My Personal Game-Plan; I want to learn to be a better person, love others, and cook and find my love of working out again this 2014!
hope
Don’t Confuse your path…
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Life is a long journey. We have paths that we take all the time. Some more brutal than others. You might consider transitions to be these paths where either you know you are walking into a hell-storm or it’s the calming before the storm or even just a beautiful walk in the park…I would like to have more of these please! 🙂 These periods of storm and peacefulness in contrast, are life in its purest form.
Nothing will be perfect, ever. You can plan all you want and those plans will always change. Choose to be flexible. Choose to look past your current storm or transition and see the hope of a rainbow at the end. If we focus on the dirt or pain of the moment, we lose sight of what is most important: survival. This too shall pass. Keep your chin up, keep persevering…stand a little taller and trust a little deeper. Where ever you are at in your journey, embrace it. Make the most of it and learn all you can from it. Don’t let your lack of sight through the downpour stop you…just keep going!
Today, “Don’t confuse your path with your destination. Just because it’s stormy now doesn’t mean you aren’t headed for sunshine.” -Unknown
❤ The CatMan
Infertility
StandardTonight, I Wanted To Share A Quick Status From A Friend’s Facebook In Speaking Of Terms Of The Dreaded Term Infertility. It Is Every Woman’s Enemy When Married And Trying To Start Their Family, Yet It Seems That More Women In Recent Years Are Dealing More And More With This. I Wanted To Share This From One Very Strong And Beautiful Mother’s Position On Her ‘Blessing Of Infertility’. This Was Too Awesome Not To Share. Let Her Response Greet You Without Discouragement, Anger, And All Feelings Of Disappointment…Yes I Am Sure She Felt All Of These Emotions; However, She Is A Messenger Of Hope. Hope That Is Beyond Means What Is The Most Important Message Here. Hope And Faith In God That He Has It Covered And He Knows What He Is Doing. Enjoy!
The Blessing Of Infertility
In February Of 1987, If Anyone Had Referred To Infertility As A Blessing, I Would Have Thought They Were Clueless, Thoughtless And Cruel. But Looking Back On The Journey That Don And I Have Walked, I Am So Aware Now Of God’s Amazing Ability To Take Any Cross He Gives Us And Turn It Into The Most Precious Blessing.
When We Were First Married, We Both Agreed That 4 Children Would Create The Perfect Family And Looked Forward To Our First Pregnancy With Joy And Anticipation. Those Feelings Slowly Turned To Sadness And Anxiety As Month After Month, No Pregnancy Occurred. Little Did We Know That Not Being Able To Conceive Was Just The Beginning Of Our Nightmare. After Several Years Of Attempting To Get Pregnant, Our Doctor Recommended Infertility Testing And Treatment. That Was When The Horror Of This Cross We Were Given To Bear Truly Pressed Upon Us. I Started To Get Really Scared That We Would Never Have A Baby Much Less Four.
We Researched To See What Fertility Tests And Treatments The Catholic Church Approved And Began Months Of Doctor Appointments, Blood Tests And Medications. Then, One Stormy, Blizzardy Night In February, 1987, My Doctor Called Us To His Office To Tell Us That Because Of A Rare Condition That Showed Up In One Of Don’s Blood Tests, The Chances That We Would Ever Get Pregnant Were Slim To None And He Recommended That We Consider Adoption.
Http://Ladymamale.Blogspot.Com/2012/05/Guest-Blogger-Infertility-Training.Html
We Were Devastated. We Were Going To Be Denied The Joy Of Ever Being A Mom And A Dad. Don And I Both Knew How Difficult It Was To Adopt A Baby. When We Got Home That Night, I Sat In A Rocking Chair In The Nursery And Hugged A Teddy Bear And Cried And Cried. For The First Time, I Actually Talked To God About This Tragedy And Said, “If You Want Us To Have A Child, Then It’s All In Your Hands.”
When I Had Calmed Down, I Really Thought About Our Situation And I Asked Myself The Most Important Question. Did We Want A Pregnancy Or Did We Want A Baby In Our Arms And In Our Lives? After Some Careful Conversation, We Concluded That What We Really Wanted Was A Child To Raise. So We Placed This Cross Back In God’s Arms And Prayed And Prayed For A Child – Whether It Was A Birth Child Or An Adopted Child Was Up To God.
