7 is my favorite number
1. Replay your best memories. Replay them in your mind. They're your own perfect, private perceptions; no one else can have them or take them away from you. They're a movie reel you can rewind over and over again of people, places and times. You laughed with someone and you shared incredible and meaningful conversations. You had special places that forever hold a sentimental spot in your heart and life. You had times that were so amazing they still make you laugh or want to cry because you love them so much, you wish you could have them always.
They can't be undone or erased. They're perma-set.
If they made an impact on you, they're worth replaying in your mind as many times as you can.
Smile.
Be happy they happened because they are yours.
Maybe they will remain best memories forever and if you're lucky... maybe you'll have a chance to relive them.
That's called dreaming, and dreams sure are sweet. Never, ever say never.
2. Look at the stars. I'm serious. I'm not a corn ball, I'm a realist. Sit outside by yourself on a clear night and just stare at as many stars as you can. It will humble you. They're so small from down here but really they're not. We are small. We're specks in a massive universe, all trying to navigate days and nights of life on this Earth. Life is busy. Life is happy. Life is sad. Life is stressful, but life is peaceful when we want it to be. We have to take a tiny handle of control, even for just a few moments a night, sitting and staring. I've seen more than a few falling stars when I've done this.
Look for one. They happen all the time.
There's something magical and a little breathtaking when it happens because it's just you and that star...and you had a moment that no one else did.
3. Listen to music. Who's the artist who speaks to you and your life? Whose lyrics and music get you right in the heart and make you swear those songs were written just for you?
Whoever they are, play them on shuffle.
Alone.
Play them in your car and when you go to bed. Play them when you have the house to yourself and not a soul is around. Maybe you'll sing like a pro or maybe you'll sound like a hyena but who gives a shit. Maybe you'll dance because no one can see you.
Maybe a song will hit just that right spot in your heart and brain and you'll cry. Who gives a shit about that either. It brings peace.
It brings unity.
It brings balance because no matter what goes on in this world, music is the single universal language that speaks to us all.
That kind of communication cannot be matched.
4. Have your "person." Have your very own, the one who just gets you and accepts you no matter what, and is there for you any time of day or night.
Who makes you feel at ease?
Who makes you smile?
Who makes you laugh?
Who makes you see life a little differently in the best good ways?
Who's your spirit lifter?
Who, on your crappiest day, brightens your mood a little bit?
Who is on your mind constantly?
Who, no matter how good or bad you are to them, is always there for you at the drop of a hat because they really, truly give a real shit about you?
Talk to them. It doesn't matter who it is, talk to them.
Your "person" is part of your soul and part of what makes you tick.
You need them because they belong in your schedule of peace. Trust me.
We all have one or three and if we think we don't, then a little chunk of something is missing.
Find them.
Connect with them. Duh.
5. Create things. What are you good at? What are you passionate about? You're good at something and you have a passion...
It's your calling whether it's a hobby or a way of life.
Write it.
Paint it.
Draw it.
Build it.
Design it.
Fix it.
Clean it.
Organize it.
Whatever it is...do something you love. It brings a certain type of satisfaction that nothing else can. We all get into robot mode but that doesn't mean we can't push pause on it and do something for ourselves...which brings me to my next point. 6. Make time for yourself. We have kiddos, we have jobs, we have responsibilities, we have bills, we have things to get done and errands to run.
When all of that is finished we have to find time to squeeze in some sleep...just to get up and do it all again.
What most of us slowly forget over time is that we have to make time for ourselves otherwise we are lost.
We lose who we are and we become a shell. We become robots and it takes one hell of a toll.
Children grow up.
Jobs change or we get old enough to retire.
There will always be bills to pay, things to get done, errands to run and sleep to squeeze in.
It is absolutely not selfish to stop catering to, answering to, living for, and doing shit for everyone and everything else so often that we literally stop doing anything at all for ourselves.
It is okay to say, "I'm gonna take a little break for a while..." and actually do that.
And not have to fight with someone when you're done...
And not be put on a guilt trip...
And not feel selfish... Go for a drive.
Hang out with a friend.
Go to a game.
Go to dinner.
Go have a drink.
Go in a room and watch a movie...alone.
It's healthy and it's beneficial.
We need ourselves to stay fully, sanely and peacefully intact for ourselves and everyone around us.
7. Let go of grudges.
We all have them, big or small. This one is difficult, I know...oh do I know... but it has to be done. Grudges eat away at us like ugly, tiny, poisonous parasites. They keep us awake at night, make our stomachs queasy, make our minds spin, and they consume way too much time that could be better spent doing something...good.
People hurt us? Yes, they do.
Some wounds are only one the surface and some scar deeply, but if we aren't consuming thoughts and energy of the ones who've hurt us as much as they're consuming ours, is it really fair?
It absolutely is not.
We don't have to forget because sometimes we really just can't. Pain is very real, but we can forgive. There's an extremely strong personality trait that accompanies the ability to forgive. Very few people possess it but they sure are admirable. Be one of those people.
The end.