, they merely create my being. They are a part of who I am.