C'est Une Belle Vie

shark valley pt. 1

2012-10-16T10:28:00.000-07:00

Enjoying life and exploring nature is such a liberating feeling.
Breathing the fresh outdoor air.
Feeling the sun warming your skin.
The kiss of a gentle breeze so light and airy.
Hearing the sounds of the wild speaking to you.
I became one with the earth at that moment.

As I had mentioned in my previous post,
I began to reconnect with old friends from my past.
Those who I've had close relationships with.
A lot of the times people can make empty promises.
Promises to meet and reunite.
Yet, never truly carrying them out.

I made that exception.
The conscious effort to not go against my words.

Yesterday, I met with two great girls who I've known since high school.
For whatever reason, we had gone separate ways in our lives and lost touch.
Fortunately though I was able to see them again.
Build and share memories like we once had as younger girls.

The setting was Shark Valley, Everglades Florida.
It was beyond amazing to not only be together with close friends,
but to be out there exploring the place with them.
While we didn't make it there in time for bike rentals,
we still trekked 2 miles on foot through the long hiking trails observing nature.

Here are some photos of our short adventures in Shark Valley.
Of course there will be a full scope on the place when we do finish the 15 mile trail.
So stay tuned!

reconnecting

2012-10-15T18:16:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time coming.
I've abandoned this little corner of mine.
That much is for sure.
Nonetheless, I have found my way back.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Or so they say.
If I don't say so myself, I think I agree.

You see...

I have made it a goal of mine coming into the year 2012,
that I was going to reconnect with old friends as well as make new ones.
I didn't think I was holding up to my promise.
I just dug myself into a deep cave and forgot many.

The year isn't over yet.
So I went and made that effort.
Made the effort to get out of my comfort zone,
and reconnect with those closest to me in the past.

I am so grateful that I did.

It might have taken something in my own personal life to give me that push,
but either way I found those friends and extended out to them.
Wishing them well and hoping all was going great in their lives.

I might have been scared of the rejection I expected from those I have lost touch with.
However, they greeted me with just the same amount of happiness.
Because of this I am just that more confident that I can put myself out there.

Thank you to those who have accepted me.
The ones who have extended their hellos to me as well.
We are not alone in this world.
No we are not.

a day to enjoy

2012-10-06T17:41:00.001-07:00

Saturday.
A day to explore.
A day to enjoy with others.
Hope everyone is having a great day!
And a great weekend overall.

adventures to come

2012-10-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired to be a tourist in my home city.
My home city is that of sunny Miami, Florida.
Now it isn't the beachy, ocean drive kind that everyone knows it to be.
This is the suburb-close to the Everglades-kind of Miami.
I might like it better than the inner city.
But either way I don't get out often to explore this place.
And that is sad.

You see, I've been inspired by a lady named Michelle.
Michelle of mishlovinlife.
She and her beau are travelling the world.
How exciting is that?

And instead of moping around here wishing I can do such a thing.
I figured, why not start here?
Explore the place I grew up in.
Maybe then I will appreciate this place a little more.

So thank you Michelle for inspiring me to do this.
Even though you may not know it.
Miami here I come!
Oh wait I'm already here.
Well you know what I mean.
Bon voyage!

change

2012-10-04T18:46:00.001-07:00

Embrace it.
Sometimes change doesn't come wrapped up in a nice box,
with a pretty bow on top.
When things don't turn out the way as we planned,
we accept them and live on.

That is my one cent today.
Love. Laugh. Live.

rain

2012-10-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Rain is beautiful.
The skies are grey and the clouds heavy.
The splatter of cold drops of water hitting your face.
There is something freeing about the moment.
Running through the downpour.
Young, wild, and free.

yoga and a new month

2012-10-01T18:35:00.002-07:00

You are not your mind.
You are not your thoughts.
You are not your body.
You are not your profession.

The real you never changes.
You are a divine being.
Having human experiences.

Enjoy those experiences.
Learn from them.
Grow from them.

The passionate words of my yoga instructor.

It is also the first day of a new month.
A new month to start out fresh.
A new month to wipe the slate clean.

