January 19th, 2016

I have been putting off starting this blog, waiting for the perfect day to start, searching for the perfect way. But I have decided to start because life is now. And I have learned that be breathe life into our muses by the very act of living.

I anticipate that this blog will evolve significantly over the course of time. As an introduction, I wanted to share some of the topics covered:

- Being a Millennial in today's world
- Healthy lifestyle
- Nutrition
- Fitness
- Travel
- Environmental Issues
- Spirituality & Philosophy
- Travel
- Music
- Movies (and movie reviews since I watch so many! I will also include concert and theater reviews as they come!)
- Books
- Humor
- Illness and Recovery
- Being an immigrant & Culture


For today, I will share a message a friend sent me, some quotes, and some pictures:

A Reminder For Those Who Have Forgotten How Amazing They Are

By Renee Baum

Do you have any idea how beautiful you are, my darling friend? I don’t mean the superficial beauty that we see on magazine covers, or artificial beauty that can be bought and sold. I mean real beauty—the beauty that lives inside the divine and miraculous creation you are.

Have you lost your way? Has the cruelty of life left you feeling abandoned and abused? Have you buried your brilliance under shame and regret? Did you believe the lies they told you, when they said you weren’t good enough? Have you continued beating the drum of your inadequacy, even after their song was finished? Please remember that you always have been, and ever will be, perfect.

Can you see your worth? Your unique contributions to this world are more valuable than anything that glitters—more than the most precious of metals or stones. Your worth is inherent. It’s isn’t something you must earn, or prove, or beg for. You were born already deserving of the best life has to offer.

When you have forgotten your magnificence, when you look in the mirror and you don’t like what you see, or worse, you don’t recognize the person looking back from your reflection, when you become so focused on your mistakes, your pain, or your past, that your joy is lost—take heart. You are never alone.

Go inside, my love. Where you are stardust and moon beams. Examine not your earthly struggles but focus instead on your resilience, your courage, your strength. Remember that every experience brings a gift. When we can find the gift, we can let go of the challenges that brought it to us. Let your heart be full of gratitude and know that you are a little stronger, a little wiser, and a little more authentic.

No father, mother, bitter ex-lover, or fair-weather friend has the power to change you without your permission. Sometimes our most powerful teachers are those who create the deepest wounds. These are the gifts that can be unwrapped only through forgiveness.

Trust always, that your missteps do not define you.

If you cannot find a way to love the person you are today—if you’re too broken, too angry, or too ashamed to find something wonderful in this moment—see if you can find something gorgeous in the world. Then, acknowledge that to recognize the beauty of a rose, or the grace of a butterfly, or the radiance of the heavenly bodies, it must also exist inside you.

If you cannot find anything beautiful in the world to remind you of your perfection, try instead to remember your innocence. Travel back to a time when you were little and everything was magical. Can you embrace the child inside, and love yourself there? You are still the same soul as that little child.

What would you say to that child? Could you tell them that they are worthless and terrible and undeserving? Or would you tell them that they could be, do, or have all that they can dream of? Learn to speak to yourself the way you would speak to that little child. Be kind and gentle with yourself.

Remember always, that you are a unique expression of the universe. You are here for a special purpose that only you can fulfill. Even at your worst, you are nothing short of a miracle. And no matter what you have done in the past, you always have the ability to make a new choice in this moment. Forgive yourself every failure, every mistake, every moment that you are not at your best. Your missteps do not define you. Give yourself grace, and patience, and time.

Sweetheart, don’t you understand? You are perfection embodied, strength personified, and beauty breathing. You were born into greatness by your divine nature. The entire universe resides inside you. 

There is nothing you must do to become worthy of your own love and respect—you need only extend it to yourself unconditionally. 

Love yourself with every breath you take, and let your beautiful, magnificent, perfect light shine.

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"When you recognize that you will thrive not despite your losses and sorrows, but because of them, that you would not have chosen the things that happened in your life, but you are grateful for them, that you will hold the empty bowls eternally in your hands, but you also have the capacity to fill them? The word for that is healing.” - Cheryl Strayed

“You will learn a lot about yourself if you stretch in the direction of goodness, of bigness, of kindness, of forgiveness, of emotional bravery. Be a warrior for love.” - Cheryl Strayed

“Don't surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn't true anymore.” - Cheryl Strayed

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Today is the beginning. Life is always beginning. Always ending. Life is in the coming back. 

Ancora imparo.