Tag Archive | blessed

In My Image <3

Oct7

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I have been feeling a bit creative or like I want to be creative and was searching for some creative writing prompts and found this: 

http://m.pw.org/writing-prompts-exercises

I was searching for fictional prompts, like short story ones, but these ones are real life ones. 

I’m choosing this one today :

“In Your Own Image”

“In many ways you are everyone who came before you. Your uniqueness is your own spin on the DNA of your ancestors. Spend several minutes sitting quietly in front of a mirror. Reflect. Other than you, whom else do you see? Write 500 words about how you feel towards these people you’ve never met but who are a part of you. Their story is yours, too.”

What a beautiful concept and writing prompt.

As I look at myself, I see my eyes and everything they convey. On the surface, I see the color, the blueness and the deep splashes of green, like flourishing floret splashes across an afternoon sapphire sky, I see my very long, thick full lashes I have had for as long as I can remember, one of my mom’s gifts to me which I used to loathe now I love. I can now see creases around my eyes, which were not present previously in this life of mine, creases which signify age, years of struggles, pain, laughter, wisdom, heartache…lines upon my face – the result of a lifetime of belly laughs & smiles and sunshine.

I see my long, thick tresses, cascading my shoulders like burnt sienna waterfalls and clinging to my waist, with natural golden & orange highlights.

I see my freckles which become very noticeable every Fall and I have never liked but my mom always thinks are so cute. My sister and me both have them.

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I see my mom. I have inherited her youthfulness, her glow, her long lashes, her easily amused temperament, her ability to see the positive in almost every situation , her love for animals, I may have inherited a bit of her aversion to death and anything that has anything to do with it. I see my grand mom, my mom’s mom who must have handed down that youthful glow to my mom which I have inherited.

I see my dad. I have almost his same hair color but mine is a shade darker. I inherited his natural thinness which usually stands unbuffeted by anything I put into my body or anything going on around or within me. I have his legs which we always joke in my family are “chicken legs.”. I see me as a little girl doing a chicken dance with my silly chicken legs having my family laughing uncontrollably. 

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I have inherited my dad’s love of intellectual thinking, debates, writing, reading, his love of personal development topics…and also his nocuous longing to be reassured again and again and again that “everything will be ok.”  I have inherited his heartburn, the need to feel I have gotten my point across or I feel unsettled for the rest of the day, his agonizing mental health condition, his shyness, and his playfulness.

I see my little sister. We connect in uncanny ways. We both look at something that has absolutely nothing at all to do with something else but it somehow automatically reminds us both of that something else. We often *know* without a doubt what each other is about to say before it’s said. We have conversations like this:

Me: hey, remember whe….

Her: (laughing) yeah that day at the mall when…

Me: we had those Spring rolls and..

Her: they tasted the way a pony smells! 

Lol! We just know.

I see that one Christmas Eve when we ripped open my mom’s Christmas gift that my grand mom bought her that was not to be opened until Christmas day by my mom. But my sister and me just had to know what the gift was while my mom was fast asleep with visions of sugar plumbs dancing in her head. It was big warm, fluffy sweaters! We wore them all night long into Christmas morning laughing our heads off, bouncing off the walls, watching holiday music, listening to holiday cheer, drinking hot cocoa… We can be each other’s worst enemy but we can be each other’s best friend. My sister, my friend.

I see my dad’s grand mom who I have never met. She died before I came to be. My dad told me she had a strong powerful loving like no other.   I like to think I inherited that love. She couldn’t shower people in enough love. Sometimes I feel there aren’t enough people in this world for me to love. And I think of her.  She bought candy and toys for all her boys. She gave them shelter and comfort.  My dad says she always dreamed of having a sweet little girl of her own, a daughter or a granddaughter but all she ever got were boys.  He said she would have loved me so much. She never got her girl.  Sometimes my heart aches but I let her strong, potent message of love be my guide. I never even seen a picture of her but sometimes when I look into my eyes, I see her.  She never got the chance to be proud of me. But I can be the kind of girl she would be so proud of.

I see my mom’s dad. My grandfather I never got to meet. She said he was beautiful, caring, full of love & light. He died tragically young. But through the stories, I can feel the love he put into the world which he left too soon but his love still lingers.

