Road Less Traveled

People are always trying to give me advice, Meg.. I think you should wait. Meg.. I don’t think that is in your best interest. Do we follow our instinct or do we listen to the advice given by others? It’s a tough decision. It can be a constant battle within ourselves to choose what we think is the right decision. Sometimes, there is never a right decision. It’s a matter of taking a path that has once been traveled or taking the path less traveled. One trail has a beautiful path already made for you. You can follow it knowing its safe, your protected and will get to where you ‘suppose’ to go. But, the road less traveled.. what does it entail? Goodness, the mystery of it all can be quite overwhelming. The emotions of feeling overwhelmed;  anxiety, stress, fear of the.. unknown. That word is scary isn’t it? The unknown. It must lead to scary things. Do we know? How will we ever know what the road less traveled has for us? What if that road never ends? A life filled with unknown adventures. I think that is life that I am living. It can scare some people. In fact, it worries most. I have been described as free-spirited, somebody who flies by the seat of her pants. To some that can translate in irresponsibility. But, I disagree. It’s a beautiful thing that society can allow you to not participate in the traditions of what life has expected for you. What do people expect you ask? I am not sure. I cannot meet up to the expectations of others and neither can you. We have the freedom to make decisions that we feel are best for us. What we can do is dare ourselves to live the life we imagine. If people doubt you, trust in yourself that what you are doing is right for you. The next time somebody questions your decisions tell them, “I am taking the road less traveled and making it my own.”

Cheers to being you.

Peace and Love,

Meg

Spirit Bird

I absolutely love genuine connections. When you walk away thinking, “Wow that person seems wonderful.” It will happen quite often if you let it.

I remember being on a train in England and meeting a guy who wanted to change England by being a politician. You could hear the passion in his voice. Or the girl living in Dallas, Texas going to a University to make a better life for her family in India. It could be the simplest of things, like sharing music. But, I absolutely love the connections people {could} make if they open their heart; looking past first impressions. When we let people in we might be surprised what we find. ♥

With that being said, let me share my music with you 🙂

Change doesn’t have to be Location.

I HAVE to have change every so often. I hope my future husband learns to love that about me. I recently backpacked Europe this summer and I was given a lot of time to self-reflect. I learned I love meeting new people and especially learning their culture. I quit my job before I left and had open arms to what this summer was going to bring me. The first few countries I went to, I felt like an outsider. A foreigner. The few people who were nice to me were refugees, forced out of their country because of war. Sad. I’m an American and ironically the few that showed me compassion towards me were all from the Middle East. It made my heart happy to see the kindness that we shared with each other. My trip was a smoother experience later on in the weeks. But, I would say the first two weeks was the best learning experience I could ever ask for.

Traveling shows you a new world and opens your eyes to life outside of your comfort zone. I left the United States with hopes of learning new cultures, what I didn’t know is how I would come back to the U.S as a proud citizen. It’s so easy to see our countries mistakes, we are all guilty of that. When you are away you begin to appreciate the beautiful things the U.S does offer. I learned I have the ability to create whatever life I want! I currently reside in the Midwest. I claim California as well, my heart has always been on the coast. This summer I have decided on making a lot of changes. I want more music. More bike rides. More farmers market. More yoga. More adventures. I was settled and comfortable, taking for granted all of those things I {could} be doing.

I stayed with many GREAT people on my summer trip. One of them I met on WordPress! I know that sounds a bit scary, but I trusted my instincts. He opened his home, friends and life to me. My friend, Sara, traveled with me and also loves him as well 🙂 (David) Never be too good in any situation to make a friend. I was shown a lot of compassion on this trip. My hope for myself is to share that same compassion towards others, the world. When I get settled in I want to open my home to couchsurfing.com. The most important thing I have learned is this.. No matter where you go, who you meet; you have one opportunity. To learn. And apply what you have learned by having an open-mind with the world.

No, I can’t just get up and go whenever I feel stuck. But, I can take every opportunity I can to learn from what the world has to show me.

“When you change your thoughts, you change your world.”    -Norman Vincent Peale

Much LOVE,

Meg❤

Three years and eight months.

