Smiles for miles!!

I had a really super duper awesome day today....and it got me thinking. I started thinking, "What if every single person in the entire world smiled at just ONE stranger, or even a friend, EVERY day?" With 6,973,738,433 people in the world currently, think of how many smiles could be passed around!!! I know from personal experience that when I am having an icky day, a stranger's smile brightens it just a little. Let's all make an effort today to make sure that there are smiles for MILES and MILES!!!! :)

Innocent blue eyes. :)

Occasionally, I write because I must...because the words just want to jump out of my buzzing head and onto a blank page. Today is one of those days. Earlier, as I was lying on the bed with my cello at my feet and my darling, 1-year-old sister in my arms. I looked into her big blue eyes, and it was as if time just stopped and was hanging there, suspended, waiting for me to grasp it once again. I realized that she would only be this age once. Tomorrow, she would be older, different, and once again, only that new age for a moment. This sparked me to think about all of the things that I do not look upon with adequate appreciation, and I came up with a few: a knowing look between two friends, an off-handed joke, October skies, warm laundry, time spent with someone I love, trials, my belief in God, the meaning behind every holiday, sticky notes on my laptop from friends, compliments, the first signs of winter, a healthy body...the list only goes on. 11:33 was the perfect time for me to realize tonight that my life is simply splendid. I have an amazing, supportive family, friends that I don't deserve, and an entire future calling to me. 

I know the heart of life is good. :)

I had kind of a rough day today, as everyone does every once in a while. :) I am a music major, and so I have the biased opinion that music can cure most things. I went in my room and just turned on one of my pandora stations. A song by John Mayer called The Heart of Life came on. One line really stuck out to me. I know the heart of life is good. How true it is. How beautifully it boosted my emotional state. Life is hard. Everyone says it, and everyone has a different definition of and relationship with the word 'hard'. There is one thing we can all be sure of...the heart of life is good. :) The bad days will no doubt be there, but the good ones are truly the heart of life. If we just take the time to look up and feel the sun shining on our faces, feel God's love raining down on us from above, we will feel that heart beating, keeping our lives alive and going. Life is so bittersweet. Just remember that sweet comes along with the bitter, though. Good times are coming. They are coming for YOU. I know they aren't visible yet, but they are there. I promise. Love life. Don't let it bog you down. Let it ONLY build you up!!!!! 

Sometimes it just takes a step in the mud...

Yesterday, I was having one of those "I am worthless and I can't do anything" sort of days. It was really my own fault, though. I had a terrible cello lesson because I hadn't practiced much, I was behind in history because I skipped the lectures to do the little practicing that I DID do, and the world just seemed more gray than usual. Today, I was ABOVE cloud nine. My practicing went beautifully, I accomplished a ton of studying, and I EVEN had time to hang out with some friends of mine. I learned that sometimes God shows you how to be a better and more responsible person by letting you fail sometimes. Sometimes, all it takes is a step in the mud to get you back on the right track. :)