We Spread The Word To Everyone – Friends, Doctors, Attorneys Involved With Adoption, Even Total Strangers – That We Were Interested In Adopting A Baby. Weeks Later, We Received A Call From Our Doctor Saying That He Had Been In Contact With A Birth Mother Who Knew She Wanted To Give Up Her Baby. She Was Due In A Few Months. We Were Thrilled And Scared All At The Same Time, But Again, We Turned It All Over To God. On A Beautiful Spring Evening, We Were Getting Ready To Go Out For Pizza When The Phone Rang. The Doctor Said, “Your Daughter Was Born A Few Minutes Ago And She Is Perfectly Healthy.” Through A Lot Of Tears, I Yelled The Amazing News To Don Who Was In The Bathroom. He Came Running Down The Hallway Still Trying To Pull Up His Jeans And Screaming, “It’s A Girl!! It’s A Girl!!”
The Next Morning, Our Attorney Gave Us Permission To Go See The Baby. We Flew Up To The Hospital And Peered Through The Nursery Window At All The Babies And Way Back In A Corner, There Was A Tiny Baby All Wrapped Up In Pink With No Name Written On Her Crib. The Nurse Saw Us And She Knew Right Away We Must Be The Adoptive Parents. She Motioned Us Around To A Side Door And To My Great Joy, She Opened That Door And Placed This Precious Little Bundle In My Arms. That Was One Of Those Forever Moments! I Understood So Clearly That God Is My Loving Father And The Love I Felt Toward This Miracle In My Arms, He Felt A Thousand Fold Toward Me. That Is When The Cross Of Infertility Became The Most Awesome Blessing.
“I Am Telling You The Truth: You Will Cry And Weep…..When A Woman Is About To Give Birth, She Is Sad Because Her Hour Of Suffering Has Come; But When The Baby Is Born, She Forgets Her Suffering, Because She Is Happy That A Baby Has Been Born Into The World. That Is How It Is With You: Now You Are Sad, But I Will See You Again, And Your Hearts Will Be Filled With Gladness, The Kind Of Gladness That No One Can Take Away From You.” (John 16:20-22)
God Continued To Bless Us And Because Of The Generosity And Love Of Two More Birth Mothers, We Were Able To Adopt Two More Perfect Newborn Babies. The Cross Of Infertility Became The Gift Of Life That Enabled Us To Finally Have Those Babies In Our Arms For Whom We So Dearly Yearned.
Adoption Is So Dear To Me. And Yet I Never Even Think Of My Kids As Adopted, Because They Are Such A Part Of Me Now. I Cherish These Three Children With All My Heart. They Are A Living Breathing Sign To Me That God Is A Loving God To All Of Us. I Thank God Constantly For The Miracle Of These Children And For Their Birth Mothers Who Showed Such Unconditional Love By Choosing Life For Their Babies And Giving Them To Us.
“Not Flesh Of My Flesh, Nor Bone Of My Bone, But Still Miraculously All My Own. Never Forget For A Single Minute, You Weren’t Born Under My Heart But In It.”
People Say To Us That These Children Are So Lucky To Have Been Adopted By Us But The Truth Is, We Are The Blessed Ones, The Luckiest Mom And Dad On Earth. We Never Could Have Created Children As Cool As These Three. And We Laugh That There Are A Lot Of Traits On Both Sides Of Our Families That Were Better Off Not Being Reproduced!!
Our Journey Has Taught Us Many Things, But Two Of The Most Important Stand Out. The First Is A Call To Action. We Must All Defend The Right To Life, Support Birth Mothers In Every Way We Can And Earnestly Pray That God Remove The Sin Of Abortion From Our World. The Second Lesson Is We Must Faithfully And Trustingly Take All Of Our Crosses And Give Them Back To God. He Loves Us And Will Transform Even The Cruelest Burden Into The Most Amazing Miracle. He Will Give Us Blessings A Million Times Greater Than Anything We Could Wish For Ourselves!
Keep on going…
StandardToday blog friends, I wish to share with you something that is so important. A theme of mine currently is “keep on going”. One of which, take it or leave it, can be a really great encouragement or if allowed to be a huge “in your face” fail….I choose to see it as my little cheerleaders on the race side of the finish line through this transitional whatever I am in currently. It is one more chance to be joyful in gaining endurance. I need to have patience and take this opportunity on with faith and trust that I will excel despite the factors working against me.
