Thank you more please

   THANK YOU.

        More people who actually care. More sunshine. More smiling faces. More warm summer nights.
        More mindfulness. More happy tears. More love. More romance. More butterflies. More water.
        More of everything because there is an abundance, you just have to open your arms and receive.

Busy

Making time for the important things in life. These days everyone is constantly busy doing "something". But what are we actually doing? Many of us seem to underestimate the importance of prioritising. If you really want to lose weight or get fit, you just make time for a workout. If you REALLY want to catch up with that friend of yours, guess what - you will make time to go for a coffee or lunch.

Start prioritising and don't get lost in the "too busy" jungle because most of the time it's the easiest thing to say if someone asks you what you are doing or if you have time. We are taught that having time or doing "nothing" for  a bit (especially in an office or at work) won't be tolerated or perceived as lazy. But ask yourself, if you are doing "nothing" are you actually doing absolutely "nothing"?

Gathering thoughts, lying in the sun... we are obviously always doing "something" but are we always "busy" or even "too busy"?
I will finish here (quite abruptly) to let it sink in so I can PRIORITISE.

Developing & Discovering...

TALENTS.

Some people don't believe they have any talents and a lot of people don't really know what their talents exactly are. That sounds a bit strange because someone might think "That's not true. I know my talents. I'm a natural at snowboarding and I am great dancer!" for example. But that's not what this is about.

Let me give you a definition of

Your talents are in you, they are a part of you, always have been, and you are most probably not even aware of their exact nature and/or what to do with them.

Spend some time identifying your true talent(s), ask yourself if you display these talents regularly and try to find two or three examples. Then put them through another test by asking 5 questions: are they 1. fundamental (are they innate), 2. are they things you do with ease, 3. can you repeatedly do them with success, 4. are they something that give you pleasure without having to put a lot of effort into them, and 5. are they getting recognised by others, because talent is something seen and recognised by others through evidence.

The few talents (or even if it is only a single one, that's ok) that are left after assessing them closely are the most powerful tools you possess. Learn how to improve and use them properly because your talents won't last if they are not being used.

And you might have guessed it, on the journey of getting to know yourself (better) discovering your talents is a major step towards living a happy and successful life. Here are (only) two reasons why:

Now go and dig deep, see what you find - it's totally worth it! I've started digging and I can see the light... and lots of beautiful creatures along the way.

"The person born with a talent they are meant to use will find their greatest happiness in using it." 

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

(Can't believe I'm quoting Goethe in English.)

xx stay beautiful xx

Circumstances don't define you

Fiji much...

What a poser

In this and the last post you find some pictures taken in an environment where my mind, body and soul are at complete peace. I love being at the beach, in the water, riding a horse, looking at palm trees, exploring the underwater world as much as everything above sea level. While the ocean and tropics seem to have a magical influence on me, I really want to point out here that it doesn't matter if I am at the beach or in the city to be happy and at ease. It is completely up to me and my mindset on how I feel no matter where I am in this world. If I choose to be happy on a rainy day in the city, enjoying a nice cup of tea while I am getting some work done, I make a conscious decision not to let circumstances or environment influence on how I feel.

"Happiness has to do with your mindset, not with outside circumstance." Steve Maraboli

Keeping this in mind, you are able to experience limitless freedom and happiness. I have experienced this so many times while traveling the world and living in all kind of different places, especially not always the most inspiring and beautiful ones. What I've learned from the journey is that each single place teaches you something about yourself. It teaches you how to deal with a certain environment, with its people and their culture, and if you are open-minded and willing to embrace what each place has to offer, what each place is going to teach you - even if you don't realise or see it immediately - you will grow. You will grow stronger and most of all, you will get to know yourself better.

Blaming circumstance, environment, everything and everyone around you is the easy way out of not having to (get to) know yourself or facing any challenges in your life. Of course it is so much easier for me to be happy and carefree in an environment I am comfortable in, either because I grew up there and it's all I've ever known or because it's a place where I always wanted to be. Being at the beach in the tropics and being happy is one of the easiest tasks (for me) but aren't you up for a challenge or do you want to keep living your life where and how "you're used to" because getting out of your comfort zone is just a little bit too hard?

Well, it's not for everyone because one thing is certain if you want to grow - YOU GOTTA GO OUT THERE AND DO IT!

"You have to do your own growing, no matter how tall your grandfather was." Abraham Lincoln

Join the journey! That's all for today.
Hope to see you on the flip side xx

Waterworld

"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean." 

Arthur C. Clarke

Watcha looking at?!

It's all about perspective peeps x

"One person's craziness is another person's reality."

Tim Burton

HAPPY.

BIRTHDAY to two of the most important people in my life. Mum & Babba. I love you so much.

LIFE making the most of every day. Grateful for all the beautiful people and amazing experiences. I love you.

HEALTH a healthy body and mind makes the soul happy. I love you.

AUGUST summer over there, winter over here. It's fantastic no matter where. I love you.

Flashbacks

I have been thinking about my time at uni a lot recently and that's when I found T.S. Eliot's Selected Poems in a box at a friends house. I analysed "The Waste Land" and "The Hollow Men" in my Master thesis and I have to say it's a completely different experience reading these two poems now 5 years later. I can't really describe the feeling, I can only say that it feels good. It gives me hope reading them, although they are amongst the darkest and depressing literature I can think of. It makes me feel proud because they stand for 130 pages, a Master thesis, 6 months of my life, and there is no better expression for it than "blood, sweat and (a lot of) tears".

I have done it. I wrote all of it. I have accomplished something that seemed impossible to me at the time but I have mastered it so to say.
I think of my friends who were there for me, proof reading, mentally supporting me in any way possible - from talking things through over and over again to getting me away from my desk to party all night when it was necessary (or when we thought it was necessary).
I think of my family. My rock. The most beautiful people in my life. And I hope I made them proud as well because they have always supported me in ways no one else does and no one else could have. My gratitude to have them as my family is beyond words.

And because the video upload doesn't want to work ... please click HERE 

"When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching - they are your family."

Jim Butcher

From the Monk who sold his Ferrari

'IT'S A FUNNY THING ABOUT LIFE; IF YOU REFUSE TO ACCEPT ANYTHING BUT THE BEST, YOU VERY OFTEN GET IT.'

Somerset Maugham

The title of this book caught my eye straight away and it's been a very motivational and inspiring read. The quote at the beginning of this post is just one of many wise words from very wise people. Sharma's book contains a challenging reading list and I am not quite sure where to start yet but I was very happy to find Herman Hesse's Siddhartha among the recommended books. Maybe it's time to read Siddhartha in English for the very first time. I've read it for the first time (in German) when I was 16 and I absolutely loved it, and every time I've picked it up since, I have learned more and gained deeper insight into my inner self - an absolutely fantastic and life changing book.

I think I'll do a series on books I enjoy reading...stay tuned.

Okay, one last but genius one... This is one of the truest measures of a person of strong character.

"TAKE YOUR LIFE INTO YOUR OWN HANDS AND WHAT HAPPENS? 

A TERRIBLE THING: NO ONE TO BLAME."

Erica Jong