It’s been three years and eight months; Divorce and death changes everything. It changed my family and most of all changed who I was. At first it seems like you try your hardest to have the complete opposite of what use to be. By making an impulse decision in life to change everything that you once were. Thinking that if you change your life, the pain you are feeling will disappear along with it. I was sadly mistaken. They always say time heals everything and it is true. You just never know how long. I went through a lot of changes, mentally and physically. I realized, there are things you can and can’t change. Acceptance. You restrain yourself for so long avoiding everything that you are supposed to be. I’ve done a lot of traveling lately (16 countries) and you realize life has to go on. I was in Europe for six weeks, sightseeing and meeting new people. In that time I didn’t have much time to focus on myself. It was wonderful! I have realized I spent three years and six months trying to live a life better than the one I use to have. (Wasted? ..Lesson learned)  Well guess what? I don’t want to live a different life and I don’t want things to be different. I am a struggling college student who loves her family and friends. I wake up every day with the joy to see the world. I don’t know if traveling opened my eyes or the time in between. What I do know is life is all the same no matter where you are. You wake up with the decision to be awake. I’m holding onto that forever. I am not ready to wake – I am awake.

Much love,

Meg

I hope you know how beautiful you are.

I wanted to talk about things I have constantly been thinking about. Things I am working on; some days struggling with and other days feeling motivated. Why is it that we have such expectations for ourselves to be perfect? We critique everything about ourselves, so we can be the best version of ourselves. It can be a positive thing when we do so to create a better world, but when we have selfish motives it becomes toxic not only for others but yourself. When your entire thoughts are consumed of yourself, it is quite exhausting. We all want to run away from the problem, except we are the problem. How does one run away from themselves? I think the most self-reflecting question I can ask you is this, “What do you think about?” Every day, all day, “What do you think about?”

I know I haven’t written in forever, but I have been focusing on that question quite a bit. And how I can change that focus from me, to others. Instead of saying how can I perfect myself, I am trying to ask, “How can I help others?” Perfection will never ever be achieved. The most beautiful thing on someone is a smile. True happiness and joy come from within. Physical appearances may bring temporary happiness but inner beauty lasts forever. I truly hate to admit that I have been so selfish in wasting such precious life I do have, on myself. “How can I look beautiful? How many times can I workout today?” What about, “How can I make others see that THEY are beautiful?” I have asked my friends what most of their thoughts consume of and sadly enough, I wish I could change them! I want so badly to follow them around saying,  “That person just had a bad day, do not analyze yourself because you are absolutely beautiful. Don’t let their words affect you, you are wonderful. You don’t have to be perfect, I love you just the way you are.”  Such gentle words, yet so hard to believe.  Especially when we say these words to ourselves.

I am doing my best to be Forever Beautiful, not only for myself, but for you. I hope you know how beautiful you are.

Women-and-Men.

Megan

🙂

Love Today

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin–real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way. Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.

-Fr. Alfred D’Souza

It’s so easy to fall into that state of mind, waiting for something to happen, so we can begin the life that we want. It’s as if we put our life on pause or brush it away because things aren’t  happening the way we want them to. We have a set focus of how we think our life should be causing us to waste away into the future. You could be going through a divorce or are not happy with your body; no matter the reason, we lessen the value of our life when in reality this is our life. We were all given a beautiful opportunity, a NEW YEAR. A new year to start fresh and love the beautiful gift of today. Today, you are beautiful. Today, you are loving and today, you are loved. I’m a true believer love is what makes the world go round. We all have so much love to give and we all are given something to love. It could be your children that you love, your puppy or your husband. Whatever it is you choose to love, love with all your heart. Love passionately. A life that stands for love, is a life worth loving.

Love,

Megan

Favor for my Blogging Friends

To all of my blogging friends.. I have a favor to ask you. My brother has started a clothing line in hopes to raise awareness for Autism. His clothing is called Perel Clothing. Perel designs and develops clothing that is for individuals within the autism and Asperger spectrum. Perel’s intention is to help guide autism and Asperger’s into a positive future by bringing awareness through its product and sponsorship.

My favor is that you go on Facebook and like his page. He is in the process of getting everything started and you liking his page would give him the motivation. It would help the companies funding this to know that people are interested and care about Autism Awareness. I appreciate your time. I hope you have a wonderful day! Even if you see this post days or years from now, still please go to the website. It is never to late to make a difference! We can all be a part of something big.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Perel-Clothing/192421294185883

Lots of Love,

Megan

What do you stand for?