This theme has infiltrated my work as well as personal relationships. Perseverance and prayerful discernment are key to accomplishing what goals we may have, in addition to starting new chapters! We might as well embrace the new endeavors and challenges with excitement and seize the day for everything it is! This fresh empowering attitude has been a huge help with me growing as an individual and finding my place in my own little world. No play on my size at all…ha.
One new thing I have learned is I have many gifts that can be of benefit to others. This was seen today at lunch when a woman who was exactly my size just got the biggest kick out of me! I think she was just so overjoyed to find someone that was in her same shoes that it was enough to make her day. Something just so simple! I would love to be able to do that everyday for someone! Oh wait…I can! It is my contribution to recognize what gifts I have to give to others as well offer to humanity. I have a way of making people feel good about themselves. I don’t say this in a cocky-pat yourself on the back sort of way, just in that I recognize that I have a lot to offer others just by being myself. I recognize the worth of a smile; the worth of a gentle touch….a hug! The worth of being understanding of others as well as giving them compassion toward their fights and struggles. I also see the greatness in the little things. That in it’s own is a huge gift!
What gifts do you have to offer? If you say you have none, then I ask you to “keep on going” as that is the only way your going to find out! Find out just what you are made of…that is what life is all about really. Do not think “I have lost all hope” in the down times, just say what ELSE do I have to offer?
Let us stop beating ourselves and others up and keep on going! Believe in yourself and figure it out! Keep on taking the downtimes as opportunity to be the best person we can be not only for ourselves but for the sake of everyone that needs us in their lives. Let us choose to be bright little souls that give nothing but love and grace to others. If your just not there yet…Keep on going! You will get there…..baby steps.
Rainbow Connection: Humor and Inspiration
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“One person can make a difference, and everyone should try” –John F. Kennedy.
Hearts of Inspiration...
First of all, Thanksgiving was wonderful. Saturday’s Old Oaken Bucket game (Indiana University vs. Purdue University–sorry it’s a Midwest thing!) and enjoyed plenty of good company. Well tonight really sums up just what a fantastic time I had because I went with a girlfriend of mine to see “The Muppets Movie” 🙂
Over the past few days, I was reminded to Inspire. At Thanksgiving, just showing up and helping gather the food, people, and everything needed to make the show happen is the best way to be. No one like people who just show up for food than “peace out!” Simply playing games with the youngest members of the gathering can mean the whole world to them as a “big person” is paying them some attention. And hugs are priceless and irreplaceable.
I am a woman who can equally perform tasks as a single or together (thank you Ms. Piggy and Amy Adams for the reminder!), I am someone with a few small gifts to offer–as everyone has SOMETHING they can contribute (thank you Walter…), life is about figuring out who you are and what you are made of (thank you Kermit for helping me never lose hope in myself), and just when you think you can’t figure it out, there are friends who are all around to help you find your way!
The Muppets single-handedly reminded me of the third best thing in the world….laughter! What would we be without laughter? That’s right, a bunch of serious fuddy-duds. I said it. Fuddy-duds. What could be worse? Inspiration through laughter. What a novel idea! Something that has far been under appreciated for years…witty, smart, dry humor.
A dear friend of mine, RL taught me a little something about humor this weekend as well when we were on our way to the Old Oaken Bucket game. To be a stand up, you have to always be on your toes and keep your head about you. You cannot let people catch you off guard, but play off the opportunities given to you on stage. If you get a heckler, no need to bother. They aren’t worth your time. Keep the rest of the crowd engaged. Same could go in real life situations as well.
Tonight was a final reminder my desire and purpose is to inspire people. I am to encourage, help people discover what it is I see that they can’t see, and ultimately change people’s perceptions of themselves that they way they view their futures. Laughter, positive reinforcements and lots of love….that is the formula.
People are too quick to give up on themselves. They lose hope so easily! What is that all about??? We can never ever lose hope especially not in ourselves! For, if we do not believe we can do it, then surely no one else will. We must stand tall on our own two feet and chose to inspire ‘I’ first then let the inspiration radiate…
So how do you inspire? For me, it is humor and insight….but what is it for you dear friends??
❤ CatMan
Oh to be yourself…Go walk naked!
