Today was a great day.
Something I have realized over the years is that good days are usually not the result of some big, exciting news or a sudden windfall of cash or prizes. Although, those can be fun to dream about.
Most good days are the result of appreciating what we have presently in our day to day lives.
If we wait for everything to fall into place, such as losing those last 10 pounds or finding that ‘perfect guy’, we may never feel content because we are constantly longing for more. We are never enough as we are right now. Even as you read this, you might be thinking, This doesn’t apply to me. I won’t be happy until I have ‘x’.
And you are probably right.
A couple years ago, I decided that I was going to appreciate myself, my life, and my circumstances for what they were. Of course, appreciate doesn’t mean that you can’t strive for growth and change, it just means that you understand where you currently are in life.
Even when we are between a rock and a hard place, these difficult circumstances are often for a reason even if we cannot see it at the time. I have been through some pretty rough times in my life, but when I look back on them I see what each situation has taught me and how they allowed me to grow.
When I was struggling with a career and grad school that made me miserable, I didn’t know it at the time, but they would serve as a major turning point in my life. The unhappiness I experienced eventually woke me up and suddenly, I was determined to never settle for mediocrity again.
After my parents divorced when I was 17, my mom and I started a new chapter and we moved across the country from New Brunswick to Ontario. I would have been entering my last year of high school with all of my friends (and long-time boyfriend) in New Brunswick, but instead I took a leap of faith and I chose to move and to challenge myself. My mom got a job transfer to Ontario and we moved shortly thereafter with our life stuffed into a few suitcases.
Things were rough, especially for the first few months before we found an apartment to live in. I was living with nearby family for the first while and I was trying to begin at a new school and also juggle my studies and social life while living out of a suitcase.
My mom and I shared many tears together that year.
But as they say, hindsight is always 20/20.
While that time was filled with many challenges, it was also quite remarkable to see the progression over time. By stepping out of my comfort zone, I grew as a person and I matured a lot. Slowly but surely things started to fall into place. I started my last year of high school in a new school where I didn’t know a soul, but as luck would have it, I ended up meeting my future husband during my first day of class.
Sometimes a leap of faith has a hidden four leaf clover.
So yes, today was a good day, for no particular reason except for the fact that I decided it was.
The skies were bright blue with fluffy white clouds and the leaves were blazing orange and red, after several days of cold and rain. I hit the pavement, not even overly wanting to workout, but once I got out there I thanked my lucky stars that I had. I ran a fast 4 miles listening to nothing but the crunching of the leaves under my feet and the crickets chirping in the woods.
That is not my picture, but perhaps in a couple more weeks?! ;)
I must mention that it took putting my music player in the washing machine (and breaking it) it for me to run without music, but I digress. As I said, sometimes clouds have a silver lining. ;)
When I wrapped up my work for the day, I decided to bottle the fluffy white clouds and create my own silver lining in my kitchen…
But more on that tomorrow.
Do you ever look back on a tough time in your life and see the hidden four leaf clovers or life lessons that it brought to your life?
Thanks for this post, Angela!
I have found many silver linings after cloudy parts of my life. Your message here reminds us all to live presently and find the positive each day, even if it seems so small it’s invisible.
LOVE the rolls – did you bake them in a skillet?
I loved reading this tonight. No one’s life is perfect and it’s so important to put that in perspective and remember it. Every day is a gift, whether it’s raining and you’re cold or it’s the perfect sunny day and your heart is filled with joy. Life flies by.
I am such a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. It is easy to get off that train of thought, but I remind myself of that daily. I just made a huge leap of faith and finally am starting to do something that gives me joy. I started, along with a girlfriend of mine, a women’s fitness group in our area trying to encourage other women to make healthly eating & fitness a part of their lives, and showing them that it can be fun! There is no monetary gain in it right now, but just knowing that we can impact someone’s well-being and future is such a great feeling. Thank you for your post, it is really encouraging! I count my blessings everyday, and know that even if I were to never receive another one, that I have been given plenty!
I’m excited to find out about the fluffy white clouds in your kitchen! 2009 was a super tough year for my family and I, but like you talked about in this post, I think so much of it made me stronger. It made me appreciate what I have so much more, and now I make an effort each day to be thankful for my life and not take little things for granted.
