7.03.2013

27/52

I'm posting early this week since I'll be as far away as possible from my computer for the rest of the week.
I'm so glad it's America's birthday so we can get out of dodge and escape the heat. {And no, my memory is not failing me, I know I was just raving about it.} It's just so much better when there's relief in site.  And that relief comes in the form a nice big lake.  Looking at the photo of Vesper below, I think she needs a trip to the lake more than I do.  A fur coat in the summertime?  Poor fancy kitty.
I'm having my same old argument with my blog lately.  I want to share real thoughts here, not just a list of highlights.  But those highlights are so rampant and abundant, I don't want to take the time to slow down and write about it here.  I take comfort knowing that I'm writing about it elsewhere, and this can just be a few snippets of the beauty I find around me.  You understand don't you? {You 3 or 4 people out there who like checking in on my world?}

I went for another early morning bike ride this morning with my friend Heidi and we've been having this ongoing conversation about the timing and meaning of difficult things in our lives and she said this morning how reassuring it is to know that "God is the ultimate creator."  Not just talking about the canyon we had just enjoyed, but our specific experiences being created especially for us to help shape the landscape of our learning.  We have the agency and choices of how we accept those challenges, but I believe that if we're open to learning all we can along the way the outcome will far exceed any of our mortal imaginations.  We've also been quoting our dear traveling Nicki at each other a lot this week and two things stood out to me:

One - Nicki surrounds herself with people who are on their way up.  That doesn't mean that they're all doing fabulously or really doing anything out of the ordinary.  But they are most definitely not just coasting, or letting themselves be bogged down by life. 

Two - I have a fear I'm trying to squash completely out of my life.  Before I tell you about it, I get it that happiness is not a destination.  It isn't somewhere you arrive.  You can't expect someone else to provide it for you.  I get all that.  But if happiness were a destination, then I imagine it as a breathtaking trail with a lot of different outlooks along the way to see where you've come from.  Obstacles overcome, places where you should have been happy, but weren't for whatever reason.  Or places you never could have imagined finding happiness and seeing it was there all along coming from somewhere within you.  So the fear?  That I'll arrive loose my balance and fall off.  Maybe that fear is healthy because it will keep me from taking the view for granted?  But I'd like to be able to enjoy my happiness without the nagging fear of losing it.  I honestly feel like there could be a neon sign pointing at my head that reads all bold caps like -- THIS GIRL IS WAY TOO HAPPY!!  Is there such a thing as being way too happy?  Why do I mistrust it and fear it will only be temporary?  Heidi quoted Nicki at me, who in turn, was quoting Little Women.

Jo, you have so many extraordinary gifts; how can you expect to lead an ordinary life?

I couldn't agree with that statement more.  I've been so extraordinarily blessed in my life, why do I believe that I need to shrink my expectations of the future to fit something ordinary?  What kinds of amazing things lie in store if I only allowed myself to dream?  Just another example of why I feel so blessed to be surrounded by people who inspire me to keep climbing.
I thought you might like some photos.  Which I have to tell you are a rare treat since mixing two people together who dislike having their photo taken doesn't exactly present a lot of photo ops.  I've alluded to this guy, dropped his name, and now you can catch a glimpse of the man who is in large part, the source of so much of the happiness in my life these days.

a few highlights: {Dave-David related? I count 4. Out of 5.}

a picnic in the mountains

a movie in the park

lunch with him and his sister and her family

games with my family Sunday night 
{where he received the above nickname, you know you're in with my family when they're nicknaming you.}

'Camping' with Annie and Leslie that ended up as a fire pit in Leslie's front yard and a s'more overdose for me.  This is why I shouldn't eat sugar.  I have absolutely no self control when in comes to my sweet tooth.

"Everything is energy and that's all there is to it.  Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.  It can be no other way.  This is not philosophy, this is physics." 
--- Albert Einstein

10 comments:

  1. I especially love the LIttle Women quote. It makes me want to check that book out of the library.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My heart sings for you....for absolutely everything in your life which has molded you into such a beauty, inside and out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I hope this doesn't sound egotistical, but it was warmly comforting to hear that I was on your hike with you and Heidi. I sure do miss you girls and can't wait for you to join me in my mountains.

    Your post reminded me of a scripture, often quoted by President Uchtdorf: 1 Cor. 2:9 - "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him."

    Shine on, Jenna

    ReplyDelete
  4. And by hike, I mean bike ride. I guess I have a one track mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hoped you would check in and see that we're here missing you and quoting you. Can't wait to join you in your mountains!! By my count - 26 days!!!

      I love that scripture, thanks for sharing it my friend.

      Delete
  5. Um, :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    YOU GUYS LOOK AMAZING TOGETHER! Thanks for sharing some real deets about stuff. I love when I don't have dig around guessing and you just lay it on the table! :) :) :)
    Keep the happiness my love!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Why hello Goliath! Does he fancy a trip to Boulder!?!??!!?!

    ReplyDelete