It is October.
Three full months left till a new year.
Three full months to accomplish your goals.

Are you ready for it?

a road

2012-09-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

“Even at the end of the road,
read the first sentence, there is a road.
Even at the end of the road, a new road stretches out,
endless and open, a road that may lead anywhere.
To him who will find it, there is always a road.”
-D.J. MacHale

This photo was taken by my cousin Kenneth Pietrobono.
You can see his work here

A picture can mean many things to the eyes of the beholder.
It can be left to interpretation.
Meaning one thing to you.
And different to another.

A road is long and can stretch for many miles.
It's a journey.
We sometimes can get discouraged from that journey.
To long.
To stressful.
Treacherous.

We have fear of the unknown.
At least I do.
But we should embrace that fear.
It will be what keeps us striving forward.
Fear will not determine the way I live.
I will make my own destiny.

Whichever road I am on now,
I have faith that it will lead me the right way.

shay

2012-09-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

I love what this little blog of mine has gifted me so far.
It has given me a place to write down my own thoughts.
A collection of inspirational and motivational words.

It's easy for us to not take our own advice.
To settle for who we are now and not make changes.
Changes of course that will better us.

I settle in my relationships with people.
I don't make that effort to talk to others.
To get to know new friends and reconnect with old ones.

I settle in my career.
I don't go out looking for other jobs that will give me better opportunities.
A job that will provide me the finances that will allow me to grow.

I settle in life.
I don't let myself become the best person I know I can be.
A person who I would be proud to become.

Today I came across this video by ShayCarl.

It is with this video that I got my daily dose of inspiration and motivation.
What I had gained from this was so simple and cliche.
Yet, it impacted me in unimaginable ways .
Dreams are possible.
Cliches are the secret Shay says.
There is always a ring of truth to them.

Not to say what Shay has said in verbatim but,
If you work hard enough and long enough you can accomplish your dreams.
You might need that someone to push you to the other side but you can do it.

Whatever it may be that you are wanting to improve:
Point it out, work on it, and even if you fail and misstep get back on the horse.
That patience and determination is you doing it.
You reaching your goals.

Inspiration works in wondrous ways.
It is like watching one person perform an act of kindness.
And you do the same to another.
And then this chain of kindness moves from one being to another.
In domino effect.

Dave Ramsey inspired Shay.
Shay has inspired me.
And I hope I inspired you.

patrick

2012-09-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's funny to see how the world works sometimes.
You can go a whole day and think nothing significant happened.
A whole day of experiencing no inspiration.
No motivation to keep you going.
Whether it be from a person or thing.
But you would be surprised what you can learn if you open your eyes.
It's usually the small, miniscule things in our day to day lives that we overlook.
It is those things that we can learn the most from.

I met Patrick today.
It is the second time I've seen him but,
the first time I get to know him as Patrick.

I stood in line at the grocery store packing my items back into my shopping cart.
"You'll need another basket to put your things in!" A voice behind me says jokingly.
I laugh at this man's remark and agree.
I had a ton of things to bring back from this shopping trip.
He looked familiar when I saw his face but don't question it as he leaves.
I pay for my items and thank the girl at the register as I wish her a nice day.

Once I turned the corner outside the store and walk to my car, I see the man again.
He is sitting on a bench outside and we smile at one another as he says,
"A lot of groceries you got there. Big family I bet."
"It's five of us." I reply.
My mother, father, two brothers, and myself. This didn't include our four dogs!
"Wow! You're very responsible to buy the groceries for your family."
I thank him for his comment and we begin to have small talk.
He was on break from his job across the street.
We talk about school, and his daughter, about work and life.

I didn't once find it awkward.
Seeing as I am very awkward with people in general.

He talked to me about kindness.
How people nowadays were always so angry.
Their faces scrunched with furrowed eyebrows displaying anger to the world.
He described my appearance as bright.
I held myself with pose, respect, and openness.
I was delighted to hear that.
I made a conscious effort to show these qualities and show kindness to others.
He told me to keep on going to school.
That there were bigger and better things in my future.
That college was not my last stop.