I see my dad’s mom who I have met but can’t remember. She also died tragically soon. I heard she was extremely friendly and very sociable.

I see my father’s father who I hear died for love. He was hopelessly in love with a Japanese girl who went back to her own country without him and so he drank himself to death when he was 30 years old. Tragic & heartbreaking but what a passionate kind of love. I vow to love that way but still stand strong enough to handle rejection abandonment,  & heartbreak. 

I see all of the people who run through my blood today and everyday. The people who have been with me since I took my first breath and laid eyes on the world they brought me to and even before. I see their gifts, their struggles, their heartache, their hard lessons learned, their tears & their laughter. I see their joy and their will. I see what I want to be and what I don’t want to be.

I see the people who go way way back, the primitive people who led to me. I see a reflection of hope, perseverance, strength, and love.

I wish I could have met each and every one of them. But whenever I long to look into their eyes, I glare into my own. And I see them. I carry them with me everywhere, everyday.  

They survived many unimaginable things. And I will survive.

They gave me life. And while I can never repay or thank them. I can repay and thank the world.   By being the best me that I can be. Not a perfectionist who never fails. Not someone who is never wrong.   I will be wrong again & again but I will never go wrong with love.

I see the day I said to my mom “that happened long before I was ever even thought of!” & my mom said “You were never not thought of, I thought of you, loved you since I was a little girl myself and I always knew I wanted a little girl of my own.” My mom couldn’t have kids for so many years and was told maybe she never would and now here I am! And 10 years after me, my sister came along! 

And that man in the picture with me. I see him too.   When I look into my eyes. Uncle Al. We’re not related biologically but he loved me. I love him. I don’t  have many early memories.   But I remember him, vividly. I remember his love. I remember how funny he was. I remember how sarcastic and silly he would be. The way he would pretend to be angry then start laughing.  The small gifts he bought me, the smell of his car and the feel riding in it with sunlight streaming in.

It’s incredible how vivid those memories are, so profound, and true when I was so young. They are forever etched upon the premises of my being.  

Uncle Al.

I see us many years ago. Standing in a car parking lot on a bright & sunny day outside of a dollar store in Philadelphia, my city. I see me standing there. I see him walking out of the store with a big, warm, bright smile on his face waving a fan around in his hand with bunny rabbits on it. He looks at me, “Look what I bought for you, my love.”. Thrilled I run to him as he wraps me in his warm loving arms. He holds out the fan. I reach for it. He pulls it back just before I reach it. “Unnnccllee Alllll” I yell while giggling so hard.

I don’t remember when he died. He was just gone one day.

But I know…

His birthday is in May. Just like mine.

I remember he would fill his hands with coins and tell me if I can get his fingers open, I get to keep all the coins. My dad said when he was a little boy he did the same to him. We could never get his fingers open. But he let us keep the coins.

How blessed I am.
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I hope you realize how amazing it is that you are you! What are the chances! It took so much, so many things to occur & coincide for you to just turn out to be you!

Never get so used to yourself that you forget the true “miracle” you are.

Check this: http://zaborski.org/?p=20

Someone shared this with me for my 27th b day on Facebook. 

Xoxo Kim

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Blessings Upon Blessings

Aug26

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“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” ~ Sarah Ban Breathnach
 
I believe that Gratitude, while being a brief, fleeting feeling that occurs when something unusual and pleasant happens or something “big” happens, can also be a way of life. With practice, we can live in Gratitude everyday, in general and not just occasionally. And it can become natural, not forced.  Even with difficulties and struggles and pain, Gratitude can be our way.   And it can be a deep, ingrained feeling.   It’s probably not realistic to expect everyone to be extremely grateful every second of every day but it is possible to be thankful in general, even while experiencing various struggles.
 
Today, I woke up early in the morning. My dog woke me up taking my blanket off me again, as she has been doing ever night/morning now. She loves blankies. I wasn’t ready to wake up and I laid in bed and my body filled with immense gratitude. I thought of everything and everyone associated with me, family, friends, pets, work, my experiences, good & bad,  my body, my health, future possibilities, my senses, my growth, my phone and all its apps, being awake, existing, the seasons changing, the coming Fall, philosophy books, personal development ….and it was as if my whole being, my very essence was just overflowing with gratitude and pure love. It was an amazing experience.   And not because all of those things I thought of are flawless or without pain or struggles, but even with the problems, they are true blessings.
I have felt this before now and sometimes feel it frequently, much more often than I used to experience. 
 
