Immerse Yourself In The Beauty Of The World

Confession: It had been at least 2 months since running, jogging, or even walking. That is until last night when I finally convinced myself that I have to do it. I jogged a full mile in the freezing January air, and in pretty good time, too. Before, I had gotten my time down to about a 9.5 minute mile, and last night I did it in about 12. That's not terrible for my first time back out there. Yes, it hurt my chest to breathe in the cold air. Yes, it hurt my muscles and I'm a little sore today. But I feel so much better just knowing that I'm getting back in the habit. It's going to take me a little bit of time to build my stamina back up and get back to running 3-4 miles each day. But I will. I'm going to work hard to get my strength back. I'm proud of myself.

Something that I've been thinking about lately is how we perceive the world and how it can affect how you feel and how it can change the way you act. You know what I came up with? The more you see beauty, the more beautiful the world becomes, the more beautiful you become. As you immerse yourself in the beauty of the world, the beauty of the world immerses itself in you. If you look out your window and see a gloomy, gray sky, you don't have to let that dictate your mood. You don't have to adopt that same gloomy disposition. Figure out what it is that you find beautiful about the gray skies. Sometimes gray can be stunning. Sometimes bare branches can be so intricate and unique that they become like natural cathedrals. It's all about how you look at things. If you find beauty, beauty finds you. For too long I was down and dark because I was seeing the world as a sad and gloomy place. Just because the Sun isn't shining doesn't mean you can't still be sunny.

It is so easy to be cynical and pessimistic. Keeping positive can take work, but is a much more delightful way in which to live. Misery is too easy. Why would you want to take the easy road? Why be lazy? If you're willing to work on being happy, if you're willing to work on yourself, you're most likely going to feel a sense of accomplishment you were unaware that you could experience. When I was eating unhealthy things this holiday season and not exercising, I could feel my mood falling. I could feel my optimism fading. I could feel everything I had worked for slipping through my fingers. But as soon as I began to eat healthy things again, I felt my attitude slowly rising again. The further into this year we move, the better I feel about myself and what I'm doing. Now, after beginning to run again, I can feel my pride growing again. I've reverted back to the way I lived in the beginning of this process. I've lowered my calorie count, I'm eating only healthy items, and I'm sticking to the plan. I'm going to take it one day at a time and truly focus.

I was misinformed about work yesterday. I still have one more week with this family, so I still have a few days to say my goodbyes to these precious kids. As sad as I am to leave them, I am so incredibly excited to start writing a new book. I am not going to write a new chapter in this volume of my life. I'm closing this current book altogether and beginning a new one entirely. Trust me, when I am able to tell you why, you'll understand why that is. I'm so excited to welcome big change into my life and to begin a new life. God truly does have incredible timing and I am so thankful to have had so many things working in my favor as of late. I will most likely have definitive plans after tomorrow, and I cannot wait to tell you :)