Standard“To be nobody but yourself in a world that’s doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting.” –E.E. Cummings
So I am really struggling right now blog friends. I am finally starting to understand how much really loving people…not like your average gushy mushy love, but really pouring forward all emotions and heart into others is very hard. This means practicing understanding, patience, kindness, trust, and knowing eventually this period of love will pay off, Right? Practicing and encompassing all gifts of virtue and yet, strange enough that is not enough for a person to come to grips with how much love you are giving to them! Love is so foreign people who reside on the surface. They try to walk 100% away from this “love” thing because it is a vulnerable foreign feeling found only at the very core of our beings and when we were children. As adults, this is a feeling that is a rarity and seemingly so distant in our current live style.
Our hearts can become hard. Our attitude callused. And then when we find someone to which is willing to pour forth love and give you anything/everything you need for success–we are confused, tormented, and fearful as to WHY? Why me? Why do you have this invested in me? What did I ever do to you? Well the simple answer is you didn’t have to do anything…it is just because I love you!
As hard as this feeling of love is in demonstrating it to others…I think it can at times be hard to be yourself in such a world that can be cold and cruel. One should be themselves and have the strength and courage to do so to the best of their ability. Just simply being yourself is hard. Being yourself doesn’t mean being misguided like these “little rebels” can be…but, being yourself means stripping the fluff off and developing what’s left. That is the real you.
What a confusing, sometimes bitter cold world we live in today. Despite the negative, we must strive to ALWAYS find hope. There is still a lot of that in this world. Although you might have to dig a little deeper to find it. It will be well worth the scavenger hunt when the treasure: HOPE is found.
Last night, I was asked if I had ever been “skinny” dipping. (gasp!) Well not in the way he was thinking, but I have started walking naked more often.
Go on a walk today. Naked. I dare ya!
“Oh…but I can’t!” (you respond)
“Oh…but you can and you will probably love it!” says the CatMan!
(The crowd GASPS…….)
Strip yourself down to your core and walk around naked. You might actually like that version of you. That’s the hope I am talking about! You might feel smut free then and you may actually feel better about letting yourself out! Get to know the real you and embrace! Once that naked beautiful person comes out of the hard shell they were in, you could just discard that shell (as you won’t need it anymore). Don’t be afraid! The real you is not so bad.
We do it to Pistachio nuts all the time. They are considered elite nuts and when shelled they are beautiful! Precious green goodness. Just remind yourself that when you are second guessing “going naked”. 🙂
That is all,
❤ The CatMan
Shift in Focus. Adjust Perception. Change in heart.
Standard”When one focuses too much on the negative, all they see is road blocks. When one focuses on the positive, that is where one finds hope…” (me)
Image from: http://myyardourmessage.com/files/signs/168/image-2e7fc21b5cc443f8ba47c3110a2b8bb2_t480.jpg
It is so easy to allow ourselves to be drug down by the muck surrounding us or listen to others that are only trying to bring us down. Unfortunately, it is harder to be a leader than it is just to allow us to be sucked in to the abyss. It is so easy to listen to the negative bringing us down….then we crash…If we ever expect to make it past tomorrow’s muck we must be willing to change our focus and stop listening to the outside noise. Focus on what is good. Focus on what we have going for us and focus on hope. Hope is a key component to this whole situation.
One way I like to ensure that I don’t become a dirty muck pie is to visually wipe myself clean (literally take my hands and fling off the negative) and affirm myself often. I constantly need to remind myself exactly what my purpose is. Without affirmation, we can lose focus. Something simple would be “I am a vessel to which God uses for His Good Works.” I also like to personally make take my focus deep inside of me and allow God to transform from the inside out. Think about it, this takes YOU out of it and allows Him to work His magic. “Send my mind, body and soul into light and love” is another great affirmation.
Human’s are naturally imperfect. We will always have flaws. By taking us out of the mix, we are able to recognize we are a tiny part of this bigger picture. It is amazing to understand what your purpose is and to fall in line with the circle of life! Each little purpose that we all have is apart of a bigger entity. We might be small, but the purpose of the small is equal of importance to the bigger picture’s results! Without the little parts, the picture will never be fully complete!