Thank you for this post! I can relate to your school/career story. I love school, but later I learned that I do not like my major/career choice. I got a good paying job out of college, but I was so unhappy and anxious all the time. All I wanted to do is curl up in a ball after work and comfort myself with reality TV and wine. And then, one day I decided that I had to quit. I didn’t know when, but I would save money until I felt comfortable enough to leave.
Now I am at a job that I don’t hate – yay! It doesn’t pay nearly much and I am still unsure what I want to do long term, but I am SO much happier. I have a very good idea of what I want to do though. Life is too short to settle, right?
And while I was at that job, I would tell myself that I could convince myself to like it and mold myself to be this person who I thought that I should be. That just doesn’t work. It was all of that struggling that made me more grateful and more hopeful.
I have never commented on your (amazing/beautiful/inspiring/lovely!) blog before, but I felt the need to with this particular post.
I’m 17 now, and my parents are in the process of getting a divorce. If I’m to choose a parent to go with, it will be my Mum. And if she gets the chance, she will move. Your leap of faith sounds a lot like the one I’m -nearly- about to take, and I just want to thank you for sharing that.
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that makes moments perfect. We get to choose whether we have a good day or a bad day, and we can also choose to appreciate our days for what they are: chances at making life beautiful.
Love,
Eleanor
all i want to say is: thank you for this :)
Those look fantastic, so light and fluffy.
You’re so amazing.
Thanks for sharing. You and your blog are beautiful and I just love coming over to check-in. :)
I am so happy for you that you have been in such a good place the past few years- a “present” place at that. ;)
I was like that, thinking how I’ll be happy when something happens, when I get to some point. But that’s not true, because the heart always wants more.
Now, every day when I wake up, I thank the universe for another day, and I promise myself that today will be a good day, and I’ll be happy and satisfied with myself.
Great post Angela. It is so important to focus on the positivies in any situation. If we are looking for the positive, we will find the positive. I also feel that everything happens for a reason and we must TRUST that things are happening exactly the way that they should be. Life can be amazing if we appreciate the love and beauty that is around us each and every day.
Great post, very insightful :-) I think there is always something to be learned from difficult situations or periods of time in one’s life. I believe those times usually they serve to lead you to something better/new, or to teach you something important.
Thank you. I really needed to read that today. You just made my day!
Great post! I definitely look back on hard times with a silver lining too.
Amazing post Angela! I can relate to this so much.
I went through some really tough times last year when I struggled with realizing I was in the wrong program at university, but it gave me the strength to change my career path and now I couldn’t be happier!
Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Beautiful story Angela :) Thank you.
THIS MOMENT is all there is — if we cannot except now, see things as they really are & be content…we will never be happy or at peace. Our egos are always “looking for more” & we have to break that cycle by being present. Rock climbing & yoga have helped me embrace living in the presence & incorporate that into every day life — so many active activities teach us focus & presence: running, cycling, kayaking, etc. My husband & I are making huge life changes to assure that we live NOW. No more waiting.
I went through an extremely rough time a few years ago & was in a situation where someone who “loved me” betrayed & hurt me in numerous, horrible ways because of his addiction. I hated myself for so long because “I allowed” it to happen — I didn’t care enough about myself. This is my four-leaf clover: to heal, I had to forgive myself. I had learn to love myself, be able & willing to admit that I am beautiful & deserve happiness & surround myself with uplifting people only. As awful as that experience was, I would not change it because one of the bi-products was a woman who now loves herself & only treats herself in loving ways. :)
We all go through difficult times in our lives and I firmly believe that these hard times are what makes us stronger. If we are never challenged then we will never be forced to dig deep for that inner strength that we may have never known we have had all along.
After going through one of the most trying times a couple of years ago, I realized that sometimes you don’t know just how murky the waters you are swimming in are until you’ve made it out of them. THEN you can look back and see just how far you’ve come.
I appreciate your uplifting posts, Angela. I’m sort of going through a time at the moment. Miserable with my job, but I think that this too shall be a turning point for me as well. Thanks for sharing so much of your life with the internet world!
Kristen
What a neat post. It is so true that the best way to get through life is to find the silver lining or the four leaf clover in even the crappiest situations – sometimes it doesn’t come til later, but if we can do it in the moment it’s so empowering! You can prove to yourself that you’re strong enough to not let it keep you down, and there is no feeling quite like that.