What's awesome in your life?

Happy Monday everyone! To kick-off the week I was introduced to a great blog site called 1000 Awesome Things. Each day a new post is a little thing that we find simple joy in - such as taking the first spoonful out of a peanut butter jar or waking up before your alarm goes off only to realize you have more time to sleep. So after reading this I started to think, what was unusually wonderful about today? Sure it's great to have a positive attitude - but how about those things that you just can't plan on happening. Check out the site and also feel free to share your stories here! http://1000awesomethings.com/

Awesome things from today that could also apply to everyday life...

• Realizing you're actually was ten minutes early to work instead of ten minutes late.
  
• Thinking about and missing an old friend and receiving a text from them within minutes of the thought.
• Working on a group project and realizing that everyone is feeling the same anxiety and nerves and you aren't crazy for feeling stressed.
• Checking your email inbox and having zero new messages to read.
• Discovering new blogs because people go out of their way to send you the link. (Thanks Katie for this one!)

Hope you all had an awesome day! :)

Stories to share

I recently saw an interivew with Paralympic athlete, Aimee Mullins, that I thought was very uplifting. Mullins, who has two artificial legs, has set world records as an track athlete! Her story really makes you put life into perspective and re-think the things that you often take for granted.

Watch the video below for Aimee's incredible story!

Celebrating life

"You have to ask yourself whether anything you do in this life would have beauty and meaning without the knowledge you carry of a final line, a border or limit." (excerpt from DeLillo's White Noise.)

I find this quote to be an incredibly true way to approach each day. A friend of mine recently had a scary experience that shook me up a bit - and although I'll admit it freaked me out, I think what it did more was reaffirm the idea that you are not invincible. You have to enjoy today, right now, this moment - because you just can't know what is to come next! There is no certainty that tomorrow will come and that being said, you must live for today! Like the quote says - live with beauty and meaning - and cherish each and every day and the people you surround yourself with. Appreciating the small things really does make a huge difference.

Hope you're having an enjoyable Sunday! :)

Right...now

Ready for a challenge?

What are you thinking, right....now. At this very moment. Don't worry about tomorrow. Forget about yesterday. Five minutes from now is unimportant. How about now?

Think on it. Send your thoughts to TheDailyChallengeBlog@gmail.com. As always, I'm curious.

Luck of the Irish!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

In spirit of the holiday and my Irish heritage I wanted to dedicate today to my great grandpa . He was 100% Irish (if I'm not mistaken) and this holiday always reminds me of him since we celebrated together when I was growing up. I don't really have any specific stories to share I just thought it would be nice to take a moment and cherish the good times that we did have together. For one, I'll always associate St. Patrick's Day with the need to serve corned beef & cabbage (despite the fact that I am a vegetarian and don't even eat that!!) and I also think of him over-salting everything on his plate. He had a kind heart, the biggest smile I've ever seen, and was overall a sweet natured person. He played the organ, had an obscenely large collection of spare change (kept in a jar, in his closet), and always wore a sweatshirt to Christmas dinner that said "Tis the season to be squeezin'!"

I have some great memories of him and I am glad I had the opportunity to set time aside today and remember that. Here's to a wonderful celebration today! Cheers!



Subscribe to The Daily Challenge by Email
:)

Pause for a moment to say thanks

I posted this quote a while ago: "Now and then it's good to pause in the pursuit of happiness and just be happy." And so today is my attempt to do that! And in doing so, I want to thank everyone who is a part of my life and has led me to "just be happy."

To everyone in my life: Thank you for the letters, the cards, the thoughtful emails, the kind phone calls, and the uplifting words. Thank you for the never-ending sense of security and love, and the unending friendship, joy, and positivity you have brought into my life. Thank you for all the memories, the laughter, the tears, the smiles, and the stories. Thank you for your support, the endless hours of listening or giving advice, and for everything you have done for me. Thank you for your gestures, big and small, and for all the kind things you have done that you may have thought were overlooked (they weren't.) I appreciate each and every individual who is a part of my life and I know that you are all the reason why I am able to put a smile on my face every day! It means the world to me.

Thank you for being wonderful people, friends, family members, classmates, roommates, sorority sisters, colleagues, coworkers, mentors, neighbors, and inspiring figures. Thank you for letting me "pause in the pursuit of happiness" to be happy for each and every one of you. I love you all!

Subscribe to The Daily Challenge by Email

FW: Appreciate Today

The name of the forward says it all: Appreciate Today. This is a message I try to remind myself of constantly (but even more specifically, "appreciate this moment.") Anyway I really enjoyed these quotes and I thought they were very fitting for today's post! Enjoy!







Thank you Grandma for passing this along and encouraging inspiration and spreading happiness. You're the best!

Another one for life's photo album

Today I had to park on the very top level of the parking structure, something that normally doesn't happen since I can usually find a spot on the 5th floor. As I was grumbling to myself about the long trek that I'd have to make getting down all the steps, I took a moment to look around. The photo didn't come out very clear but the view was pretty awesome! It put a lot into perspective and I realized that yet again, there is beauty in everything. I never would have seen the city at night if I didn't have to park all the way at the top! I've decided that this is the next picture to add to my life as a photo album collection.

How about you? Any other good pictures to share?

Today's lesson

A close friend of mine found out that a friend from back home passed away today, and I think it was a huge reality check for her and me as well, even though I did not know the person. It's crazy how sometimes it takes an event like that to create the urge to tell everyone in your life that you love them or appreciate them, but I think it is important to see in the situation how short and precious life really is, and you can't waste a minute of it hating it! I am passionate about leading by example and helping others to see the positive aspects in their life and I think this tragic event is a prime example of the need to live life to the fullest each and every day, and to ensure that the people in your life really know how much you care about them. You never know what tomorrow will bring ya know?

I realize this is a heavy subject for a normally light hearted blog, but I think it is important to look at death and tragic events with an open mind and to see the need to celebrate life more and love more often!