There are different degrees of gratitude. And different ways of experiencing it.  There’s the basic kind where we can just think of things we have that make our world better and know we are better having them than not but then there’s the kind I felt this morning, the deep kind that caressed every strand of my existence, tingled in every cell of my body, nothing specifically provoked it, nothing  big or uncommon happened to me to lead me to that feeling. I was just basking in the sweet beauty of just being.
 
Gratitude can be a conscious decision, made into a habit which then becomes automatic, easy, natural, your nature.
 
This is what I work on so much and do so well but there’s always room for development. It’s not a destination but a journey, a beautiful, wondrous journey.
 

Ever since I was a little girl all the way until I graduated college, there have been class/group activities, usually around the “holiday season ” where the teacher or someone would go around the group and ask us a few things we’re thankful for.  Every single occasion we have been asked this, throughout the years, most people would say “friends & family” and nothing more after that usually.  Even now on Facebook and blogs people express their gratitude for their friends and family. And it often stops there. 

It’s absolutely amazing to have friends and family, especially good ones and we should definitely be grateful for them. 
But those are obvious things to be thankful for, almost everyone automatically thinks of those when asked “What are you grateful for?” . What about everything else? The overlooked blessings?    What about all the simpler things we take for granted, the everyday blessings that go almost unnoticed?
 
What about those?
 
I recently purchased a book that my mom gave me the money for. “The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude” by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
 
It’s a book she wrote, a page for every day of the year with space provided for the reader to list a few things s/he is thankful for.
 
In the beginning of this book she lists 150 blessings that are often overlooked by people in general.  A few of the things she lists are: “The Kindness of Strangers”, “The aroma of something delicious wafting from the kitchen”, “Your boundless imagination”, “a walk in the woods and becoming aware of life all around you”, & “When hope is restored”.
 
This inspires me deeply. I always think of the simple things and often write and speak of them. I love reading other people’s lists and especially when they have unique, uncommon things on those lists.  
 
And I have comprised a list of my own of blessings often ignored or overlooked. Things that we often don’t even think about but would probably feel the painful loss or absence of or just not have as much joy if we did not have these wonderful blessings.
 
1.) The feeling after an illness heals or pain subsides. The feeling of being “my old self again.”
 
2.) falling into bed after a long, hectic, crazy day.
 
3.) not having a Sleep condition.
 
4.) being able to experience physical pain and discomfort.   This let’s us know something inside or on the body is wrong and motivates us to move, switch positions, turn throughout the night and day to protect our muscles and joints.
 
5.) being able to walk
 
6.). All of our senses
 
7.) body organs
 
8.) my body
 
9.) Doctors 
 
10.) Morning 
 
11.) the four seasons
 
12.) Police officers/detectives
 
13.) books
 
14.) being educated enough to function
 
15.) the beauty all around 
 
16.) body fat – without a certain amount of healthy body fat, we would be sick or not as healthy as with it
 
17.) laws and things established to protect
 
18.) the ability to make choices
 
19.) breathtaking beauty
 
20.) a place to live, a house
 
21.) air conditioning in the excessive heat
 
22.) cool nights
 
23.) being in awe of Nature’s sweetness
 
24.) water
 
25.) sustenance to nourish the body
 
26.) medical equipment
 
27.) life saving treatments
 
28.) all the functions and systems of the body
 
29.) my heart
 
30.) my hair
 
31.) not being sick
 
32.) energy
 
33.) being able to stand. 
 
