I am happy. Probably the happiest I have ever been. What makes a person happy? Well I feel it is finding yourself and once you have self respect, know your self worth and are accomplishing a life that is eloquently written by your own dream & goal list, how does one not find happiness? There is the unknown, but what a perfect place to be. Living the life you have always dreamed of, yet having the unexpected moments bring you to a different place than what you had planned on paper or in your head. Read my blogs, but know that I typically write about issues to get feedback, relay challenges and get issues out in the open. I am a lifelong learner and enjoy debates, understanding the deeper meaning of life and am in constant growth. In order to learn, we must be open minded and come to a place of humility.
One of my university professors mentioned that "windowsill" was voted the most beautiful word in the English language. This factoid naturally stayed with me. Words have enormous power. They can make us erupt into laughter or bring tears to our eyes. They can influence, inspire, manipulate and shock. They can build and destroy. Some words have different effects on different people. One such word is humility. It is one of those words that are seldom in neutral gear. Some, like me, love the word and all it stands for. Some almost fear it and interpret it synonymously with lack of self-confidence or timidity
We often confuse humility with timidity. Humility is not clothing ourselves in an attitude of self-abasement or self-denigration. Humility is all about maintaining our pride about who we are, about our achievements, about our worth – but without arrogance – it is the antithesis of hubris, that excessive, arrogant pride which often leads to the derailment of some corporate heroes, as it does with the downfall of the tragic hero in Greek drama. It's about a quiet confidence without the need for a meretricious selling of our wares. It's about being content to let others discover the layers of our talents without having to boast about them. It's a lack of arrogance, not a lack of aggressiveness in the pursuit of achievement.
An interesting dichotomy is that, often, the higher people rise, the more they have accomplished, the higher the humility index. Those who achieve the most brag the least, and the more secure they are in themselves, the more humble they are. "True merit, like a river, the deeper it is, the less noise it makes". (Edward Frederick Halifax). We have all come across people like that and feel admiration for them.
There are many benefits to practicing humility, to being in a state of non-pretence: it improves relationships across all levels, it reduces anxiety, it encourages more openness and paradoxically, it enhances one's self-confidence. It opens a window to a higher self. For me, it replaces "windowsill" as the most beautiful word in the English language.
Nov 7, 2010
Oct 31, 2010
A Heart Knows
For work I travel mostly between LA and Orange County, however I am sometimes required to be in San Francisco or Sacramento. On Thursday, I left for San Francisco for work purposes and to see my best friend Sarah Green. It was amazing to catch up on her engagment and to hear of her accomplishment's graduating from Law School, getting her first position and passing the Bar Exam. We had many reasons to celebrate and there were amazing memories. On Saturday evening I drove in my rental car to Sacramento where I will be until Tuesday afternoon. It has been slightly difficult being away from my hubby, yet have realized absense does make the heart grow fonder. I wanted to give a list of a few things I am grateful for tonight:
*My husband-I have never received a more greater gift in the world and I am eternally grateful for our marriage, friendship and love.
*My Mom-where I would be without the comfort of her voice is beyond any belief I can imagine. I love my family, each one...there is just something about a mother's words that can never be replaced.
* A job- despite the lonliness I feel tonight, I am grateful for having a job that offers benefits, provides an outlet for me to professional and skillfully grow and the ability to use my hard earned degrees to show others the power of education.
How blessed are we truly in this world-it just takes a moment to look into the beauty of the great pieces in our puzzle of life. Tonight I am thankful.
*My husband-I have never received a more greater gift in the world and I am eternally grateful for our marriage, friendship and love.
*My Mom-where I would be without the comfort of her voice is beyond any belief I can imagine. I love my family, each one...there is just something about a mother's words that can never be replaced.
* A job- despite the lonliness I feel tonight, I am grateful for having a job that offers benefits, provides an outlet for me to professional and skillfully grow and the ability to use my hard earned degrees to show others the power of education.
How blessed are we truly in this world-it just takes a moment to look into the beauty of the great pieces in our puzzle of life. Tonight I am thankful.
