7 for SEVEN

Hellooo Loves!

It’s been more down than up these last few days. I am struggling and I have been reminding myself constantly that had it not been for disappointment and detours and zig-zags and crossroads and the many setbacks I have faced, I would not have come this far. Still…it can be hard sometimes in the midst of personal struggle to remain mindful.

My seven this week is rather short, as I use some of my favourite quotes to remind myself that looking forward is the only way…forward.
7 for seven (1)

If you’re like me…and perhaps you’re struggling a bit this week, this month…this decade, I hope that one of these quotes, so ripe with wisdom, inspires you as much as they have me.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

____________________________________________________________
Instagram_like

Instagram is my favourite place to connect.
FOLLOW ME there and say HI!!!

7 for SEVEN

7 for (1)

Hellooo Loves! I came across this quote on a friend’s wall today, “I am thankful for all the dreams I don’t have to close my eyes to see anymore.” And it really changed the course of my Monday.

It’s been reverberating in my head all day…because I get so caught up sometimes on where I am headed and doing the things I need to do now to get there, that I forget that this present moment was once a dream.

This present moment…was once a dream. And that thought, my dear friends, put this week’s 7 for Seven in a whole new context.

ThankfulThis present moment…and all the moments that lead me to this point. Too often, I forget about the times I prayed, hoped and worked hard for something…forgetting that where I am right now is a result of many dreams – big and small – coming true. I am grateful to be living my dreams.

Which brings me to, having bigger dreams. Because I was created to live the best life I could.

Second (third, fourth, fifth) chances…or as many as it takes. Because we all need them.

Finally doing laundry. The pile was starting to look at me accusingly.

Season 3 of OITNB. Yep. I binge watched the entire season Friday night into Saturday. It was the best.brain.cooler.everrrr. And then GOT completely destroyed that cool on Sunday…but that’s another story for another time.

Finishing strong. Completed my final exams last week…and the last exam was a pretty good one. I am savouring this little respite, because the next phase is right around the corner.

Videos that melt my heart.

Denali from FELT SOUL MEDIA on Vimeo.

And there you have it folks, I hope that by paying attention to the little things, the every day details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

____________________________________________________________
Instagram_like

Instagram is my favourite place to connect.
FOLLOW ME there and say HI!!!

7 for SEVEN

7 for (1)

Hellooo Loves! I have been reading up on gratitude and in his book ‘Thanks!‘, Dr. Robert A. Emmons describes research he carried out with three experimental groups over a 10-week period: The participants were split into three groups. Every week thy kept a journal where they described, in a single sentence, five things they were either grateful for (the gratitude condition) or displeased about (the hassles condition). The neutral group simply described five events that happened (the events condition).

“At the end of the ten weeks, we examined differences between the three groups on all of the well-being outcomes that we measured at the outset of the study. Participants in the gratitude condition felt better about their lives as a whole and were more optimistic about the future than participants in either of the other control conditions. To put it into numbers, according to the scale we used to calculate well-being, they were a full 25 percent happier than other participants.” – Robert A. Emmons from Thanks!

So clearly I’m on the right track. I’m certainly happier on a Monday now than I used to be a before my 7 for Seven practice. Thus, it is with great joy I share with you my 7 for Seven this week:

Celebrating the present. Right now, this moment is all I’m really sure about. So cheers to another day…even though I spent most of it completing the first of my exams. It’s still been a good day.

Quotes that inspire me. “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Saying Thank you. I am so grateful for this life. That I get another chance to do something positive. Life is so short and fragile. Love now.

Successfully making it through the weekend and not doing laundry. HA! I blame exams for this.

Chocolate Chai Because I drink tea sometimes!

My four-year-old neighbour and his hugs… They truly make my day.

Which brings me to the imagination of four-year-olds. Today he told me a story about a bird that flew right at him…only the bird didn’t have any wings, the bird had feet and it walked right up to him and pecked him on the nose. The only thing is that in his version, the bird had “foots” and it “bite me on my nose”.

And there you have it folks, I hope that by paying attention to the little things, the every day details that make up all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

____________________________________________________________
Instagram_like

Instagram is my favourite place to connect.
FOLLOW ME there and say HI!!!

7 for SEVEN

7 for (1)

Hellooo Loves! I’m loving that June begins on a Monday! Everything just feels so right.

June is always a busy month for me. Exams..ugh! I feel like I’ve been doing some exam or the other all my life. But there is a light at the end of this particular tunnel and I see it. It’s tiny right now…but it’s there!

