I stumbled upon the article 8 Awesome Things You Should Be Appreciating Right Now (PHOTOS) via a tweet from @postsecret (Sidenote: if you havent’ seen their site, you should. It’s very interesting.) .

 Once I had read the article, I visited Neil Pasricha’s blog site, which lists 1000 Awesome Things. In short, Pasricha began to keep a blog of everyday joys to help him get through some tough times, & the site expanded into two books. They’re all very simple things in everyday life to stop & appreciate. I wouldn’t personally commit  the time it would take to blog something every day, but I really like the idea of it. Life is so stressful & chaotic that it’s so easy to forget all the things we should be grateful for, even if they are very minor in the big scheme of things.

Some of my favorites from his blog are below, but I think you should read them all for yourself as a reminder to stop & enjoy the little things in life!

#959 Planning for snoozes

#956 Using Rock- Paper-Scissors to settle anything

#629 When it feels like the lyrics to the song you’re listening to were written just for you

#620 Singing in the car on the way home from the concert

#334 The first meal you eat after a cold

#321 Taking the day off for your birthday

#449 Staying up so late that everything becomes funny

#490 Driving around with the windows down on late summer nights

#587 Taking your ponytail out

#777 Reading the nutritional label & eating it anyway

And just to add one of my own (which I suppose would be Awesome Thing #1?) from today…

#1 Making it in the door seconds before a downpour hits

It has been a long time since I have read Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall. The book itself was actually pretty decent, considering it really did make me stop & think about life several times. Which is quite a feat for many YA books (yes, I am 28 & I enjoy reading YA from time to time, thank you very much).

There was one part of the book that really stuck out for me. I recently came across it again in my Quotes & Lyrics Journal that I keep (yes, another nerdy thing I readily admit to doing). It obviously stood out for me at the time I read the book, but for some reason it had even more of an impact when I reread it in the past week. So, here it is:

“It amazes me how easy it is for things to change, how it is to start off down the same road you always take and wind up somewhere new. Just one false step, one pause, one detour, and you end up with new friends, a bad reputation or a boyfriend or a breakup. It’s never occurred to me before; I’ve never been able to see it. And it makes me feel, weirdly, like maybe all of these different possibilites exist at the same time, like each moment we live has a thousand other moments layered underneath it that look different.”

When I was younger I used to read my horoscope all the time. I took the words to heart. Believed it would come true as written.  I’ve been know to say “everything happens for a reason”, both to assure myself & others. I believed that things were meant to be. Soul mates. Fate. Destiny. Signs in the stars. Yup, I was a sucker for all of those things. I’m not quite sure when it changed for me, but it did. I no longer believe in those concepts, at least in  the way I used to. Don’t get me wrong, I wish it were true & everything in life was so simple; if it is meant to be, it will be. And perhaps there is a chance that is true. Who am I to say? But my life experiences have taught me otherwise.

I still read my horoscope, just for kicks. And yes, there are times it is almost dead on (but usually about the bad stuff so I try to avoid reading them…I may not believe in them, but I DO believe in the power of persuasion). I enjoy reading books or seeing movies about two people being brought together by fate & falling desperately & passionately in love…soul mates for eternity. Its a sweet thing to imagine. But I just don’t believe that any of those things were predestined to happen.

 I think that life is made up of random events. You can take any one of them & twist & turn it so many ways to create  numerous outcomes… “Just one false step, one pause, one detour..”  & everything as you know it could end up differently. I believe that we all have a choice in any situation. The choice you make may turn out to be right or wrong…good or bad. It’s all a game of chance. No one can predict the future. The pause or false step you make may separate you from your old friends, but you will likely make new friends that will mean just as much to you. You may have untrue (or maybe true) things spoken about you, but you & those who love you will always know the truth. A relationship may end & it will be a difficult thing, but it doesn’t mean that someone else won’t come along to make you happy; chances are, someone will.

There are so many possibilities in life. If you take the view that everything will fall into place with no effort on your part, that if it’s meant to be it will simply happen, life will likely pass you by in an unhappy haze. You make your own happiness. You have to create it. Good things just won’t fall ino your lap. Yet, you can’t dwell on every small decision either. Surely there is a butterfly effect to every choice made. But you can only surmise what will happen so far down in that chain of events. Life is unpredictable. You can’t control the choices that others make that may collide onto your path. All we can do is try to stay on the path, take a chance on a detour from time to time, accept that we will make false steps, & see where life & all its possibilities take us.

And really, aren’t the adventures & unknowns in life what make it so amazing?

