"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
confession (it's been a long time since good ol' honest confession has taken place on this blog! somehow growing up tends to make one practice a lot more self-censorship all in the name of maintaining a certain image):
i've been having a mild quarter-life crisis for the past few weeks. and no, this is not a report to say the storm has passed and i see where i'm headed with absolute clarity now. i'm still torn between wanting to be incredibly driven and between taking it slow, between wanting my freedom and wanting to be dependent, and oh, just between a whole lot of things.
times like these, i write quotes like the above and paste them all over my bedroom walls for sanity. don't get me wrong - i love where i am, i love the people around me, i love life in general - but i guess none of us can avoid asking ourselves, especially in the late and lonely nights when you've had a bit too much indie music to listen to, is this all there is to this?
i guess that's part of growing up. learning to acknowledge and not deny that these feelings exist. but at the same time, not being ruled by them. learning to be expressive without necessarily being impulsive. don't get me wrong - i'll always still be this spontaneous risk-taker, free-spirit at heart - but growing up means realising that your actions don't affect you alone, but a lot of other people as well.
and times like these, i try to focus on and count my les petits bonheurs.
like amazingly rich and delish affogato at the bee
chocolate-chip cookies
good food
good sleep
good people
the good book
Hi Crystal! Love this post, and in particular, that ‘les petits bonheurs’ phrase. So true…we get caught up in the sometimes mundane, sometimes repetitive, everyday process of ‘living life’ that we do forget to notice the little everyday things that DOES bring happiness to us (perhaps in such small amounts that we immediately forget it afterwards, but nevertheless, it’s there!).
ReplyDeleteFrom reading your blog, I see that you’ve done so much more than I have when I was at your age and I’m sure your optimism and talent will bring you even further…so yes! There really is so much more to this (my perspective to that question changed greatly when I had my daughter)…there's plenty to look forward to and I’m sure you’ll find a nice balance between all the things that you want one day…=)