a code to contentment

it's been a crazy, crazy year. most days i feel like i'm scrambling to get through, and gasping for breath! in times like these, i find a lot of comfort in the stories of people who have gone through and are going through the same challenging seasons... and who are choosing to journey through them with lots of grace, positivity, and perspective.

one of them is linds, whom i've never met in person or even chatted to online, but found online through a comment she left on my blog. even though we live completely different lives somehow i always resonate with what she posts up!

she recently put together her 'code to contentment' that helps her navigate through the rocky, tumultuous waves of life and stay grateful through it all. i was incredibly inspired to do the same, so here's my code to contentment to help you kickstart another week ahead (in pictures, words, and song!):

crystal's code to contentment

1. choose my attitude.

"i choose to be the best that i can be.

i choose to be authentic in everything i do.

my past don't dictate who i am - i choose."

-i choose, india.arie

we all know people who have that 'victim' mentality. we probably have been that at points in our lives too. we know how it is. it's ugly. when you're always looking to point a finger, shift the blame, wallow in self-pity, and gripe about how much tougher you have it than everyone else. but it's a choice to rise above all that and choose to be better. 

2. enjoy the little things.

"there are times when it is hard to believe in the future, when we are temporarily just not brave enough. when this happens, concentrate on the present. cultivate le petit bonheur (the little happiness) until courage returns. look forward to the beauty of the next moment, the next hour, the promise of a good meal, sleep, a book, a movie, the likelihood that tonight the stars will shine and tomorrow the sun will shine. sink roots into the present until the strength grows to think about tomorrow." 

-ardis whitman

"i remember how I used to want it all 

funny now the big things seem so small 

i dream of simple things 

i can believe in 

like the feeling this day brings 

true love and the miracle of forgiving 

i believe in simple things"

-simple things, amy grant

i was never raised to place much importance on things and brands. even then, especially now that i've started working, it's hard not to be surrounded by materialism and people comparing themselves to each other. and so, i'm grateful i'm still able to appreciate the simple things, like a good cup of coffee and good conversation. 

3. don't wait for things to change, but be the change.

"i want to leave a legacy 

how will they remember me? 

did i choose to love enough 

to make a mark on things?"

-legacy, nichole nordeman

today, i came across this tweet that really made me think: 'Do you complain about the wind, hope the wind will stop or adjust your sails?' the first and second are essentially a waste of time, energy, and emotions. i'd rather channel them into changing the way i look at the situation, and essentially changing the situation itself. 

4. live the questions

"...have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. and the point is to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer." 

-rainer maria rilke, 1903, in letters to a young poet

"i’m letting go

of the life i planned for me

and my dreams

this is a giant leap of faith

trusting and trying to embrace

the fear of the unknown

beyond my comfort zone."

-i'm letting go, francesca battistelli

i've learned that the fastest way to become unhappy and dissatisfied with anything - a job, a partner, a life - is to try to control it. there is much freedom, liberty, and peace, in learning to let go and not have to always be in control. 

6. turn to saltwater.

i've found that there are very, very few things that a good run, a good beach getaway, or a good cry can't fix. 

5. focus on eternity

"they think that it's you

but they don't know that who you are

is not what you do

I don't want to gain the whole world

and lose my soul"

-lose my soul, tobymac

i listen to the above song almost every morning on my way to work. it keeps me sane, reminds me to look up, and helps me remember, in the midst of all the distractions of life, where i'm heading. 

hope my code to contentment in someway challenged or inspired you. what's your code of contentment? if you have one, please share! if not, why not spend some time writing yours too?

have a blessed week ahead!