It is fascinating what one can see in ordinary objects. Art that demonstrates that fact is so interesting to me. The work of Sandrine Estrade Boulet is both humorous and beautiful.

Here are some of my favorite images:

Via maryschwalm.wordpress.com

I find keyhole photography to be absolutely gorgeous, which coincides with my love of antique keys   These are some of my favorite photos I’ve come across recently.

sacred-destinations.blogspot.com

simonsphotographicproject365.blogspot.com

www.eyefetch.com

www.travelpod.com

www.flickriver.com

www.tabathayeatts.com

www.snowgum.org

travel.webshots.com/

Be forewarned…this is going to be a mix of happiness and sadness. And really I’m writing it more for me than anyone else, to be honest. So if you still care to read, continue…

I came across a blog post titled You May Say I’m a Dreamer from Fish Custard and it was such a great post to read. It was devoted to John Lennon and his influence on the writer. The parts that stood out for me were…

“Love was what John was all about – that one elusive emotion that has a different definition for everyone. Some say there are different kinds of love – love for family, love for friends, love for a significant other. What mattered to John, I think, was that we loved – period. He believed that love could cure the world, and this is why he was labelled a ‘hippie’.”

“…some may say John was a hippie and that he was just a Beatle; that he took drugs and sung about unrealistic ideals. These things are true – but there will always more to John than the image of what these people see; he means more to some than others will ever know.”

The Beatles’ music means more to me than others will ever know. I have always been a fan. It has been instilled in me from a very early age. My dad was a huge fan of theirs, and their music was the soundtrack of my childhood in many ways. Every single time I hear one of their songs I think of my dad. It was very difficult in the early days after he passed away, to the point that I simply could not listen to it with out bawling. With each year it gets easier, however, and now I find myself smiling. Sometimes when I hear a Beatles song in a very random place or at a random moment, I like to think that’s my dad’s way of letting me know he’s with me. Reading that blog post made me want to sit and spend some time tonight just thinking about him and all the great memories I have of him so that I’ll never forget.

Some songs stand out for me more than others…

Michelle- He always sang this song for my little my sister, whose middle name is Michelle.

And I Love Her-This song is amazingly beautiful and simple. It was my mom and dad’s wedding song. I distinctly remember this song playing the night before he passed away. I holds both memories of a happy time and sad one of marriage and death. It’s one of the hardest ones for me to hear still.

Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds- I still laugh remembering how my jaw dropped when my dad thought I was old enough to know what this song was really about

Here Comes The Sun- Not only does this remind of him, but it’s such a great song. It always makes me happy. Always. Sometimes I play it when I’m feeling down when nothing else is helping.

Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da Not only did he sing this often, but it also makes me think of our tv nights together watching Life Goes On. (Anyone remember that show??)

I could go on and on, but those are some that stand out and that I found myself listening to tonight. Whenever the weather was nice, I could count on him being up bright and early, working on something on the house, with Breakfast With The Beatles playing on a local radio station. I’d hear him singing it in the car. Such sweet memories. Thinking, talking, and writing about him helps me when the pain comes back and allows me to have a good cry, dry my tears, and smile back on better days.

All photo credit in post goes to Dan Shearn’s photo stream on Flickr.

While at Borders a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a book in the photography section titled, Postsecret. I had never heard of these books before, but now I feel the need to own them all. I could have sat down in the book store and read every one on the shelf.

The basic idea behind these books is that people use a postcard to reveal their “secrets”.  Some are ones we could all relate to, some are just plain hilarious, and some truly make you want to cry.

There’s something about reading the secrets of others that I find fascinating. I’m not quite sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Regardless, it makes me realize how much we all have in common. We all have our hopes, dreams, fears, and pain. And we all struggle to accept these. We all are “just kind of winging it”.

I wonder what my own Postsecrets would be? That may be a post for a day when I’m feeling more daring. Until then, I suggest checking out the site in the links above…or just take a look at these photos:

For those of you who have read my other blog posts, you’ll know that I fell in love with a movie called Once. I could go on and on about the film again, but I’ll spare you (however, if you’re interested, you can find it in the archives. Or follow the link on “Once”). The film’s soundtrack was utterly amazing. (The song Falling Slowly won them an Oscar!) And, as is no surprise, I am obsessed with music, so I did a little more research and discovered that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova (who play the main characters in the film) are part of the group The Swell Season.

As I listened to their follow up albums, The Swell Season and Strict Joy, I began to appreciate their talents even more. Every single song I have heard has been incredible. It is rare to find an artist or group where you truly love all of their work. The Swell Season is one of these rarities.