Next key component…adjust your perception and do not make anything bigger than what it is. You own that girl….or guy?! This is a true test of inner peace when you can keep everything in check. You spill coffee and it goes down the front of your shirt…take a deep breath and embrace it. We have all been there and you know what? Starbucks has a shirt with a “printed coffee stain” down the front of it! You can get that for the bargain of $80 at your local department store. Someone cancels on you, again. OK. Not a big deal! That is life–so what are you going to do now? Maybe go on a walk, or find a little cafe’ close and just observe! Life is good remember. It’s not the end of the world.
Now we are focused. Everything is in check and balanced, so now what? Now we have to make the most important change! Change in our heart will not just happen overnight. It takes time to get ourselves back to a state that is more enjoyable. Let me explain….http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eefP4bG2EkI&feature=related
When we were children, we had very little to worry about and things seemed relatively easy. Something happens to our heart as we grow up to be adults where we allow the muck of the world to steal our innocence. Now it seems we are always stressed, always on the go, and always rushing without really taking time to smell the roses. This is definitely a problem. When this situation gets to this point, we are really missing out on living. Those little things as a child we so dearly loved are now buried under adult junk. UH OH…now what? A change of heart is needed to keep in balance.
Start simple. “Live simply so that others might simply live.” (Mother Teresa) Learn to notice everyone on the street, yes even the weird ones. The people who are the most interesting are the one’s (usually) last noticed. Dare you to talk to one! (Oh did your mother tell you not to talk to strangers? Well it’s fine now, you’re an adult!) Learn to ask people questions when you don’t understand. Learn how to give your time and knowledge to helping others succeed. Hey they might thank you later! Learn to get back to that child like innocence and you might just find yourself living an even more incredible life. Take the ownership back and start living life with a purpose!
❤ CatMan 🙂
What is your favorite scent?
StandardSo today I am amidst Lilac Blooms. What a beautiful scent of summer!! Also some fresh scent of lemon as I have just cleaned! You ever notice the way the “lemon-fresh scent” energizes you to clean quicker? I think the citrus puts me in a great mood! Anyways, I am so ready for another great weekend!
Last weekend, I went to visit Nomad and it was glorious. We had no planned agenda except to eat, sleep and yeah sounded enough of a plan to me! We ended up cooking….going to the driving range (where I sucked it up quite nicely), the batting cages (where after 13 years I still kind of got it!!) and Church where there were smells of the city. We drove until the wee hours of the morning thru the country and got lost. It rained later that night as well so the smell of sweet rain fell upon us. We fed the ducks. He lives off a pond set up so the smell of water was pure. I just wish it was a lake to go swim in! He even tried teaching me how to chip a ball using a club. We drank a little wine and it was so relaxing. We walked a little after dinner too. Someone clipped the grass and it made my nose itch. It was just over all really nice! I just cherish that time. Frankly, I dread saying good-bye to him.
Do you ever find that you are just flooded with the smells of comfort? This weekend I hope to be surrounded by fried chicken, apple pie, lake water, some citrus in there and other smells of summer!
Check this blog out/image from: http://www.fitsugar.com/5-Natural-Scents-Energize-You-14948391
So what are some of your favorite scents to be surrounded by? What tickles your fancy? Happy 4th of July!
Morning of Dismay and “POOF!” Now a Ray of Light!
StandardI am trying to hold myself together this morning and not to have a melt down. So much for asking someone to do something once and it getting done. Nothing at my house is done unless you truly do it yourself. I need 5 minutes to myself free of people, distractions, and dismay.
Everything is seemingly annoying to me. Click, click, click, click. The rattling of papers, hunting and pecking of typing, the multiple voices inside my head saying eat the chocolate cake in the break room….OH the agony! Maybe I am just being melodramatic, but you get the idea.
I seemingly saw this article this morning and it really aggravated me. I will be the first to congratulate one for having a second chance and doing well but, this insincere “for instance” kind of just irritated me doubly. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Obama-calls-Eagles-owner-to-congraulate-him-for-?urn=nfl-300632. The thing is this: what is this teaching our children? It is OK for you to do something blatantly wrong (inhumane even), go to jail for a few days(someone will get you out if you are rich enough), if your good enough at what you do then someone will pick you up and life will go on as if nothing happened…..OH and you will get paid an outrageous amount for your efforts and second chance? You will come out as the hero! Now, I don’t have any children and I try to stay away from politics, but this is a crock of you know what!
