Author: Meredith

Despite the fact that it was spring break here, I some how managed not to get a post in at all this week. I keep telling everyone that spring break is for undergrads — and it is. Granted, spring break usually means it’s quiet around town, yet somehow I didn’t write at all. I suppose you could say I’ve kept busy, but I’d likely chalk this hiatus up to a mental block. Life has so many interesting intricacies right now, and I’m having difficulty trying to quiet my mind enough to produce coherent thought processes. Mind you, a lot of this is private and off-limits to the public — I have particular boundaries that I don’t like to cross when in the spotlight. As I work towards becoming the best version of me, I realize I’d like to be graceful in many ways. Please bear with me as I work through my block. I think at this point I need to simply be in the moment and make a very good effort to unplug, unwind, and untangle this web of thoughts.

The weather today was magnificent — perfect for opening the windows to let in fresh air and perfect for taking the kids outside to play. I have been waiting for a lovely day such as this to get outside with the family and enjoy some fun time. We started off the day with a big breakfast: a double-batch of pancakes (made with raspberry blush vinegar), bacon, lite maple sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs, and orange juice. The pancakes? They were fabulous! I highly recommend using that flavor of vinegar to make the pancakes. It gives them a slight raspberry flavor that brings out the sweetness. So good! This afternoon, we went to the playground in our complex and let the kids enjoy some time playing kickball, throwing the football, sliding, swinging, and running around. I took some pictures to commemorate it. I love nice days like today. Here’s hoping for another nice weekend in our near future.

I’m going to type a little piece that I wrote yesterday afternoon during seminar. I haven’t been able to really get my thoughts to congeal into something audience-worthy all week it seems, but I’m quite proud of the piece I wrote yesterday.

I enjoy filling blank, white pages with colorful, meaningful ink. Looking at a blank notebook that I can write my thoughts into really thrills me. Putting the pen to paper results in a satisfying flow of thoughts and energy. Looking at the words that I have left for future reference brings me joy and relief. When I’ve filled a book with my words and ink, I feel accomplished. I feel like my mind has been given room to breathe and expand.

I love conducting personal research. I find a topic to be fascinating, and so I choose to learn more about it. I hunt for reputable sources to increase my knowledge. I read whatever I can find to fill the void. When I have finished, I feel smarter, more knowledgeable. I feel as thought I’ve used my intellectual capacity in a beneficial way.

I have had a lot of writing accomplished [yesterday]. I allowed my creativity to flow, to be inspired to simply write for the love of writing. I have taken time with one of my favorite media of expression, and I have fulfilled the need to quiet my mind and be present in the moment.

The above piece was very beneficial to my mindfulness pursuits. Again, I hope you enjoyed it.

I’ve noticed that I’m allowing situations to control my emotions (particularly, a situation involving a drop-shipped item that the delivery driver insisted belonged to our department when it clearly did not — but according to him, I “don’t know what [I’m] talking about). I had to stop, take a moment to make myself more aware of how the situations were affecting me emotionally, and take steps to be more mindful of myself and my reactions. Take the challenges and tests as they come, appreciate the lessons and learn to be more mindful in the process. Breathe, count to ten, and remember that it’s not as bad as it seems.

This morning, I became aware of my gait. I was walking much better than I can recall in recent memory. I felt much more graceful and agile. I felt as though my posture was straightening out again. I don’t know if you can say it was because I only really drank warm fluids yesterday (tea, green tea, herbal teas) or if it’s due to my lack of junk food. Regardless, I feel better than I can recall I have in the past several months. My outlook seems so much brighter — maybe it was finding not one, not two, but three cherry blossom trees growing around town. In fact, I noticed we have a cherry blossom tree right behind our apartment on Saturday afternoon. I didn’t notice that before, and we’ve been in our current apartment for over two years now. For today, I’ve felt at peace with life and myself. I don’t know what brought this on, but I welcome more days like this. To be at peace in the present moment is to live a life of happiness.

Today I played around a bit with sharing buttons only to realize it wasn’t working exactly as I wanted. Silly me, I’m from the old school! I like to manually code things. So, I searched for a plugin after realizing I needed a plugin to make it work, and I grabbed the add-to-any plugin. When they say “add to any,” they’re not kidding — hover over that little button and see just how many social networking sites are on there. While you’re at it, show your love and share my posts with the masses.

Friday afternoon, I took pictures of the white cherry tree on campus. The delicate little flowers are so beautiful. This song is quite beautiful as well. I’m actually dedicating this one to Nikki and Sam. May your last heartbreak be just that — the last.

Monday morning I noticed a tree along my typical path from the bus stop to my office. This particular tree was covered in tiny white flowers. It couldn’t be, I thought. I walked up to the tree to examine the delicate flowers in bloom. Sure enough, it appeared to be a Yoshino cherry tree. Everyday this week, I have been treated to a little piece of happiness. Then just this afternoon, I noticed a similar tree growing near the front of my apartment complex. Had I not been running a little behind trying to catch the bus back to work, I would have stopped to admire its beauty. I had never noticed these trees flowering like this in previous years, and I am pleased to see that should I be destined to remain in Gainesville that I will still be able to live out my cherry blossom dream.

[February 24th] Open Loops: Will there ever be a time in your life when all your open loops are closed? If not, what can you do right now to accept that they’re open?

Ever heard the expression, “when one door closes, another opens”? Well, that basically covers my opinion on closing all loops (aka loose ends) at a given point in time. We are always growing and changing, so there will always be a new loop opening as an old loop closes. The best way to cope with that is to take each loop as it comes — handle the situations as the arise, and rejoice in accomplishments. I can’t imagine living a life where one doesn’t find peace in completing even the most mundane of tasks. Life is too short to run around crying about how that house hasn’t materialized yet, or the dream vacation in Europe has been planned yet, etc.

I know I don’t have a very wide reaching audience, but I’m going to do my part to help a family in need anyhow. Please read about the Augsburger Family’s dilemma over on the Born in Sarasota blog. I can’t even begin to imagine the nightmare they’re going through right now, and I know they’re going to need all the help they can get. Their community is currently banding around them to offer love, comfort, and support. Every little bit helps.