I admire the work of Canadian photographer Lissy Laricchia, aka Lissy Elle. Her alternate worlds and imaginary mind inspire me.
“And that, I realize, is the problem with many of us
Americans and our perpetual pursuit of happiness. We may be fairly happy now,
but there’s always tomorrow and the prospect of a happier place, a happier
life. So all options are left on the table. We never fully commit. That, I
think, is a dangerous thing. We can’t love a place, or a person, if we always
have one foot out the door.”
–Eric Weiner (The Geography of Bliss)
"The best person you can be is the person you are when you are alone on a random Thursday. That's who you are... Never, ever try to impress somebody. Be the person you are right now, alone, reading this book...Then hold out until you meet somebody who is utterly impressed. Because then? You have not impressed them. They will have been impressed by you... If you meet someone and they love you when you are your true, awful, not-ready-yet, boring, not cool enough, not handsome enough, not pretty enough, too fat, too poor self? And you love them back so much it makes you calm? And they have flaws and you do not mind a single one of them? If you found that, you found it."
- Augusten Burroughs
It is always safe to see yourself truthfully.
"Nothing
inspires me like childish things. Tutus and tea parties. Porcelain dolls and
Disney movies. The love of learning and exploring that we as adults lose along
the way. Walking through a forest barefoot. Talking to yourself in a silly
voice. Building forts during a thunderstorm. Battling dragons and monsters in
your mind. Coming home, safe and sound, and turning your adventures into art.I
discovered photography as an art-form when I was 13. It quickly became an
escape from the trials of adolescence, and an excuse to let it soldier on. The
reason to get up in the morning and wash your hair. To re-arrange your bedroom
furniture. To save your money for a Nikkor 50mm 1.8 lens. To explore an
abandoned house. To tie two dozen apples to trees. To cut out a thousand paper
stars. To practice ballet. To learn to levitate. To have tea parties at the age
of 18. To forge, through art, a place for yourself in the world and fight tooth
and nail to stay there."
"Confidence is a reduction of your own interest in whether others are thinking about you, and if so, what they're thinking. Put another way, to be more confident you need to give a whole lot less of a shit about what other people think of you." -Augusten Burroughs
But believing something is true, even with all your heart, is unrelated to whether or not what you believe is true.
Because you never really know.
“I found the words mai pen lai on my lips. Never mind. Let
it go. I am more aware of the corrosive nature of envy and try my best to
squelch it before it grows. I don’t take my failures quite so hard anymore. I
see beauty in dark winter sky. I can recognize a genuine smile from twenty yards.
I have a new appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables.”-Eric Weiner
Sometimes a smile can convey more than words. A smile can
complete your day. A smile can give you a good night’s sleep.
In other news, I want to learn to make these: http://pinterest.com/search/?q=Mason+Jar+Pies
The most memorable book I have read recently was by one of
my long time favorite writers, Augusten Burroughs. Normally he writes satirical
memoirs about his messed up childhood, but in his most recent book “This is How” Burroughs writes a
no-nonsense, tough love, slap-you-in-the-face, *self help (*I use that term loosely) book.
Happiness is "a state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy"
“Yes, there is
something higher than happiness. Love is higher than happiness.” -Eric Weiner
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