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i'm trying something new today...
getting myself out of my little box of thinking...
i'm gonna write to music...yep...we'll see how it goes!
anyways, i've had a few things on my mind as of late that i'd like to share...
oh, and, by the way, i'm listening to pandora...dialed into ray lamontagne, which is pretty nice and chill.
so, work with me here, because i may just go all over the place...
but here goes...
first of all, i was thinking about the little things in life that happen to you, while you're just living...they seem quite inconsequential or small...but they change your feeling or your attitude, right in that moment that they happen.
i'll give you a few examples of things that have happened recently to me...
that changed my day, and made me feel happy or just put a smile on my face.
which, as you know, somedays, can be the exact thing that you need.
that's part of the reason that it's hard not to believe in destiny or kismet.

so, i was at the grocery store the other day, after a really insane day at work...we were running around like crazies the entire time, and it happened to be that day was my 8th day in a row of working...needless to say, my body and my soul were tired...i had taken an exact amount of money into the store, instead of my debit card...forcing myself to hopefully, not spend as much money...i have a strange little system that keeps me in check when i walk in, but i won't go into that, just to make this story shorter...
anyways, i get in line, there are people behind me, and i'm 31 cents short...so, i'm standing there like, 'oh crap', and tell the lady that i have to run out to my car and get the change, which in my mind am thinking, i really don't want to run anymore today...she just looks at me, and says, don't worry about it, i bet i have 31 cents in my change purse...she proceeds to get out her wallet and throw it in the til for me...a person she doesn't know at all...but most likely looks pretty tired. i walked away smiling, feeling lucky.

another day, i'm out with friends, walking through a really busy local bar, and see an old friend, and walk up to say hello to her and give her a hug. we exchange the usual how are you's and what's ups...and as we're talking she mentions the fact that she reads my blog and that on somedays that she's having a bad day, and she reads me...it makes her day better. i walked away with a smile on my face, thinking she had made my night better.

at work recently, i was talking to the young man i was working with, and we were laughing quite a bit that day...it seems when i work with this kid, i turn into a comedienne of sorts, because the whole time, i tell him stories or just talk to him, we laugh, almost non-stop. he tells me the other day, that he really loves working with me because i always make his day better, through laughter. i walked away that day feeling happy knowing that i could have this positive affect on a 19 year old boy...who three months ago, i didn't know at all.

so, you see, these small things can have quite an affect on us.
i feel so lucky that there are so many days that i'm reminded of this.
running into that person, that changes your day with just a few words or a slight action.
words or actions, most likely, that you need to hear or see, just to lift your spirits.
because as much as we want to believe that we are doing all this alone...
we're not.
we're surrounded by people.
by their energy, by their spirit.
that's huge!
we get to choose everyday, who we are.
what we're gonna do.
how we're going to present ourselves,
to the world.
and how we're going to live.
it's easy to walk along this life,
and forget that the things we do, as small as they may be,
can be just the thing that someone else needs.
that as much as other people affect us...
we, in turn, affect them.
and maybe we have to try even harder in this life,
to make sure that the affect is a good one.
a pay it forward of sorts...everyday.
because as much as we need it...someone else does too.
happiness begetting happiness...yeah, so simple.

i leave you with this last little story...
i just recently moved home from oregon,
for many different reasons...
but the longer i'm home,
the more i realize the good decision i made to come home.
many people disagreed with me or thought me to be a fool...
but i guess it comes with age...
at a certain point, you begin to understand that your life is yours,
and you need not explain your decisions to other people,
because they aren't you.
and yes, sometimes, i felt a bit embarassed to have made this huge trek,
across the u.s. and only 7 months later, there i was driving back home.
but the honest truth is...i finally feel at home...
and the reasons i do, are the small things.
like going to my parents house, when my little brother and his wife and child are there...and when i walk in the door, seeing little julius's face light up, and he says 'honey!' really loud, and runs to me...i'm home.
when i wake up in the morning, and hear the ocean and can watch the sun come up...i'm home.
when i go out to lunch, and run into 10 people i know...i'm home.
when i go out for a run, and spend part of the time, waving at my friends, passing by in cars...i'm home.
and even in a town as small as this one, you meet new people, and they can have a way of changing your life, and making it better...
so...
where ever you are...
and whatever you do...
know that you can be the change in someone's day...
you can be the change in the world...
and the change that makes others feel like they've made it home.