Sep 21, 2010
Cosmetic Safey
www.goodguide.com
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
www.gorgeouslygreen.com
Let me talk about "going green." It amazes me how many commercials, food advertisements, packaging, etc do we see now that indicates the particular product is a healthy option. What we still have yet to hear is how cosmetics are being improved. There are hazardous components in many of women's every day products. The websites above provide resources to determine what needs to be in the garbage and what is safe. The website I have frequented the most is the costmeticsdatabase.com, where MANY common brands are listed-needless to say, most of my cosmetics went into the garbage with a hazard score of 8-9 out of 10. If you care about what you put on the outside of your body that could seriously harm the inside, please check out the websites above. It is not just about choosing healthy foods, but having a healthier way of life.
www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
www.gorgeouslygreen.com
Let me talk about "going green." It amazes me how many commercials, food advertisements, packaging, etc do we see now that indicates the particular product is a healthy option. What we still have yet to hear is how cosmetics are being improved. There are hazardous components in many of women's every day products. The websites above provide resources to determine what needs to be in the garbage and what is safe. The website I have frequented the most is the costmeticsdatabase.com, where MANY common brands are listed-needless to say, most of my cosmetics went into the garbage with a hazard score of 8-9 out of 10. If you care about what you put on the outside of your body that could seriously harm the inside, please check out the websites above. It is not just about choosing healthy foods, but having a healthier way of life.
Sep 11, 2010
Never Forgotten
Today I got to thinking about blogs and what the purpose is. I KNOW that as much as I would like to believe everyone is into what is happening in our lives, it should also be a resource for sharing and providing information. I thought I would look back into previous blogs I had written that are housed on....dare I say it....myspace! I think some of them will be valuable to share in a more public way!
I cannot construct a post today without noting it is 9/11/2010. 9 years ago today, I remember the exact place I was as I heard the news about the attacks. I was driving to Westminster College and heard it on the radio. When I pulled up to campus and walked into the beloved Shaw Center-there it was on the TV........Classes were closed for the day and students were all around campus hugging, crying, making phone calls, supporting and waiting for more news. Today I also happen to be working at a Yellow Ribbon Event in Los Angeles , which is funding put into place for veterans who have served active duty following September 10, 2001. For all the men and women who serve our country....THANK YOU.
I cannot construct a post today without noting it is 9/11/2010. 9 years ago today, I remember the exact place I was as I heard the news about the attacks. I was driving to Westminster College and heard it on the radio. When I pulled up to campus and walked into the beloved Shaw Center-there it was on the TV........Classes were closed for the day and students were all around campus hugging, crying, making phone calls, supporting and waiting for more news. Today I also happen to be working at a Yellow Ribbon Event in Los Angeles , which is funding put into place for veterans who have served active duty following September 10, 2001. For all the men and women who serve our country....THANK YOU.
Sep 9, 2010
Orange County-Living the Dream
Where to even begin-every moment we are writing the story of our life and what a story Jona and I will be able to tell. In July 2009-7 months after getting married we went on our adventure to Memphis, Tennessee. This was a year of learning, sacrifice, strengthening and growth. It almost feels surreal to know how far we have come and now it is September 2010-we officially are now in Orange County, California! I have a new job, we have a new baby (Coco Chanel), live in a resort style apartment and Jona has completed one more year of school, started a photography portfolio, joined a new soccer team and still the amazing husband I married ALMOST 2 years ago.
California truly is home to some of the most talented, vibrant and interesting people I have ever met. In the short time we have been here I have felt more challenged, had thought provoking conversations and feel INSPIRED to greatness. I believe it is true that we are who our friends are-this is also true about your environment. I believe it will take time to detoxify from the last year of our lives-but the important piece is we are well on our way.
Jan 20, 2010
The big 2 and 5 is approaching and fast.
