Sitting Beside the River in Grand Rapids

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Fishermen are the first I see.

Then a runner, then more…

A homeless man walks with his cans hoping for a little more.

He sits dead center the bridge…praying.

The river, so calming.

The birds… they’re flying.

Two dogs walking… all magnificent as they seem.

A man in transit, with his lunch in a tote carried beside him.

Canoes floating… on a river so calming.

The bridges, they’re beautiful…

And this peaceful rest…

Wonderful.

We are great. I’ll say that again… WE ARE GREAT. ❤

Photo by Miguel Bruna on Unsplash

Oftentimes, we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the very person we are that makes us amazing. We’re more than the amazing parts though… our good, our bad, our beautiful, our ugly, our worst and best habits and self…it’s all us. And well, that’s all fine! Every part of us. Stop the comparing. Stop the trash-talking about ourselves. Stop thinking we are no good and putting ourselves deeper and deeper into a pit of awfulness that leads nowhere. We only hurt ourselves. We are great and beautiful in every way we are and aren’t.

Instead of comparing, look at all those things you love about someone and be so happy and thankful for them for all their grandness. Love them to death. And the parts you don’t like about yourself or others… Have patience, stop being so harsh, and find relief and joy in the fact that we don’t and will NOT have everything perfect in life. This is life. We all have things to work on.

Be grateful and thankful for all you’ve done and became given the circumstances you were dealt in life. Nobody’s history is the same. We’ve had to do and become things through our lives, not just all because we wanted to, but because sometimes we had to. And those traits and skills we’ve developed and/or some of the downfalls we have collected in ourselves over the years are the remnants of history and battle wounds of our lives. Stop putting yourself down for things that were out of your control.

We are great. Don’t compare. Don’t trash talk anyone including yourself. Love yourself and love others to death too.

Thank you to the Young Man Cleaning Tables Today — Good Reminder of Doing a Good Job & Being Proud of It

Photo by Denisse Leon on Unsplash

I went to a restaurant by me today for a bowl of soup. I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather. There was a young man about 15 years old or so cleaning tables.

He didn’t miss any detail and was fully emersed in doing his work the very best he could. Nothing else mattered while performing the task and he was happy to do the work. No spec of dirt missed. As he finished every table, he’d look it all over and smile so proudly and humbly. It meant a lot to him to have those tables clean and tidy and do a good job.

This impresses me and makes me think of the little things in life that are so great. You don’t have to have a fancy job to do a job well and be proud.

Do things well and complete to the best of your ability in all you do no matter what that is. Be proud and humble too.

Thank you to the young man cleaning tables today. You inspire and teach us all very valuable lessons.

My Journey with Minimalism (Mindset is the Focus Here)

Photo by Kirill Zakharov on Unsplash

I’ve always been cheap and haven’t been too materialistic… or so I thought until my journey with minimalism. :-)

Back about 4 years ago, I started to really get into reading. (Shocking, I know! Nobody would ever think that about me, but it’s true. I could probably count on two hands the number of books I’d read before then.) Being a lifelong cheapass until then (ha!), the reading material I was drawn to were those about living a great life but not needing to spend a lot of money. I’ve always loved finance and accounting also. I read and read and read. A common theme I started to see was that which cores to minimalism. So, I started reading about minimalism! I got rid of a lot of things (and yes it’s still a journey — always will be) after reading about minimalism. Then, after the things went away…. I realized my mindset was still focused on materialism even though I wasn’t buying many things. This is where things became deep… real deep. Below I share some tips from my journey with minimalism. I hope to inspire you to think beyond ownership of things when comes to your minimalism journey… A mindset of materialism vs. minimalism is pretty huge I think in this journey also.

Tips for the Journey of a Minimalistic life you may not always hear (because some of them are brutally hard to hear but soo true.) 

Even if you are not purchasing physical items…. ask yourself then are you still spending your time fantasizing about physical possessions?

My example: 

I would spend literally hours on the internet looking at clothing sites awing the beautiful clothes there. While I didn’t think this was a materialistic mindset and life, it was. Even if you aren’t physically purchasing items, the mindset of materialism is still there if you’re daydreaming about material things to an excessive amount.

Lesson: 

Be intentional about when you truly NEED something and only do your browsing and looking then. Be focused and intentional about what you need and also what you want. This will help your time management and also help you with your focus and mindset. I didn’t need to spend a significant amount of my time looking at clothes online for fun. There were other ways to spend that time that are so much more meaningful.

Are the activities you do centered around materialism even though you aren’t purchasing things?

My example: 

Before my journey with minimalism I would spend literally at least half a day or more every week browsing through thrift stores (Or Big Lots! No joke!) for fun. And I always thought…. I’m not materialistic — I hardly buy anything; I just like to look! :-) Ohhhh was I wrong... Mindset, mindset, mindset. How are you choosing to spend your time and where is your focus?

Lesson: 

You don’t have to buy or have things to be constantly thinking from a materialistic mindset. Where is your mind at and the joys in your life coming from?…. Are you still bubbling and getting excited over a Big Lots store? haha. :-) Not saying that’s wrong at all though! We all choose how we want to live our lives and spend our time and what we get excited over is nobody else’s business. (I cannot say what is right or wrong for everyone. That makes no sense to me.) BUT, if you’re wanting to focus your mindset and life around a journey of minimalism then this is one subset of mindset and activities in your life to look at possibly examining.

Are the goals you have in your future wrapped around materialism?

Do you daydream about having a hugeeeeee house with a ton of things in it even though you say you’re not materialistic?… Even if it's JUST A DREAM and you’d actually be perfectly happy with way less. How about what you think about what you have in your life materialistically now vs. in the future? Is that centered in your thinking more than it should be? My example: I would dream about a garage or having a dishwasher and having a washer/dryer when I was living in my apartments that didn’t have these. Ok, so it’s something to look forward to for sure!

Lesson: 

There are certain things that enhance and make our lives better (some we think would, but honestly they don’t!). Those enhanced material possessions shouldn’t be something that kills the simplicity mindset of where you are NOW and what you find of beauty. It’s OK if you don’t have a dishwasher right now. It’s OK if you don’t have a washer or dryer in your apartment right now. Constantly thinking about wanting material possessions and daydreaming about a big huge life filled with things isn’t too minimalist centered. In all honesty, it destroys the simplicity of the life you live now. It’s ok to have some materialistic goals, but don’t allow that to destroy the simplicity and beauty in what you do have now. Don’t let it become something you constantly think about either. Let it be… write it down and say “Yes, that would be nice one day. However, until I get there this is perfectly fine and ok. Life is not a race.”

Moments of our Lives, Glimpses of the Past

Photo by Jiyeon Park on Unsplash

Lately, I’ve been finding it so odd and yet almost refreshing how we can have such vivid moments in our lives… Then, roll forward 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 60 years and have other vivid moments and present-times, but if we think back to the past we often are left with only just short glimpses of those old realities we thought so highly of and were living with so much emotion in the past.

Everything in the present is so lively and of immense focus. Yet our past is often short memories that may seem to fade with time. Though it does seem we can allow some parts of our past to remain vivid if we choose to replay those times over and over in our heads. I’m sure there’s plenty of debate if that’s good to do or not!

It’s shocking and interesting to me how the mind and memory work over the years. Life progresses despite our past no matter whether our past is good or bad.

Been reading a lot lately about how we can shape and transform our memories. Maybe that’s why I’ve been noticing this lately? Funny how what we read can allow us to create meaning and contemplate life.