34.) my spine
 
35.) not being in constant pain
 
36.) life lessons learned 
 
37.) technology 
 
38.) my ability to dream 
 
39.) hot tea on a crisp Fall day
 
40.) being alive
 
41.) waking up 
 
42.) sunrise
 
43.) poetry
 
44.) new beginnings
 
45.) empathy
 
46.) random acts of kindness 
 
47.) people who make the world better just by existing 
 
48.) people who make the world better even after they’re no longer living
 
49.) the first snowfall Of the season 
 
50.) the stars up above us in a midnight sky
 
51.) electricity, gas, heat, water, stuff that makes living easier and healthy
 
52.) arms & legs
 
54.) organ donations by generous people
 
55.) people who save lives 
 
56.) people who impact lives for the better 
 
57.) college professors 
 
58.) teachers 
 
59.) facebook and blogs
 
60.) second chances
 
61.) people who forgive
 
62.) rest
 
63.) pleasant surprises
 
64.) things turning out right
 
65.) fun, satisfying jobs
 
66.) love of all kinds
 
67.) the Moon
 
68.) phones 
 
69.) the will to live
 
70.) the desire to live
 
71.) wanting to win
 
72.) self acceptance 
 
73.) self love
 
74.) looking into a mirror and loving what you see
 
75.) when you can’t stop smiling
 
76.) being genuinely happy for no reason
 
77.) great online friends and acquaintances and strangers I come across
 
78.) feeling accomplished
 
79.) falling asleep to the sound of rain
 
80.) waking up to the sound of rain
 
81.) gratitude itself
 
82.) life itself 
 
83.) politicians (lol I know! But they help with laws and policies and they got some guts putting their views out there knowing people will criticize them both constructively and destructively, insult them viciously and all!, maybe even want to kill them?! Come on, we have to give them that much, right?!)
 
84.) waking up early and not having to go anywhere 
 
85.) lazy days
 
86.) productive days
 
87.) the things that children teach us
 
88.) being me
 
89.) thinking clearly 
 
90.) belly laughs that hurt so good. ❤
 
91.) feeling included
 
92.) free blog hosts such as this one
 
93.) animal friends
 
94.) bookstores 
 
95.) inspiration
 
96.) sappy love songs and love letters 
 
97.) seeing lovers holding hands and smiling out in public 
 
98.) cheesy love, that head over heels kind that makes people want to gag when they see it, sitting on the same side of the table at a restaurant, posting love letters and lyrics on each others walls on Facebook all day…that kind of sap. Lol ;-D ❤
 
99.) impressing people
 
100.) trying clothes on and loving how you look in them!
 
101.) the perfect cup of coffee
 
102.) the feeling when snuggling with a fur friend at night.
 
103.) the feeling of giving someone a gift
 
104.) helping others 
 
105.) seeing old people out walking, smiling, with wrinkles and walkers and canes and still going strong, happy to be
 
106.) babies
 
107.) weddings 
 
108.) therapists 
 
109.) true, strong, friendship
 
110.) baby animals
 
111.) energy
 
112.) being happy
 
113.) joy
 
114.) a sense of belonging 
 
115.) finally having something it feels you have been waiting for your whole life
 
116.) watching a child or a puppy learn something new
 
117.) seeing someone try something the person has never experienced before – like water ice! ;-D ;-p
 
118.) suddenly remembering or hearing a song I love and listened to over and over years ago and forgot about for so long! ❤
 
119.) the feeling of love when my dogs happily, joyfully run to greet me after a long day out of the house  (or after just 10 seconds of walking out of a room and walking back in!) 
 
120.) the psychological pleasure of eating delicious food!  
 
121.) the stunning, breathtaking beauty of the Moon
 
122.) the feeling of being in an Ocean
 
123.) basking in the sunlight 
 
124.) letting go of a problem you held onto for years and feeling so much lighter
 
125.). Eye contact and smiles 
 
126.) actually liking/loving people you have no choice but to be “stuck with”
 
127.) walking in the rain and the feeling of liberation it brings
 
128.) dreams when you’re asleep
 
129.) accidentally finding a great book and loving it
 
130.) meeting a kind and random stranger and having an uplifting conversation
 
131.) trees
 
132.) being pleasantly surprised
 
There are so many blessings all around and within.
 
Much love & blessings & happiness to you all.
I truly believe the more we give thanks, the more we have to give thanks to & for. ❤
❤ 😀
 
Xox0 Kim ❤

Lucky One. <3

Feb20

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I love country music. It’s beautiful and amazing and I love that beautiful Southern accent, so gorgeous!

One of my absolute favorite songs, which is a country song, is “Lucky Man” by Montgomery Gentry.