There are things that define us, and then there are things that should not define us. I am becoming more and more at peace with my world. For me, it’s called accepting the things we cannot change. Spending energy on things that can change, accepting and loving the things we cannot. The world struggles with always wanting what we cannot have or what we are not. Most people can agree their family is not perfect. I spent a lot of my years wishing my family to be different. Wishing I had a father, but not looking at what some others may not have. I have the most wonderful, loving, imperfect mother. My mother once told me, “A friend is a true friend, if they accept you make mistakes and loves you anyway.” How refreshing is that? It means I can unintentionally hurt someone and they will still love me anyway. That is true love, true beauty. Accepting we live in an imperfect world and looking at it in a loving way. I am understanding more each day to have a healthy relationship with someone, we must accept their flaws as a part of who they are. Not loving someone for what they are, or what they do, but WHO they are. What do you stand for? Knowing what you stand for in life and passionately chasing after it will define you. The events that have happened in your life and how you choose to move forward, defines you. I want to passionately love one person. To show people that loving yourself can change their world. To let children know that they are all unique in their own way. Whoever I meet, I hope they know love is what I stand for. What do you stand for? If we could say it in a silent way, would our actions say the same? We are not perfect but we can spend our energy letting others know it’s okay to not be. We will still love you, and we hope to be loved in return.

Adventurous Chapters; Life

These past couple of months I find myself falling into the pattern of life. As soon as I wake up it’s almost as if I have lost all thoughts because I’m so used to my routine. If you have a time you specifically have to be at work (most of us do) you solely concentrate on making it at that time. My entire thoughts are concentrating on beating the clock. For example, the other day I was rushing through traffic AFTER work. Why? I had nowhere to be, nor did I have a time schedule to follow. I am always trying to beat time, for some reason I think if I beat it, that will allow me more time for my life. But, It’s doing just the opposite. I am concentrating on something that is actually STOPPING me from living. I can take that one step further and say, we are always trying to better ourselves in life. Bettering ourselves can be a good thing, but when we put our life on pause because we haven’t quite reached that goal yet, is never really allowing ourselves to live. I always think to myself, “When I move and start my travels, that is when I will truly exist and feel free.”I have made myself feel better by continuously saying “My repetitive day-to-day routines will all be worth it in the end.” I don’t want to look back at this part of my life and think, “Which part was I really I alive?” I know working and going to school full-time takes energy out of me, BUT I am going to make more of an effort to “wake up” so to speak. I love spending time with friends, each one is so unique and different. I made a list of things to do in my hometown that I haven’t done yet and I sent a copy to friends that live close by. I hope to check one-off once a week. I know I’m waiting to move, but I refuse to let my life be on pause. Each place you’re at in life, is a phase, but why not make them all adventurous chapters in your book? I love adventure, and maybe that is why I feel like I’m going CRAZY! I haven’t figured out if I need to accept the slow times in life or change them? I guess the key here is balance? It never hurts to re-evaluate ones life. Maybe, instead of feeling frustrated with myself, I can accept that I need balance. Too much of anything can be bad, so when I find myself continuously doing the same thing, I will simply switch it up. What I do know, is with my whole heart, I will cherish the small things in life. I definitely cherish family time, but what I don’t realize is there are so many ‘little things’ we don’t even notice until they’re gone. My challenge for myself is to really open my eyes and see the world. The present world I am in TODAY. Walking into a room and notice what color the ceiling is or what pictures are on the wall. Having awareness and passion for the world; living. I am going to just simply LIVE.

Genuine Love

Have you ever had something happen to you and you said to yourself, “I should take that as a sign.” For subconscious reasons, we think if we don’t listen to that inner voice, we’re doomed for negative things to follow. I’m not a rule follower, but I almost always find myself saying that.. Most people I know, have ended their marriage with a brutal divorce. Things happen, arguments, cheating.. the unexpected happens. We think if we don’t listen to that sign of when to walk away, we will have a lifetime of unhappiness.  That “everything happens for a reason” mentality. Well, what if we break the rules. Loving someone with the knowledge that, NO MATTER WHAT comes our way, we will fight. Fight forever. Not till the end, because who says your love should end? Arguments happen, knowing that person will fight for you, no matter what the “unexpected” is, that to me is UNCONDITIONAL love. I’m sure we’ve all heard, “Baby, I will always love you.” Well you know what, that repetitive statement is well overused. The connection of knowing your love is forever, cannot be described in words. I truly believe it is a once in a lifetime experience. Something RARE and something you should never let go of. People may call it a fairy tale love, or a make-believe love, but I will continue to never settle for anything less than true genuine love. I know loneliness is a popular feeling, which is why people settle for the next best thing. Trust me when I say, Genuine Love is worth waiting for.