I found my Argentine Birth Certificate while we were moving to our new home and i noticed the birth-date and realized i'm going to be considered an "Antique Person" based on my best friend Brea Williams De Saine. Seems like for the past few weeks i tried to not remember one of my most favorite holidays, because this time i'm not turning 18 and able to purchase cigarettes legally ( I don't smoke by the way ;), i'm not waiting anymore to be 21 and go dancing with my older friends but this time my wife said, "Everything and anything that is 25 years old they consider you antique because they give you discounts for everything and they look at you officially as an adult", at that time there were thousands and one thoughts that crossed my mind thinking, 'have i done everything in my power to be even a better person than i am now'?. Like my very good friend "Said" said, "whatever bad happened i deserved it, and whatever good happened i earned it" as my wife knows that i simply hate with passion thinking about the past specially those bad moments in life, they are gone and we only look forward to be better people based on our experience and to open a better, clearer path for our future, i believe i have earned my blessing and God has provided me with health and love from my new family "The Williams", Oh they have opened a new door to the "Saine" family by giving us more family to give and receive love.
We are only 4 days away from my birthday and i can't say that i'm sad or if i could've done better or what i did wrong or right, but i can only say one thing, that talking to my amazing friends and my wife coaching me and guiding me 'Paso a paso' :)
i have never been so ready to finish school and focus on my future like never before.
On the other hand many of our friends are a little confused about if we were living in Mississippi or Tennessee. Well, when we first got Brea's job offer we did our very best to learn about the city but our concern was where we were going to live since Memphis, TN is considered top 2nd most dangerous city to live. Long story short we lived in Southaven, MS that if you google map it you will see it is only 2 miles into the state line of Mississippi, yes we found a what it seemed a safe neighborhood and rented a house for the first 6 months, then things without going into detail our stay in Mississippi was not longer an option and thank God we were able to officially get out of our contract and move to the newest, safest, coolest, cleanest part of Memphis which is "Collierville".
Now apartment hunting was ugly and quite challenging driving from one place to another in our tight lunch schedule and using our precious weekends to find that one apartment that we would spend the rest of our stay here in Memphis, Tennessee. We went for our very last apartment we had on our long list and everything about it sold us, now i won't say where it is for security reasons ;) but it is in Colliervile and we are so excited that now we don't have to travel a whole lot compared to Southaven, Mississippi and we made some great friends.
I just heard that my parents booked a flight to Cordoba, Argentina and they are planning to stay there for a little over three weeks and get to see the whole family once again, it has been almost a decade since any of us have seen our Argentine family. Well, i hope they better bring something, and something yummy to remember my youth days.
Now that we are settled in our new place we can start blogging more often to keep our dear family and friends updated.
We are only 4 days away from my birthday and i can't say that i'm sad or if i could've done better or what i did wrong or right, but i can only say one thing, that talking to my amazing friends and my wife coaching me and guiding me 'Paso a paso' :)
i have never been so ready to finish school and focus on my future like never before.
On the other hand many of our friends are a little confused about if we were living in Mississippi or Tennessee. Well, when we first got Brea's job offer we did our very best to learn about the city but our concern was where we were going to live since Memphis, TN is considered top 2nd most dangerous city to live. Long story short we lived in Southaven, MS that if you google map it you will see it is only 2 miles into the state line of Mississippi, yes we found a what it seemed a safe neighborhood and rented a house for the first 6 months, then things without going into detail our stay in Mississippi was not longer an option and thank God we were able to officially get out of our contract and move to the newest, safest, coolest, cleanest part of Memphis which is "Collierville".
Now apartment hunting was ugly and quite challenging driving from one place to another in our tight lunch schedule and using our precious weekends to find that one apartment that we would spend the rest of our stay here in Memphis, Tennessee. We went for our very last apartment we had on our long list and everything about it sold us, now i won't say where it is for security reasons ;) but it is in Colliervile and we are so excited that now we don't have to travel a whole lot compared to Southaven, Mississippi and we made some great friends.
I just heard that my parents booked a flight to Cordoba, Argentina and they are planning to stay there for a little over three weeks and get to see the whole family once again, it has been almost a decade since any of us have seen our Argentine family. Well, i hope they better bring something, and something yummy to remember my youth days.
Now that we are settled in our new place we can start blogging more often to keep our dear family and friends updated.
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