Where is the lesson of consequence here? Where is the lesson of cause and effect? Just punishment? President Obama is feeding right into this by congratulating the man at his success of winning versus his shot at a second chance and having a moral victory! As far as observation is concerned, why wouldn’t he jump on to the “victory wagon”? (heavy) SIGH….
I love sports but there is a lot of dirt involved. People have not a clue. I don’t claim to be an expert on it; however I do have a firm understanding of right and wrong. Paying someone a huge amount to “stay” with a certain team vs. going to another, or bribing someone to go to their school over the competition, or scheming strategies to position your school to be the best school in the conference by paying people to have the “best” of everything….it’s all dirty. I understand paying someone justly for their work. I understand too that you need the proper training and opportunities to succeed…I just think it’s just much too much. Is it really necessary for them to be getting millions upon millions? Maybe it is….maybe it isn’t.
There is hope though! There are good women and men in sports with morals and their heads on straight. There are athletes who are just great over all examples of how to balance the life of fame and stay out of trouble. The ones causing drama are probably between 2-5%, but it seems their boldness overshadows the meekness and genuineness seen from such athletes like Albert Pujols. http://www.albert-pujols.net/articles.php. This is just one example.
Lastly, I leave you with one last tidbit. I read this book “All the Good in Sports” when it first came out…it was truly an amazing find. Literally spotlighting 20 athletes who are GOOD good people on top of being an amazing athlete. They have their priorities straight! It was inspirational and such an easy read. It’s books like this one that keep things in perspective for me and makes me happy to have such a love for sports.
I wish that they would write positives for Hollywood Actors/Actresses, or Musicians. That’s more of the style of reading I would like to see rather than DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!
INFILTRATE NEGATIVE AND REPLACE WITH THE POSITIVE!
Is this not more calming? Think of spreading the light today! Be a "Ray of Light"!
❤ The CatMan
Get to know yourself
StandardAs I sit at work and listen to my Pandora “Duffy” station, I realized we haven’t heard about or heard any music from Amy Winehouse in a while! She is one that is so talented but, has let her addiction and lifestyle take over her. How sad is that? Such and amazing beautiful God-given talent she has! Ironically I have found an article on her…or about her, rather? http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-16/features/sc-fash-style-news-hells-angles-amy-w20101116_1_alexander-mcqueen-hells-angels-motorcycle-club-zappos
Yes...they tried to make her go to rehab...and she said no, no, no....
Travesty. My little brother Mix and I were talking about some things that might pertain to this entry. He is a very observant 11-year-old and asked “What the heck is this world coming to?” He was amazed at the amount of “crazies” as he called them. Reckless fame doesn’t teach these talented little ones to love and respect themselves for they are a special. They fail to see they are a beautiful little gift of life that is capable of doing so much with a little love and respect! 🙂
Just interesting is all…hope and wish Ms. Winehouse the best!
Now today! This morning…. I had a brilliant idea! “I actually might think I am on to something my dear chap!” (HORAY!) I found new appreciation for my marketing passions. I think I hypothetically figured it out….but not there quite yet! 🙂 Funny how idea flow in and out daily, hourly, minute by minute (as Michael McDonald might say…)…it is nice to know ONE might pan out! Hope is a good thing. Hope gets you through the darkest times…AND it is also hope that makes the darkness bright.
This period in my life is challenging to me. I feel like I am just caught in the middle of ten crossfire’s and nothing is really of any productive manner either way I turn. I am combating a million forces, blocking the negative and embracing the positive, karate chopping the ties of attachment to which I don’t need to have. Life is confusing now, but good.
The other thing that I noticed this morning was the perspiration and moisture on my car this morning.
beautiful...
I try to notice at least one thing everyday that gives me wonder. There is so much on this earth that is beauty right in front of our face! We just choose not to pay attention to it with our hustle and bustle of life. It stinks. Just look around you…anywhere, where ever you are and look at what beauty surrounds you!!! From little sprouts to dew drops, sunshine to shooting starts, a smile, a world of just simply beautiful moments!
Get to know yourself. Respect yourself. Then let yourself notice the beauty around you. Once you are able to find love and respect for yourself, it will be so easy to find and locate the beauty around you!
Unfolding of a Peony 🙂
As told by CatMan, The Rose Bandit 
