live, live, live life

The world today has a tendency to forget to appreciate the smaller things in life. Our faces are glued to our devices and we are too focused on the lives of others and emulating their lifestyle. What we see portrayed on social media captivates us at times but also can create comparison and anxiety. It takes us away from where we are in our own life and creates this idea that we need to be somewhere else. We obsess and envy those who seem to have their life put together. 

We are not present. Not even a little bit. We are in another world of constant worrying about why we have not figured life out yet. Why we have not figured out how to travel the world, get married, or created a business for ourselves.

We will all do what we are meant to do in our own time. We must stop focusing on where we should be at our age and the ideal life plan that is constantly shoved at us. Be happy for those who have followed their path. Your time will come.

But until then, we must live. We must live for ourselves and not for how this could appear on social media. I go through moments where I delete all forms of social media off of my phone because I can not stand the grasp it has on me. An addiction to social media is real. As much as you try to deny it, I know if I suggested you should delete it, you would create a long list of excuses why you can not. With all of the excuses and reasoning you would create for your desperate need of Snapchat, you truly DO NOT need it.

Delete it all off your phone for a week. See how you feel. Notice how your anxiety decreases. How the feeling of not being good enough weakens. The false stories you tell yourself of not being where you need to be slowly start to diminish.

You do not need fifty likes on a selfie to realize your own beauty.

You do not need to post a status about you going to yoga to experience the true bliss of the flow.

As badly as you want to tell the world your narrative of your day, why not try journaling about it instead? Put your thoughts on paper for only you to read. Express everything you would want to say with no filter just for you.

Without the consistent checking and scrolling, I can better appreciate the now.

As well as appreciate the smaller things in life that we make a habit of forgetting.

Growing up in Florida, I am a sucker for a good sunset on the beach. But with work, responsibilities and weather, seeing a sunset on the beach every day is not always possible. This past Wednesday was a full moon and I know exactly the spot on the island to be able to watch the sun set into the water and the moon rising from behind the palm trees.

Full moons look different from every part of the world. From the light pollution, to where you are, it can change the luminosity of it. I have made it a habit to appreciate every full moon. To bring attention to it in my life wherever I am, when I am at home or on the other side of the world. The full moon rising and shining above us happens everywhere. We all have the capability of watching it. But we need to give ourselves the time to walk outside and look up. Gazing at the moon from my driveway, or on Captiva Island, the magic of how beautiful this earth is still amazes me. 

Chasing glorious moments of the sun diving into the horizon, I drove an hour from work to watch the sunset on Captiva. Once the sun started to descend, I swam out into the water. Swimming until my feet could not touch the ground and swimming even further into the depths of the gulf. As I swam in the direction of the sun, I spoke out loud. Speaking to the water, and myself what I wanted to release from my life that has been holding me back. As I spoke I kept swimming closer to the horizon and realized I had made my way far from shore. When I completed saying all that I needed to, I dove into the water letting the chill take over my body and swimming deeper. Once I opened my eyes I could make out the sun shining through the murkiness of the green. I swam towards it and as I came up for air, the weight of all that fear fell off of me. I floated on top of the water and felt at peace. Feeling the current take my body in the direction it pleased, I closed my eyes and inhaled the present moment.

The sun dove into the horizon and we watched as the colors of the sky changed from an array of orange, yellow, red and pink to a deep blue. As the sun went to sleep, we watched the moon slowly rise up behind us. Gazing at the radiant moon, I took a deep inhale to fully devour this moment.

Appreciate the smaller things in life, like the sunset and moon gazing.

Enjoy the moments you have with your best friends out in nature. 

You have the opportunity every single day to realize the beauty of this earth.

It is time that we put our phone down and see what is in front of us.
And at the end of the day, live your life.