I really like all of the above. I have a Pinterest board entitled "Truth & Beauty & Hilarity" full of stuff that makes me nod, smile, or laugh (respectively, or all at once) and a large portion of it has pictures such as the following:
These are intermixed with pieces of art, some memes, things that bring back memories, stunning photographs of spectacular moments or places of beauty...
In fact, if you look at that Pinterest board, you can get a pretty good idea of what makes me happy, brings me hope, inspires me. Take that in combination with this blog, my pictures, my journal, etc, and I'm collecting/creating a wealth of information that describes who I am. History tangent: one of the biggest challenges in history is that commoners left little to no evidence of what their daily life looked like. Not so today, with education and access to the Internet and so forth. It will be interesting studying this time period, the Age of Information, in the future: will there be too many sources? How will they sort through them all?
Anyway, that said (I'd been reflecting on that wealth-of-information tangent for a while, but didn't really have enough of a reflection to put it in a full post) and back to my original topic: I like collecting adages. They speak to me, and I can easily memorize them and pull them up when I need a reminder. Bible verses are part of my collection, of course, but quotes from famous people and thoughts from the anonymous internet user are included as well. So are cliches - I truly believe "There's no time like the present. You can't please everyone. Love is blind. Good things come to those who wait," - Grandma Joy. I've been collecting adages as long as I remember: Mom's been quoting Einstein's "Don't let school get in the way of your education" since I was small, I take note of clever or profound things my teachers say, such as "When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember the fire department usually uses water," and I write down passages from books that I think are especially meaningful. I come up with my own adages (which I guess are essentially short reflections), too:
These are intermixed with pieces of art, some memes, things that bring back memories, stunning photographs of spectacular moments or places of beauty...
Anyway, that said (I'd been reflecting on that wealth-of-information tangent for a while, but didn't really have enough of a reflection to put it in a full post) and back to my original topic: I like collecting adages. They speak to me, and I can easily memorize them and pull them up when I need a reminder. Bible verses are part of my collection, of course, but quotes from famous people and thoughts from the anonymous internet user are included as well. So are cliches - I truly believe "There's no time like the present. You can't please everyone. Love is blind. Good things come to those who wait," - Grandma Joy. I've been collecting adages as long as I remember: Mom's been quoting Einstein's "Don't let school get in the way of your education" since I was small, I take note of clever or profound things my teachers say, such as "When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember the fire department usually uses water," and I write down passages from books that I think are especially meaningful. I come up with my own adages (which I guess are essentially short reflections), too:
"Enjoy today. Remember the big picture. Live for God."
"There will always be those who are better than me, but that does not stop me from being my best."
"Laugh at the stupid stuff."
"Take life one day at a time."
"Lie in the sun, delight in silence, be lazy sometimes, sing loud with the windows down."
"Accept the simple, the imperfect, the abnormal, the normal."
"Find a balance between you, God, and other people. What others say about you is worth listening to, but it does not define you. Your identity is in God, in who He has made you and is making you."
"Be slow to negativity and judgementalism; trust, seek understanding, and love at all times."
"If there isn't a word for what you're trying to say, make one up."
All of these are pieces of advice that I'm constantly trying to live by. I don't always manage, of course; in fact, I often fail. But then I pick myself back up and try again tomorrow. Life and happiness and obedience to God is a journey of forming habits and laughing at yourself and constantly thanking God for His mercy and grace and forgiveness. One moment/day/year at a time.