So with eyes trained on the light on the horizon, here is my 7 for Seven this week:

Positive People. I have been blessed to have met and known many strong women on this journey. One such lady is my mother’s friend and she continues to support my family even though mummy is no longer here. Over the years, I watched her grow into the woman God created her to be. Life has not been easy for her…but then I don’t think any of us has ever met a strong person whose life was easy. She recently celebrated her 50th birthday even though she looks at least 15 years younger. But that’s how it goes when you laugh as much as she does. I am grateful to have Mariana Galindo in my life; she continues to inspire me to be better. Cheers to the next 50 beautiful lady!

Happy Memories. Being around Mariana this last week stirred up nostalgia like you wouldn’t believe. When it was time to get the words out for my own toast, it was hard, because so much of mummy’s life especially in the last two years involved her friendship with Mariana. I find myself even when the tears come, smiling at the joy they brought to each.

My Cohort of Awesome. I talk about this elite group often and still it will never be enough. I am so happy to have these people in my life. They see the real me and they are okay with who that is. So grateful.

Unto the next adventure. I’m attending my first blogger conference next month! I’m super excited about it especially as the planning with my fellow adventurers heats up!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Coffee. Because yes!

Being able to find time to read… things other than emails and textbooks. Yay for recreational reading!

Which brings me to books that open your mind. I just finished reading #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso. This review sums up my general feelings on the book. However, reading this book led me to what is now one of my favourite TED talks!

In case you missed it, Mel said, that there was a 1 in 400 trillion…YES TRILLION chance that you were born you. This takes into account the chance of your parents meeting each other, in this time and history of the planet, the chance of them reproducing, the chance of you being born at the exact moment that you were and every other factor including the extinction of the dinosaurs that goes into each individual person. You were born you, for a reason. And if that is not the kick in the pants you need to get out of bed and go do what you were created to do, I don’t know what is. It’s a new month! The year is half-way through…go make some shit happen! It’s now. The time is always now.

And there you have it folks, I hope that by paying attention to all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

____________________________________________________________
Instagram_like

Instagram is my favourite place to connect.
FOLLOW ME there and say HI!!!

7 for SEVEN

7 for (1)

Hellooo Loves!

It’s been stop and go on the blog lately. Between travel, work and school, sometimes all I have time for are little notes in my journal. And I am grateful for those notes because they help feed my soul. They satisfy my need to write things other than emails for work and notes for school.

So it goes sometimes and such is life. This is a quick 7 for Seven as I take a break from studying:

Travel often. I am grateful that I have been blessed this year with several opportunities to explore places beyond my island home. I spent last weekend in Washington, D.C. and it turned out to be quite an unforgettable one.

Which brings me to kindness from strangers when you least expect it. The D.C. trip didn’t start off all that great. Delays at the airport, despite our plane being early and then delays on the train because of the Amtrak accident resulted in my sister and I missing the 8:30 a.m. bus to New Carrollton, MD from Port Authority. If not for the kindness of Eugene B. a Greyhound employee our trip could have turned out quite differently. Buckets of tears (because of exhaustion…obviously) later and Eugene’s reassurances that we would be on the next bus to D.C. my sister and I boarded the 9:15 a.m. bus. Hallelujah!

He asked. She said, YES! My cousin that is. And it was one of the sweetest proposals I’ve been fortunate enough to be part of. Wedding soon come!

But first, the reason for the trip my cousin’s graduation. I’m so proud of her. It wasn’t an easy road to get here which makes this achievement even more special. Congratulations to Dr. Nicole Devenish, M.D. Anesthesiologist.

Party weekends in D.C. that feel like Trini Carnival. Yep. We celebrated and then some. By Sunday morning my body felt like I was waking up on Ash Wednesday after an intense Carnival itinerary. And just so you know…this was a preview to Carnival next year. I.cannot.wait. It will be fantastic!

Nice hot baths. I’ve only recently discovered the wonder that is a hot bath. Soaking in your favourite bath oil, easing aching muscles…relaxing with a good book until that heavy, languid feeling overpowers you and you know it’s time to get out and head straight for bed. Yeah. That. I’m addicted.

Grilled cheese sandwiches. Because sometimes simple is best!

And there you have it folks, short and sweet. I hope that by paying attention to all the blessings in my life and by sowing the seeds of faith and gratitude, I can truly carry with me and reap the rewards of “positivity + balance + bliss” throughout the days ahead.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate you! This is me blowing some glitter and confetti on you because you’re super blessed to have received the gift of another 86,400 seconds today, to spend any way you desire.

Make those seconds count!

I love hearing from you…what are you grateful today? What made you smile? Feel free to share below!

____________________________________________________________
Instagram_like

Instagram is my favourite place to connect.
FOLLOW ME there and say HI!!!