How to make a Beautiful Life

Every year for my birthday, I choose a card for myself to give to my parents to write. The card I had selected this year really captured my attention with the simple life lessons printed onto the covers. I just wanted to share them with you, even if you might have heard something similar before, and even if they might seem somewhat stereotypical.

• Love yourself. Make peace with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.
• Listen to your heart. If you can't hear what it's saying in this noisy world, make time for yourself. Enjoy your own company. Let your mind wander among the stars.
• Try. Take chances. Make mistakes. Life can be messy and confusing at times, but it's also full of surprises. The next rock in your path might be a stepping-stone.
• Be happy. When you don't have what you want, want what you have. Make do. That's a well-kept secret of contentment.
• There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow. You have to make your own way. To know where you're going is only part of it. You need to know where you'v been, too. And if you ever get lost, don't worry. The people who love you will find you. Count on it.
• Life isn't days and years. It's what you do with time and with all the goodness and grace that's inside you. Make a beautiful life...the kind of life you deserve.

Little Thoughts and Tiny Lessons

So, I figured out that I'm not very good at organizing the thoughts in my head at all - there's always too much going on in my brain. It's like, there's so much I want to say but I don't know how to communicate it. I guess that's why I decided to start this blog in the first place, to communicate the little thoughts and tiny lessons I have in my head effectively.

Everything I write just seems to jump around, not getting the main point across. Here is a really good example of something I wrote in my drama class (the topic I had to write about was changes, by the way) without blocking any thoughts from my head:

Changes. Hmm…changes are things that can be for the good, or for the worse. I know I’ve changed even since last year. I see my friends change…I want to keep writing about changes but…my mind is just elsewhere today. I thought changes would be easy to write about. I guess not, with all the irrelevant action in my head. Ah…I just thought of my ISU when I was thinking about “head”…neuroscience! That’s my topic. Oh I really should do my ISU tonight. And action…I really want to read Percy Jackson right now, oddly enough. I’m almost done the 4^th, and then I’d be on to the 5^th one, which I totally forgot and it’s also the last book! Oh…I’ve completely streamed off again…shows just how jumbled up and unfocused my mind is. Easily distracted…bunny! Just kidding, I just thought of careers. And speaking of careers, the grade nines are having their trade show in the theatre area just below us right now. Changes. I should really “change” back to thinking about changes. Haha ironic isn’t it.

...I have no comment...

Anyways, I  just felt like posting this because it's kinda funny and it's just something I struggle with all the time. I hope that I will persevere and overcome.

Also the fact that I haven't posted in months.../guilt

RE: What Is Love: Sternberg's Triangle of Love

Here is another response/branch off of the original What Is Love? post - I guess I shall officially call it the "What Is Love" series.

This time, I am presenting the more educational, professional side of the question that I found is very effective in understanding 'love'.

Robert Sternberg's Triangle Theory of Love.

Love consists of:

1. Passion: drive that lead to romance, physical attraction, sexual consummation & related phenomena
2. Intimacy: feelings of closeness, connectedness & bondedness in loving relationships
3. Commitment: decision that one loves someone else; commitment to maintain that love

Kind of Love	Passion	Intimacy	Commitment
Non-Love	-	-	-
Liking	-	+	-
Infatuation	+	-	-
Empty Love	-	-	+
Romantic Love	+	+	-
Compassionate Love	-	+	+
Fatuous Love	+	-	+
Consummate Love	+	+	+

A diagram that might be easier to understand & provide some visuals for the visual learners.

When asked the question "What Is Love?", one of my classmates answered: "Taking chances and trusting another person." Relationships are all about trust as well as the three defined above. 

Here are just a couple of short facts:

• Phenylethylamine: chemical found in brain believed to be responsible for physical symptoms of "falling in love"; also found in chocolate
• True love: romantic love - physical attraction, shared values & goals, compatible personality
• Loving relationship fosters self-esteem
• John Lee: romantic love serves as a psychological need in humans - cravings to be loved
• Free-choice love critics: love can blind us to the faults of our future mate; we tend to fall in love with others, not necessarily for who they truly are, but for who we want them to be

Be expecting more posts from this series in the near future!
Minti~

Smile, please.

Smile. The word has no real definition. Where do they come from? 

Contemplate about what makes you smile.
Is it a person?
Is it an object?
Is it an action?

A place?
A memory?

Just recently on my Christmas trip, I wandered into a small store and found myself instantly drawn to Jeanie Leung's artwork. Actually, it was the title of this book that captured my attention:

I started flipping through it, engaged to her philosophical words and admiring her beautiful artwork. Of course, I decided to buy it. Little did I know that the message Jeanie was trying to get across would stick in my mind for such a long time. 

The story talks of Oowa, her signature character, starting off in his 'secret garden', but eventually leaving it to explore the world. He meets a little girl who never smiled, and tries many different ways to bring that smile to her face. However, he was always unsuccessful, until he found his once abandoned 'secret garden'. Her main message, I will share with you. All credits go to Jeanie Leung herself - I am just sharing her inspirational words.

Black on White on White on Black.

~ 

"It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light." - Aristotle Onassis

~ 

Dear You,

I know that you're going through a difficult time in your life. I would say that I completely understand how you feel...but I cannot say that. Because the truth is, I don't know how you feel, because I am not you. But what I can do is tell you that there are people out there who try their very best to put themselves into your shoes in order to help you feel like you're not going through this storm all alone. People always say that the greatest and truest of friends always appear when you are at your worst. Believe what they say. A hug can do so much if it is given by the right person, so here is a hug for you. I hope you feel it.

                                                                                                                        Love, Me.