There are an endless amount of things to be thankful for right now. Not only in my life, but in everyone else's lives as well. We are so unbelievably blessed to be living in this day in age, in a country that grants us the freedom to become who we are meant to become. One of the many things I am making sure I recognize are those very things that have shaped me into who I am today. The struggles, the heartache, the times I feel I want to give up, but also the laughter with family, the gracious company, the simple things like breathing in fresh air, and the adventures that unfold on a daily basis are all what true living is about. We have to learn to take the good with that bad in such a way that they complement each other. How boring would life be if everything was always perfect, or if we were never given the chance to appreciate what we have?
I am writing this right now in the presence of my two beautiful Bengal kitties, on my patio, sitting in the warm sunshine, listening to one of my favorite new artists called Blind Pilot, and now "Black Bird" by the Beatles just began playing. It is 65 degrees outside in the middle of the winter, birds are chirping, water is trickling in the distance, and a tireless view of the sun streaked lake is beaming before my eyes. I should also mention that I have two ice packs on my face, I am swollen like a marshmallow, and my jaw is throbbing from the pain of just having all four of my wisdom teeth removed. This, ladies and gents, is called taking the good with the bad and appreciating every waking second of existence. God really has a great sense of humor.
A few weeks ago, I was driving back from California to Dallas with my good friend, Alexander and we decided to make lists of things we want to accomplish before we leave this earth, AKA: "Bucket Lists". So as we were passing through the open desert in the middle of nowhere, Arizona, we took turns shouting out our dreams and aspirations and then writing them down. The biggest surprise to me with both of our lists was how accomplishable our ideas truly are. I honestly don't think there was a single thought listed that was too far out of reach. Over the past few weeks I have glanced back over my list several times and have begun to imagine what the final result of these dreams might visually look like. So a few nights ago, I found pictures online corresponding to each item on my bucket list and then I created a collage of all of my ideas. This collage is now my laptop background so that every day when I log on, I see a glimpse into what I want my future to be. I wholeheartedly believe that as long as I am doing good things in my life and I am walking in faith, my aspirations will one day become reality.
I think it is important for all of us to actually know what our dreams are on paper, what they look like in our heads, and to be able to tangibly see them so that we know how to make them reality one day. As silly as it may seem, I urge anyone reading this to do the same thing and create a life "to-do" list, and then create a visual collage of what that to-do lists encompasses. Set it as your desktop background, or print it out and hang it somewhere in your house so you are reminded on a daily basis what you really want out of life. You will be thankful you did it one day later down the road.
Before my pain medicine kicks back in and impairs my ability to write intelligent thoughts, I'll end on this note: I have never been happier with where my life has taken me and where I know I am going. I am excited to share the new Shannon with the world, and I am going to make a genuine effort to blog on a weekly basis... so stay tuned, folks!
