Dear Love,

Dear Love,
   I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me every day and how much I appreciate having you in my life. Today of all days though I feel extra special and I owe it all to you.

I woke up with a sense of peace and gratitude only you can bring me. I woke up with a sense of purpose and pride only you have taught me. I woke up with only you on my mind because you make my heart smile so wide.

You taught me how to see the good in my worst times. You taught me how to learn from my mistakes. You took the time and made the efforts to heal my soul. You look at me and see Love look at you back.

illustration by zaratops.deviantart.com

Having you in my life has allowed me to continue to grow and to not let my short comings be my only offerings in life. You have made me see that anything is possible with nourishment and kindness. You have allowed me to remain flexible yet strong in the toughest of storms. In moments when I feel I stand alone, I close my eyes and you are there.

You have bought amazing people into my life who have given me so much but you have also taken away some I'd thought would be around forever. I realize now that even those times you were showing me love.

Dear Love,
   Thank you for existing as one of the many emotions I feel but the one that I lean on the most.

Always stress free xo
Mari

Lessons learned from the movie Inside Out

We seem to think that if we fix the outside things will get better.
We change our hair styles, our clothes, the cars we drive, the places we live, our place of employment.
We date a variety of people, socialize in different circles, join different activities all trying to escape something that pained us.

All along the pain never goes away entirely because it is In us.

I watched the movie Inside Out several months back and I loved it. I want everyone to see it. Young and Old. I truly believe that it holds the potential to save a lot of people a lot of agony and wasted time.

illustration by ranker.com

As I watched the movie I found myself recalling times in my youth when I had moved and felt the same way. I think I've moved over 13 times thus far and I am sure I have at least 2 more in me before my journey is over. For me it wasn't so much the moving part, that was always exciting it was the making new friends and leaving old friends behind. It was the "new" kid label I always hated. 

illustration by disneysisters.com

Joy-the more we practice seeing the good in things the less we will suffer. The longer we whine and pity ourselves the harder it will be to pick ourselves up. There is always a solution. Life is beautiful, just look outside your door or give your child a hug! As I've gotten older the smallest things bring me Joy and I love it.

illustration by disneysisters.com

Sadness-no one likes to be sad or experience sadness but it helps teach us to have gratitude for the good times and have balance in our lives. Allowing yourself to work through your sadness gives you clarity and energy to refocus. One thing I realized as I watched her was that I have always been ok with sadness its Anger that has worn me out.

illustration by disneysisters.com

Anger-it will eat away at any hope you cling to. It will allow doubt and confusion to set in and take the place of letting go. I have learned that we must not fight Anger but instead question it and break it down. We must be still with it and say "ok I know you are here but you won't be for long". We must learn to say Good Bye quickly. Learning to take deep breaths helps, trust me!

illustration by disneysisters.com

Fear-this little bugger! Yes you help keep us safe by setting our caution sensors on full blast but you also hold us back from possibly becoming more of our awesome selves. I have a love / hate relationship with you. You have saved my butt on many occasions but you also continue to hold my wings too tight...time to let them go. I now know that you are not rational so I have to take the reigns and be pro-active. I have to make lists and visualize. You are another visitor we can't let hang around too long.

illustration by disneysisters.com

Disgust-I happen to actually like this one! I don't like messes of any kind both literally and figuratively. I run away quickly from chaos so feeling disgusted by a thing or a person has come in very helpful in my life. I think Disgust to some may come across as a sense of Better than but if you feel that its on You, I don't control your emotions. Disgust keeps us on our toes and helps us question our choices. Its a checks and balance system that can help us avoid people and things that kill our Spirit. Do you keep smelly garbage in your bedroom? I sure hope not and why is that? I would hope its because you have pride in yourself and in your space and only want to be surrounded by Greatness!

So these are my thoughts on this sweet Disney movie. Great conversation starter with our kids. Helpful tool on discussing our feelings especially at a time when so many of our kids are going through so many changes. Communication is the key!!!

What do you think? Do you have a balanced grip on your emotions? Have you taught your child(ren) that its ok to feel all types of emotions but its how we handle ourselves through them that really counts? Share what emotion you struggle with the most? The least and which is your favorite?

Always stress free xo

Mari

Keeping things Lite

Hello my lovelies, I didn't post anything on my usual Sunday because I was just not in the mood. You know, those days you just want to veg out and not do much? Though I actually got a lot done it just wasn't writing.

I went to the park in place of my Yoga class and actually worked out there it was fun. I am not a heavy workout type of gal but some of the moves were actually fun plus it helped my friend joined me and was very encouraging.

illustration by Pinterest

I spent my afternoon visiting my niece in the hospital, she came down with Pneumonia almost two weeks ago and because she has Cerebral Palsy things are a bit more complicated lets keep her in our prayers please. I commend those nurses and her mom I don't know how they do it. They know exactly what she needs when she needs it even though she can't relay her emotions to us with words. Yesterday as I got ready to leave and was talking with her she was all smiles and wide eyed which I loved and made me very happy. It was very encouraging, she inspires me to do my best no matter
what.

illustration by quotesz.k

On my grandma front things have been dragging. Her doctors and I started her on Ambien so she could sleep. The 5mg didn't work it only knocked her out the first night and that was because she had had three days of no sleep. We have her on 10mgs now and its slow climb to full nights rest but I am confident we will get there. I still haven't lost any of my other attendants so that is a great sign. I was there three times this week a bit stressful but figuring out ways to deal.

illustration by itscolossal.com

I got a very sweet message from my BFF's daughter yesterday just as I was getting ready for my workout. Kids are so pure and honest, I needed that refreshing touch in my life. I'm hoping to set up a brunch date with my little Princess so we can catch up on our Summer. Looking forward to that.

illustration by womeninrecovery.wordpress.com

Since its been a slow week for me as far as things I've wanted to write about I wanted to just share a few quotes that have keep me going when I just want to shut down. Please come visit with me soon I'm working on a share regarding my favorite Makeup Tutorial channels on You Tube and a piece on my thoughts on clerk that refuses to marry same sex couples. I also want to share my journey in preserving a beautiful bouquet of Roses I rec'd a few weeks ago. So stay tuned and stay positive, nothing last forever and brighter days will come.

Always stress free xo.

Mari