Live

As time goes by, we learn that even the one person who wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You’ll have your heart broken and you’ll break others’ hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. You just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone’s hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don’t be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.

Thanks to my dear friend Nick, for the reminder.

Hope

In the midst of darkness there is hope. In the midst of hope, you choose love. You always, choose love. Because in love and kindness, there is peace.

They say you choose your battles carefully. In rare cases, we aren't given much of a choice as to whether or not we even want to fight.This is the inspiring story of hope, love and perseverance:

Yosemite

To celebrate the independence of the United States of America, what better than to take a day trip to Yosemite Falls? Happy 4th!

Serenity

The waterfall looked a lot closer than it was...

Do you see the wee bridge we started the climb from?

Nature in all its glory.

Hiking with a few unexpected friends

Top of the world.

Jealousy vs. Envy

I always used to say that jealousy was a sign of affection, a sign that showed you cared enough, or was very sportsman-like. Surprisingly, I think being a previous athlete had something to do with it (now I'm just making excuses.) It was just the feeling of always being better, and the fact that winning was- in most cases- everything.

I thought jealousy was some innate emotion that was felt when I just cared for something or someone, almost a denial in a way that I convinced myself it was healthy. It was only up until recently it finally hit me- I had it all wrong. There are two types of emotions which many people confuse themselves with: envy and jealousy.

Being envious, stems from a wishful thinking of wanting something that someone else has, however, you can be envious of somebody’s situation and make common cause with them (i.e. your friend looks good after working out, so you start working out with them to make it a collaborative event). Jealousy on the other hand, is altogether negative and an extremely regressive state of mind. It's the inner demon that tells you, "since I don't have that, you can't have it either."

Surprisingly, most societies seem to characterize jealousy as a natural reaction following an act of when something important to you is shared with someone else. This has things completely upside down. Jealousy does not derive from the sharing of something special to you; rather, it comes from the feeling that you are about to lose that special thing that is being shared – which, by sharing it, you are in danger of losing it. Of course, even people that feel no jealousy also have times when they fear losing something precious. It’s part of the human experience.

In my recent pursuit of happiness, I have finally come to distinguish the fine line of being jealous and envious. Now, don't get me wrong, it's understandable to get jealous once in a while (remember, it's human nature), but there's a difference between having a chronic issue rather than jealousy here and there- although, neither is healthy for the soul.

-S