Taking Chances

Have you ever stopped to think, really think, about what you are doing right here, right now, in the moment? And if you've ever taken a moment to stop and think about what it is you are doing, do you find yourself filled with joy and intention, knowing that you are pursuing what you've been created to do - the very core of who you are feels awake and alive and fit for the doing of whatever job or dream you are pursuing? Or do you give a little gulp, and know that you've chosen practicality rather than what your bones are aching to do, make, create, and experience, not really pursuing what it is deep down you were made for?

I came across this video on Life Buzz that my cousin shared via social media. It's only a minute long, but what Jim Carey says in his speech to the graduates are words that I think are so important to hear.

If you have a minute this morning, you can watch it here.

I love his last words,"You can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well take a chance at doing what you love." For me, I'd rather fail at hula hooping than never experience it. I'd rather get knocked down one hundred times in pursuit of my dreams. I'd rather live a life not asking "what if?", but saying "I did it."

So, friends, why not take that chance?

Dandelion Fields

You know how dandelion fluff floats along so effortlessly? The wind just carries them so until they float up and far, some landing right back where they may have started but others in a completely new place, so unlike the field they came from. And once they land, those little white petals have the freedom, the absolute liberty, to pop up anywhere, amongst daisies, a front yard lawn, or in the field were horses trot and eat the grass around them. 

As I was running the other day, this little flower helped me make sense of it - make sense of this part of my life right now- this part about change, and new roots, and the wind. (Because, you know, it's not unlikely for the subtle things in nature to help make sense of it all): I was on a path next to a wide open field, the late afternoon with wind picking up the light white cottonesque flower petals. They danced right in front of me and were taken up and over to the trees on the other side of the path. They were headed high and far, and I didn't see where they landed, but it was away and up out of the field they knew. And in that moment I realized that I am like that dandelion (or at least that I should see myself as such). With the freedom to be uprooted and moved if the wind so takes me somewhere else. And so, like a feathery dandelion, blown up by that unseen force, I have left my field: the career path I graduated into, and have landed somewhere completely new, fully running and ready to take root: to a position as Manager in Training at Anthropologie.

I haven't written about work and my career too much here, and maybe one day I will. But for now I can honestly say this, when it comes to work: Taking the stance much like that of a dandelion, and being open to following the spirit of your heart, or the wind, in regards to true joy and fulfillment in whatever it is you do, is the most freeing thing. 

Blow little dandelion ;)

Thoughts on Business Cards

This year has really put business cards on my mind. Not only have I really grown as a blogger, but Colorado has proved to provide so many creative events where afterwards I wish I would have had some little piece of my contact info to hand out. Yes, just swapping Instagram names is fun, but as a professional endeavor, sometimes a girl wants to represent herself a little more elegantly, you know what I mean? 

In a separate sense, however, finding a way to represent myself on a little piece of paper feels a little daunting. Especially in the blogging world, surrounded by so many talented individuals, it can be super easy to fall into the trap of comparing, even comparing business cards! It seems so funny to write, comparing little bits of paper donned with a name, a number, and an email address--but it is true!

So yes, business cards have been on my mind for about a year. But I haven't jumped on them. 

Now enter Printstagram. When I ordered my prints for our Christmas cards this year, I spent some time browsing their other products. I've pretty much decided I need to order squares of my photographs, and perhaps make a flip book, but also I really love the simplicity of their contact cards. Little square cards to represent yourself, with beautiful photographs from everyday life. Not quite the traditional business card (which is why I think they're pretty rad). And I love even more how the people at Social Print Studio entice you to make your own: 

"Create unique Contact Cards using any of your Instagram photos. Add text to our templates or upload your own image for the back. Whether business cards, save-the-dates, or just reppin' your kickin' self, you'll want to spread these cards like wildfire!" 

Neat, right? Besides, how great is the thought of choosing the most beautiful of my Instagram snapshots for the back of the contact cards. Mix and match, taking away the impossible task of settling on one image to represent myself with. Done.

I am thinking simple, you know: my name, blog, and email--and perhaps my Instagram username too. What do you think of making contact cards for yourself? Like Social Print Studio remarks, you don't even have to have a business, you can just represent your kickin' self. ;)

All Photos are from Prinstagram. 

And this is not a sponsored post. I just love this company.

My Heart & My Career | Love Yourself Linkup

As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it...

About two month ago, I decided to work part time. I had a pulling on my heart since November, that I continued to ignore for months. Until finally, after the strings were tugged and pulled and my internal dialogue couldn't stay inside any longer-- I told someone about it. I told Matt. I told my mom. I told my boss, and her boss. I took a giant leap to say I know something isn't right, I am not fulfilled in my day to day, there is a part of my inner workings that does not feel complete. 

I took a leap to say that perhaps the career path I chose is not the one for me. That perhaps I need to start from square one and discover a new field. At age 27, after being a straight arrow zooming through school, four years of college studying Child Development and Psychology, and landing right into a job just one week after graduating--with the company I'd call my second family for five years now; I realized that maybe I zoomed a bit too quickly without stopping to listen to my heart along the way. The field that was perfect for me in my young twenties may not be that for me any longer. And for me, to realize this, took strength.

Strength because as soon as I spoke the words, questions shot right back in attempts to make me waiver, stumble, and deny my heart. To realize this, and tell someone about it? When I've always had my eggs neatly in a row? When I've worked so hard to get where I am at? When I've always been the one to do so well and never stray? When I don't have the answer for what I'll do next? When the image of "part-time" seems like the easy road out? When finances become an issue? When everyone else seems to have their career figured out? When, this, if, that?

Fast forward to now. Two months after I've moved to working part-time, so that I can explore my other passions and take the time to listen to my heart. I cannot say that doubts do not pop up or that I don't ask myself what are you doing? when others seem puzzled by my choice. In the world we live in, it becomes second nature to believe that at 27 I have to have my career figured out. That I have to know my five year plan. Well, I don't. But I do know that I am loving myself more now than I ever have. I can say that my heart feels more clearly listened to, exponentially so. I am looking at design, writing, and ministry as options to pursue. And it is exciting. Yet honestly, I feel so new to this type of thinking. To pursue my hobbies and my inner workings as a career path? To patiently seek out God's plan for me? (To even think that I overlooked both these things).

Matt often reminds me that I still have 30 years, if not more, of working days ahead. With that perspective, I want to choose what is absolutely right for me. This little bend in my otherwise straight arrow is but a freckle in my career path. As Bob Dylan said, "A man (or woman) is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do." -- so why not  take a risk and do it?

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I am writing today as part of the Love Yourself Linkup--an ongoing series that will focus on topics such as self worth and body image. A community of woman will talk about our thoughts on these subjects, tell stories of our personal experience, share what has inspired us, challenged us, and more. Learn more over at Ann the Adventurer. You can read my thoughts from the past weeks where I've shared about anxiety, true beauty, gossip, and writing to an 80 year old me. If you have a story to tell, and want to be a part of the link up, join the conversation by writing and clicking to enter it below.