He probably didn't know it,
but he was instilling within me hope.
He was giving me power.
Some hope.
Some motivation.
And definitely inspiration.

As he helped me put my groceries in my car and bid me farewell,
I couldn't help feel calmness and peace.
I told him I'll see him around and we parted.

He told me his name is Patrick.
I told him mine is Cristina.

Now, I don't know what he might have taken away from our conversation.
But I am glad he crossed my path.
Maybe it was some kind of higher power who put him there.
To show me that it was no coincidence.
To tell me that if I open my heart to others I will gain a lot more in life.
To tell me I'll be okay.

This is to Patrick.
The man who inspired me today.

bailey

2012-09-27T18:24:00.000-07:00

This is Bailey.
Friendly.
Confident.
Intelligent.
Loving.
Loyal.
Curious.
Free spirited.

He also lives a very simple life.
He sleeps.
He eats.
He drinks plenty of water.
He goes to the bathroom.
He runs and plays.
He gives love.

He can't talk but I know all he asks of me is to love him.
And play tug-a-war. He loves that.

It's funny how much this little guy has taught me about life.
As human, we can be materialistic.
We worry about time to much.
We never live in the moment.
We hold grudges.
We cause war.

I am grateful for him being here to teach me to open my eyes.
And to open my heart.
Even though he may not know it he has changed me for the better.
There is no way to repay him.
But milk bones, bacon, and plenty of love sounds good right about now.

c'est une belle vie

2012-09-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

I wear my emotions on my sleeves.
Visible for the world to see.
Tempers might flare and I see red.
My heart might drop and I see the world blurry from wet eyes.

I also like to plan and think about the future a lot.
Never do I really just live in the moment.
It is always where I want to be in 5 years.
Lists and plans but never doing.
I dream big and never think realistically.

I sometimes think about me, myself, and I only.
When I should think about others more often too.
The people who have been there from the beginning.
The ones who love me unconditionally.
Those who ground me and bring me back to reality.
I should think about them more.
I should show them that I appreciate them and love them.
Because I do and it's hard for me to show them that I do.

What if it's too late? No, I can't let it get to that.
I will get the ball moving.
I will take action and stop planning.
I will live in the moment.
Happy and peaceful and loving.

C'est une belle vie.
It is a beautiful life.
And I should enjoy it now.

first impressions

2012-09-25T07:47:00.001-07:00

First impressions are everything.
You are judged by the clothes you wear.
And the way you speak.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so awkward.
I stutter and I can never keep eye contact.
Sometimes I can turn into a puddle of sweat.
So nervous that my body heats up.
Ughhh.

Today I have a job interview.
Wish me luck?

body, mind, and spirit

2012-09-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

It is exactly midnight when I started writing this post.
I didn't mean to get something written down and posted so late.
I conjured up some blog post ideas in my head throughout the day but,
nothing really seemed to inspire me to actually write them down.
That was until I went to my yoga class later that night.

Yoga is honestly one of the best things to happen to me recently.
Before it I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle.
I was eating constantly and never exercised.
I started to feel sluggish and unmotivated to do anything at all.
I, therefore, became incredibly insecure with myself.
It started to interfere with everything.

When I discovered yoga, I learned to discipline my body and most importantly my mind.
I concentrated hard on each breath I took and the poses I did.
There really was no time to dwell on other things that might have caused me stress.
With each breath exhaled, all things negative-insecurity, doubt-was forgotten.
With each breath inhaled, all things positive-love, faith-was brought to your heart.

With each week of class my instructor would focus on one goal.
This week: gratitude.

With this in mind, I ask you:
What are you grateful for?
Who are you grateful to have?
Do you wish to send someone any positive energy there way?
You can even send some positive energy your way too.

As you think about this, I hope you too are released of your stress.
Free from whatever or whomever that might have caused negativity to slip into your life.
And left with only your loving, compassionate heart beating peacefully.

Good night and sweet dreams <3

new season, new beginnings

2012-09-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Happy first day of fall! <3