Contradicting Love for Life

As I was driving in my jeep, sitting at a stop light, I saw the leaves flying in the sky as if they were talking to me. Telling me to keep my free spirit going. Keep my head up and my heart open. The sky was purple and yellow, so colorful. I sat at the stop light daydreaming; remembering the feeling of excitement, hope. Life was telling me I had something to look forward to. Feeling the wind and watching the leaves swirl around was a breath of fresh air. Taking the time to notice the beauty that life has to offer saves me. Day by day it saves me. As each day goes on, the crazy pattern of life yet the excitement of not knowing whats going to happen next is my contradicting love for life. There are opportunities to learn everywhere you look. I’m realizing life is about breathing in the moment. Truly listening to the present, balancing that craving to know whats ahead and that regret of what’s behind. Just listen. Allow your thoughts to fade away, as you look into the present moment of today.

Inner Beauty

I’m a girl, that hopes to make a difference in the world. By learning to love myself and loving others unconditionally. You are beautiful now and forever is something I truly believe. True inner beauty never fades.

Everything we want and everything we need is and always will be free. Go on a walk, hike, bike ride, anything outside; you’ll find that the true healing is from Mother Nature. Where there is peace everywhere, the beautiful flower growing from the ground; the wind, rain, everything is against that little flower, but it still stands? I put a question mark on that because I want you to think how and why? It is meant to be beautiful; it stands tall because that is what Mother Nature intended it to be. But why? It grows in dirt. Odds are against it, yet it still stands and continues to grow. We have so much to learn from the Earth, why look to human beings; society to set the examples for us? You have one life to live, please, don’t waste it allowing your thoughts to tell you things you are not. We all are beautiful, interesting, different. Love it. Nature intended you to be that way, love the beauty in it. I think it’s wonderful to try to better ourselves, but to think we’re not worthy of being beautiful and confident without material things is truly sad to me. Any time you start to question who you are, just think, “There is no one else like me. I am one of a kind.” Even identical twins have different personalities. That is our truest gift; the freedom of our thoughts and the freedom to be who we want to be. Embrace yourself. Don’t waste your life trying to please others, love yourself and others will be drawn to that. I look at it as a puppy, if you can love a puppy, feed, water and love it unconditionally just because it’s alive, then why can’t I do the same for myself? After all, love is the key to true success.

~I am dedicating this to you. When you feel as if there is nothing left; Look within.

A part of my first chapter in my book, I hope it inspires you

Stepping Stone

I’m always in the same routine. School, work, school, work. NOTHING else. Sometimes I think of running away to somewhere exotic, Switzerland or New Zealand. Am I running away from my routine or is it my state of mind? Being responsible is something I’ve always known. When I was in Venice Beach, seeing the hobos have no worries, fears, or responsibilities was something I was quite envious of. They wake up with no expectations of anything and just enjoy day by day. Smiling at everyone, enjoying the people and music around them. What was it that was so good about their life, that wasn’t in mine? Their state of mind. They’ve seen the worse they possibly could have, they know their life can only get better. Today has been a continuous cycle of pattern, but is it me just saying the same bad thoughts over and over? I’m usually quite the optimistic person, but I am one for adventure and love surprises in life. Right now, my life is just the opposite. I know this is just temporary, I’m working my heart out to save money to have enough money to move. I’m doing this to myself? Happiness is a state of mind NOT a location. There is beauty everywhere, I just need to find it. Today’s continuous pattern has helped me realize, life isn’t always a field of flowers. But how fortunate am I, that I have the freedom to create my own future? That is exactly what I am doing. Waking up and creating my own future. Each day, each routine, is a stepping stone to my dreams. Isn’t it amazing that with each negative thought, we have the ability to learn? Life is beautiful that way. I will continue my routine – taking a breath of fresh air – knowing I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.