Luckily for me, I was able to see them perform live on Saturday, May 27th, at the W.L. Lyons Brown Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. This was even more fortunate since this was there second to last stop on their tour. We met up with a couple of other fans before the show for dinner and drinks and had a fabulous conversation based on our mutual (although sometimes varied) love of music that moves us.

The show itself was better than I even expected. They truly put on an incredible show. There was a good mix of songs that featured of Glen and those that featured Marketa. And of course the songs where they sang together were the best parts of the show.There were songs that were funny, ones that made me want to dance, and some that made me want to cry.

The performance in and of itself was such a wonderful experience, but the highlight of the night was having the opportunity to meet Glen and Marketa after the show. We had heard that they made a point to stop and meet with fans after their shows, so we stayed after the show by their tour bus. Sure enough, they came out and took the time to say hello to each and every fan. I have so much respect for musicians that truly appreciate their fans and have the desire to interact with them on a personal level. I never know how to express my love of music to an artist, but it was experience enough just to have had the chance to shake their hands and tell them how much I enjoyed the show. Here are the photos we were fortunate enough to get with them

If you have not done so, make it a point to go and listen to the Once soundtrack (and watch the movie too!), The Swell Season, Strict Joy and Glen’s other band The Frames. You will be happy that you did!

It has been quite awhile since I’ve updated my blog. I suppose I just haven’t felt “inspired” enough lately. Whatever the reason, I’ve decided to get back in the swing of things.

Today, Ben Sollee’s cover of “A Change is Gonna Come” brought a smile to my face and made me feel just a tad more optimistic after a rough day.

Well, it’s dark in the city
I’ve lost my pride
The lights in the streets hide the stars from my eyes

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

And it’s too hard living
But I’m afraid to die
Cause I don’t know what’s up there
Just beyond the sky

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

And I miss my family
My little girl
She is my princess
I’d give her the world

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

I just need some comfort
Some kind of belief
That this war we’re fighting
Can really bring some peace

There’s no rhyme nor reason
Or sweet melody
More and more weapons
mean less security

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

And I’ve tried to find it
Some better place
Where having the biggest gun
ain’t some kind of race

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

There’s been times I thought
I couldn’t last for long
But now I think I’m able
To carry on

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

It’s been a long, long time coming
But I know that change is gonna come

Yes, a change is gonna come

This is also my absolute favorite song Ben plays from the album. I just can’t get enough of him on the cello in this song!

Here’s to hoping for some (good) changes in life!

Who was Spencer Bell? He was “a poet, musician, artist” who sadly passed away in 2006 from adrenal cancer. He left this world just 11 days after being admitted to the hospital with stomach pains.

I had heard about Bell while I was checking out the 100 Monkeys website a few months back.  I had completely forgotten about knowing anything about him until this past weekend. I was hanging out with a friend watching a live stream of a concert of 100 Monkeys, which just so happened to be a Spencer Bell Legacy Concert (I believe). I remembered then that I had heard of him.

I re-visited the 100 Monkeys site, which includes a Spencer Bell Legacy Project page. You truly have to read this page to understand the entire story behind Bell’s experience. On the site there is an entry that he wrote in one of his journals in September of 2003 (3 years before his passing). It struck some deep emotions within me.  The words are incredibly moving:

I’m honestly not sure where this life is going
And I just as honestly do not care
So long as I can love
And be loved
So long as I can inspire
And be inspired
So long as the sun keeps sliding through the sky,
And the rain still falls on occasion,
I’m sure that whatever supremely awaits me
Shall come
And when finality brings itself to me
I will not run and vainly avoid the inevitable
I will cast my arms out and blindly
Embrace my end
Just as I have always embraced whatever
Has come with the wind

His words are extremely powerful and they show what amazing talent and strength he had. I’m sure he had no idea that just a few years later he would be embracing his end.  Although he is no longer with us, the words he had written managed to find me years down the road. In that sense, along with his music, he truly was able to inspire.

Only in the last few days have I begun to listen to his music, but I really enjoy his style.

A song…..

This photo is what inspired me to title this post with “life is full of beauty. notice it.”. The full quote is:

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”-Ashley Smith

If you look very closely (you may have to click on the link below and open the photo via my flickr page..), you can see tiny busy ants on the dandelion. A detail even I didn’t notice until after I uploaded the image!

Beauty is everywhere, if you take the time to look for it.  It’s the little details that make a photo, and life, so wonderful.

Visit my page to see more photos I just added, if you’d like: *bien-aime* ( I love nature photos, something you’ll notice immediately if you visit my page!)

Happy Friday!