Words of Inspiration: February

I’ve never been a fan of February, at least when I lived in Canada. It’s about that time of year when winter reveals its most hideous side.

The air becomes even more bone-chilling cold, the days are shorter and the snow hardens and condenses from layers of different snowfalls. It sort of looks like a Slurpee after all the sugar and food coloring has been sucked out. I often wished I could be a bear and hibernate through it, waking up in time for St Patty’s day in March.

I remember those cold, dark winter mornings when my alarm would go off. I’d lay there hugging my heated blanket, asking myself things like: why do I live in a such cold, horrendous place? should I just move to Jamaica? Somehow I’d dig up the willpower to pull myself out of bed and step into a scalding hot shower that was potentially capable of producing third-degree burns. I’d try my best to blow-dry my wet hair, rarely having enough time. After quickly getting ready I’d hover by the door, cherishing those last few moments of warmth, and look over at my cat, Quiggly. He used to sit on top of the heater vent puffed up like a mother hen, absorbing every ounce of heat. I’d just stare at him through tearful eyes and think to myself, why am I not you, Quiggly? I want to be you, I want your life. He’d look up at me and blink softly before dozing off to a blissful, heated slumber. Ugh, it killed me…

But jokes on Quiggly because it’s currently 30 degrees and sunny here in Sydney. I practically feel like bowing down and kissing the burning hot pavement every morning. Like little Quiggles, I have my own version of sitting on the vent. I just found it on the other side of the world.

So whether you’re somewhere cold or hot or somewhere in between, may these quotes light your heart with a fire of joy and inspiration! ♥

“If you inherently long for something, become it first. If you want gardens, become the gardener. If you want love, embody love. If you want mental stimulation, change the conversation. If you want peace, exude calmness. If you want to fill your world with artists, begin to paint. If you want to be valued, respect your own time. If you want to live ecstatically, find the ecstasy within yourself. This is how to draw it in, day by day, inch by inch.”

– Victoria Erickson

“As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

– Nelson Mandela

“Perhaps we should love ourselves so fiercely, that when others see us they know exactly how it should be done.”

– Rudy Francisco

“Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either. Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal.

Ask yourself some good questions like: “Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? … Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?”

Now is your time. Walk closely with people you love, and with people who believe life is a grand adventure. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.”

– Shauna Niequist

“No one is you and that is your power.”

– David Grohl