time & courage.

gosh where to begin?! let’s talk about taking a break from social media for 5 months. IT WAS THE BEST! completely unplugging was amazing — i didn’t worry about content, or what others were doing, i was just FREE to BE. i support the social media detox and may do this every summer when it becomes too hot to do anything. some life events happened such as: my little (not so little) cousin graduated from RICE! my father retired (so proud of him!), AND…. i spent TWO WEEKS in Europe! (finally marked off my bucket list! and blog posts already in the queue about this!).

you can find me in deep thoughts over here on the topics of time and courage. but why you ask? approaching 38, that’s what i’ll blame it on. more after the jump!

currently on my playlist: about damn time by Lizzo

time // time is a thief! i find myself wanting time to slow down even more so than before. i see my niece and nephew growing up so quickly, my parents aging and it makes me wish that i could stop time & savor all the moments — where did time go? i guess that’s the sad thing about it… is that it waits on no one. it’s the most valuable currency. i feel like most of us live day to day, routine through routine as if each day is given and predictable, that we forget to go about it more intentionally. it makes you question, am i spending my time on the right people and things? am i creating a meaningful life i’m proud of? what if i didn’t have much time left, what would i do differently, how would i change the way i live/love? how would i approach each day? deep thoughts. i know. but makes you wonder. i also watched some time warp movies such as The Lake House and Long Story Short which amplifies these types of thoughts. just something to ponder about life. see what no social media does to ya?! 😄

courage // have you seen 'the call to courage by Brene Brown’? if not, it’s available on Netflix and i highly recommend you watch it. i’ve seen it 2-3x now. each time it’s a tearjerker. it’s funny how we grew up thinking that vulnerability is a sign of weakness. Brene teaches that the irony is that is in order for us to experience love, belonging, and joy, we have to be vulnerable. and to be vulnerable requires you to be brave/courageous. i for one am terrible at vulnerability. but it’s something i’m working on. Brene describes vulnerability as uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure; all of which are terrifying to me. it wasn’t until my late 30s that courage and vulnerability became more prominent in my life. BUT it makes me wonder what my life would be/look like if my younger self took more chances, put myself out there more, and played it bigger? unfortunately, time is that unrenewable resource, there is no going back. having the self-awareness of your shortcomings is always the first step to make those life changes for the better. Brene also goes into talking about vulnerability in the workplace which i found very interesting. below are my favorite quotes from Brene’s Netflix special:

today, i choose courage over comfort. i can’t make a commitment for tomorrow, but today i’m going to choose to be brave.
vulnerability isn’t about winning or losing. it’s having the courage to show up when u can’t control the outcome.
vulnerability is hard, scary, and feels dangerous. but not as hard, scary, or dangerous as getting to the end of your life and having to ask yourself what if… what if i would’ve shown up? what if i would have said i love you, what if xyz. show up, be seen, answer the call to courage, because you’re worth it. you are worth being brave.
-Brene Brown