SOULED

YOU DON’T HAVE A SOUL. YOU ARE A SOUL. YOU HAVE A BODY.

C.S. Lewis

We need a revolution- a feel good revolution, maybe if we become hippies again, life will be good. Back to a bohemian soul. We define ourselves in material terms and nothing is ever enough.

You always need a better phone, a more advanced laptop, a more fashionable haircut- and it’s never enough. No one- or rarely it is that anyone ever recognizes that the soul is absolute. I am not being existential..or maybe I am, but that’s not the point.

My point is that a soul is there, a being- you are a being. One that is meant to infinitely grow and in defining it with something- anything- you are limiting its growth…you are reducing the infinite to a set of limited, finite things. And that does not make sense to me, I know we were meant to fully and entirely exist.

a quote and a thought

"She believes in love and romance. She believes her life is going to be transformed into something wonderful and exciting. She has hopes and fears, just like anyone. Sometimes she feels frightened. Sometimes she feels unloved. Sometimes she feels she will never gain approval from those people who are most important to her. But she’s brave, and goodhearted and faces her life head on."

-Sophie Kinsella

Also, 21^st bday cake, please look somewhat similar to this. 35 days and counting.

breaking the habit!

When you are in a relationship, you have a one-track mind: your boyfriend. When you break up, you have a one-track mind: your ex-boyfriend.

At what point do you forget the past and start thinking only about ME? You don’t have to think about your past; you don’t have to think about what is gone; you don’t have to think about the love you are missing out on. It is better to be free than be enslaved by a tumultuous relationship; some love can’t be repaired. Yet after you are out of it, you don’t know how to be free. It is a paradox. You are too paralyzed to move because you are venturing into the unknown. Standing still is the initial reaction because you don’t know where else to go. You are abandoned in the blistering cold. It is too new of a life for you to know what to do.

There is far too much life to live fully and alone to dwell on the what-if. Time quickly passes that you can never recover. I don’t want to live with regret. Dwelling and pitying has eaten a year of my life. A year. 365 days. I could have done a million things in a year, but I did nothing. Never again.

Selfishness is healthy. But after a break-up, you absolutely must be selfish. You must immerse yourself in new experiences, activities, relationships to help create a new identity. All of the mental energy you possess must be devoted to repair and self-restoration. Nothing else. Otherwise your identity from the past remains your identity in the present. I don’t want to be the person I was in that relationship- I didn’t love myself. And I didn’t love myself as long as I was still hung up on the devastation of it all. You must change EVERYTHING- experiment, risk, explore. Putting yourself out on a limb makes you stronger and more confident. Only you can change, there is nothing external that will initiate the process. I choose my thoughts; I choose my behaviors; I choose my pro-activity. No one else can change these things. This is my biggest trap. I wanted some event to turn it all around, but that isn’t how it works. Change is a daily process- it is a lifestyle. Incremental, not overnight.

There is tremendous power in self-mastery; it is a journey I have been toying with for a long time, but have yet to aggressively pursue it. Old thoughts and habits inhibit my success, as I let them destroy all progress in one single swoop. I work so hard, yet give it all away because my mind convinces me I am not worth it. This is a habit, not who I am. I must rid myself of it. Only you can be your own biggest cheerleader- it’s not vain and conceited; it is a necessity. If you tell yourself something over and over, you eventually believe it; this is so true. Good mental health leads to good everything health.

Ridding yourself of the past is no different than ridding yourself of any kind of addiction. You simply can’t go back; not even one taste. It is an all or nothing. Letting your past creep in is dangerous because it can take over. You don’t have to let it control you; you just have to resist the urge to succumb to it. No pictures, no texts, no drunken calls. Nothing. He doesn't exist to me.

Life must move on. The world doesn’t stop spinning just because you can’t see the light of day. Life is waiting. Don’t miss out on it. Every second is a chance start over, start anew. Embrace the opportunities life has to offer- regret is probably more painful than heartache. You can love again, but you can’t live again.

Start living.

happy weekend

"My weaknesses have always been food and men - in that order."-Dolly Parton

Fact: Justin Timberlake has the sexiest voice on the planet!

Forget fairy-tales?

Oh but they do! Talking with a dear friend who is newly single about love was a very negative experience. I thought to myself "oh dear I hope I didn't sound like this last year?" I know her heart is grieving and she is in pain because she didn't get her fairy-tale yet. I know her heart is hurting and she feels broken, I totally understand that. But the cynical "love is an illusion" attitude just made me cringe!

Single or not I want to believe in love and romance and happily ever afters. I want to believe that my prince is out there and that we will fall in love and live happily ever after. So believe with me? Let's make this a year of believing.- not searching. Don't get the two confused. Instead just believe and do not be afraid of believing or afraid to let yourself fall in love again. Be open to the idea and be willing to put your heart out there, it's the only way you're going to get that happily ever after. Trust me if you want it, you can have it. Just put your heart into it, don't be negative about love, even if you have been a victim of a devastating broken heart.

"No matter how your heart is grieving if you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true..."

Just watch

Just watch MY wildest dreams come true, not one of them involving you.

I'm a little excited about graduating and possibly starting an orphanage, okay, okay a lot excited! If you believe you can, YOU CAN!

On another not, I owe you readers that delicious French Chocolate Macaroon Recipe I was suppose to post before my trip to Mexico, so here it is (if you try it, I'd love to know how it goes)

***Make the chocolate filling before you start making the macarons!

For the macaroon:

1 cup (100 gr) confectioner's sugar

½ cup powdered almonds

3 tablespoons (25 gr) unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

2 egg whites

5 tablespoons (65 gr) granulated sugar

1 pastry bag (or ziploc)

1. Mix together the confectioner's sugar, powdered almonds and cocoa powder so there are no lumps (you can use almond flour instead too) in a bowl.

2. Prepare three small bowls for separating egg whites (one for egg whites, one for the yolks and one for separating; all the better if you have one of those fancy egg separators). This step is really important because even the slightest bit of egg yolk can ruin everything!

3. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they begin to rise and become foamy (for about 2-3 minutes). While whisking, slowly beat in the granulated sugar, about 1/3 at a time, and whisk for another 2-3 minutes.

4. Carefully fold the dry ingredients from the first bowl into the beaten egg whites, and start mixing (about 2 minutes).

5. When the mixture is just smooth and there are no streaks of egg white, stop folding and scrape the batter into the pastry bag.

6. Pipe the batter on a parchment-lined baking sheets in 1-inch (3 cm) circles (about 1 tablespoon each of batter), evenly spaced one-inch (3 cm) apart.

7. Preheat the oven to 350º F (180º C).

8. Let the macarons sit for about 20-30 minutes before you putting them in the oven (this is crucial in getting the "foot").

9. Bake the macarons for 8-10 minutes (take them out when you see that "foot" came out).

10. Let cool completely then remove from baking sheet.

For the chocolate filling:

1/2 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Bring milk and butter to simmer in a saucepan (medium heat).

2. Remove from heat and add in chocolate

3. Whisk until melted and smooth.

4. Transfer to small bowl and put it in the refrigerator for about an hour.

That's it! It's easy as A-B-C! If I can do this, so can you!

Yum right?