If you are reading this, please know that you have a special place in my heart. You may be here because you already know me and simply want to see what I have been up to! You may be here because you’ve spent time with me and like what I have to say! Or maybe because some other road led you here…such as a link, referral, search engine, or even a mistake (a happy one, I hope:). No matter what brought you here…I am so glad that you are! We are connected now. By energy, by words, by feelings, and by the simple fact that our paths have now crossed, even if only in cyberspace. You will be in my thoughts and guiding my fingertips as I pour my words into these posts. Every story, poem, picture, or random mumbling started with a feeling…a connection, and has a purpose. You are that purpose.

If you like something I write…please comment and let me know. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like me to explore, shoot me an email! But remember, these are my personal experiences, perceptions, and musings, and this is a place of connection, healing, and optimism. So please keep the outreach positive and uplifting. Thank you:)

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“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” -Maya Angelou

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To say that I have gone from a complete state of “surviving” to a complete state of “thriving”, as my post title would imply, is inaccurate. What my post title should say is “From feeling most days like all I am doing is surviving to spending more of my days with the intention of thriving.” Like Ms. Angelou, I have reached a point in my life where it has become my daily MISSION to live life as a thriver, because constantly being in survival mode is no longer an option for me. I want more.

According to vocabulary.com, the verb thrive means to flourish or grow vigorously, and vigorously means in an energetic manner. I want to always be growing (not just vertically…lol), I want to do it with passion, and I want to share it with others. Which brings us to this blog.

Throughout these “pages” I will tell stories of times when all I could do was merely survive. You will hear about my struggles, self-proclaimed failures, and imperfections. I will share tidbits of dealing with life as a highly intuitive person who feels everything very intensely, and how that has both hindered and helped me along the way.

I will also offer images of things that bring me joy, ironic ideas that make me giggle, and simple miracles that bring me to my knees in gratitude. I will post my favorite songs that have me dancing in the kitchen, Bible verses that set my intentions for the day, and memes that crack me up! These are the ways that I thrive. These are the ways that I do what I can to make each day a little better than the one before. One of my mentors posed the question, “what if we could all strive to be .03% better each day, can you imagine the impact that would have on our lives.” That seems so attainable, doesn’t it? It doesn’t say that we need to double our efforts every day, or be some radically different version of who we were the day before. Just .03%. I like that thought. I can do that.

Which brings me to optimism….

Vocabulary.com defines optimism as the hopeful feeling that all is going to turn out well. Insert eye-roll, right? Not so fast. Being optimistic is definitely a choice, but when compared to the feeling of dread that all is going to turn out terrible…it seems the obviously better choice! Don’t misunderstand me, optimism isn’t about ignoring problems or being unrealistically positive. Instead, it’s about having a hopeful outlook and a belief in one’s ability to cope with challenges and that the outcomes that follow will be just as they should be. To be a thriving optimist literally means “to grow in an energetic manner with the feeling that all is going to turn out well”! It means being a constant work in progress, but doing it with pizazz! It means not wasting precious seconds, minutes, hours, and days of your precious life staying in a place of complacency and complaining. Is it difficult…yes. But is it worth it…ABSO-FREAKIN-LUTELY!

Won’t you be a thriving optimist with me? There’s plenty of room 🙂