It’s a beautiful song that inspires me everyday. The message in the song is how it’s possible even in the midst of bad things to see what great things we have. It’s about seeing the goodness of our lives no matter what. It’s a very realistic song. The singer admits that sometimes his life really just seems to suck and he compares it to what others have or what could/should have been. But then he looks around at the beauty of his own life and then he realizes all he has. I think this is something we can all relate to. I think just about everyone has those moments or days where we think our life is terrible or we feel ungrateful and uninspired and just want to curse it. But we can just take a breath and see all the greatness we are blessed with. 

 

“I have days where I hate my job, this little town and the whole world too

Last Sunday when my Bengals lost, Lord, it put me in a bad mood

I have moments when I curse the rain

Then complain when the sun’s too hot

I look around at what everyone has

And I forget about all I’ve got

But I know I’m a lucky man”

Montgomery Gentry 

 

For the last few days I haven’t been in the most grateful mood. I wanted to feel sorry for myself and felt myself being pulled into a whirlwind of negative and anxious thoughts.

But I forced myself to see the beauty all around me, to feel the beauty that can be tapped into at any given moment.

Last night I laid in my bed peering out the window feeling pissed and depressed not knowing of one specific reason. I wished I would see a star out the window like I sometimes do. I craved to be inspired by nature’s beauty. But the sky was complete blackness and that just disappointed me. Then sometime later, not sure if I drifted off to sleep or what or if I was just in a sleepy state but all of a sudden I was awake and peered out my window again and through the bare tree branches I saw not one, but TWO beautiful little sparkling stars peering back at me! I felt so amazed and so grateful. It was truly a beautiful experience! 😀

<3. 

I truly am blessed to have a bedroom with a window that has a beautiful view of a tree which in warm weather has gorgeous green leaves some resembling hearts and sometimes I can even see stars through the spaces in the middle of the leaves and in the cold weather the branches are bare and I can see stars clearly. So lovely. ❤

I could have had a window seeing a brick wall or whatever but I get to see the beautiful nature’s wonder!

On Valentine’s Day I had it planned to post a self-love post to help people more easily bestow love upon themselves instead of just always lusting after romantic or other forms of external love. But I was somewhat depressed that day and extremely fatigued and I pretty much slept the day away! I wasn’t depressed for any one reason. I guess it was just my chronic disorder acting up. So I slacked on that post but will still definitely post it!

 

I am a lucky girl. So blessed, it’s true.

I have five beautiful senses. A body that functions perfectly for the most part. I have the stars in the sky above me. What more can I possibly ask for?! 😀

Here is a list of happy and inspirations for me right now!:

 

1.) I’m so happy the it’s going to be Spring soon! I cannot wait now! Spring to me is symbolic of new hope and new beginnings, new growth and beautiful fruition.

 

2.) Salted caramel, mocha iced lattes with whipped cream! Yum! 😀

 

3.) Morning Glory body spray that smells lovely in my hair and is NOT tested on animals! I think the company is Calgon (??). Or something! Lol. I buy this stuff every year and forget! :-p 

 

4.) Philosophy books and readings I have recently come across! I love Philosophy!! ❤

 

5.) An attitude of gratitude itself is a reason to be thankful!

 

6.) My pain disorder has been inactive lately!

 

7.) Today I got to see my coworker’s smiling face unexpectedly and her baby nephew! So cute!! ❤

 

8.) Cute knick knacks!!

 

9.). Some inspirational websites I have recently come across!

 

10.) This quote: “We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.” ~ Tim McGraw

 

“And even my bad days ain’t that bad

Yeah, I’m a lucky man

I’m a lucky lucky man”

Montgomery Gentry

 

Look at the sun in my pic!! That’s what it really looked like that day! So big. So beautiful! So much inspiration!

❤

I hope everyone can take a moment to see the beauty all around us and stay strong even when you don’t feel much like it! Give more when you feel like giving up!! ❤

 

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Lucky-Man-lyrics-Montgomery-Gentry/E02E4AACE15633B048257218000D672A

 

X0xo Kim 🙂 😀 ❤

 

P.S. I want to thank all of my followers on here!! I am so honored that you like my blog enough to follow it! Every single one is a true blessing to me!! I couldn’t be happier if I had thousands upon thousands like some people do! 10, 30, 100, 1000, or just 1 makes me happy! I want to reach as many as I can but just touching one life positively is beautiful. <3. And thank you to all the people who like/”like” my content even if you don’t hit the “follow” button!! 🙂