twenty fourteen

i thought i'd share some of the little musings that i have discovered this year.  

i.  makeup, pearls, dangling earrings, and swooshy skirts are beautiful, but the true lady is kind AND she is strong.

ii.  when the darkness surrounds you and tries to snuff your candle of light, you stand firm, and you fight.  remember, the beacon that you hold in your heart is but a reflection of the "light and beauty up there that no shadow can touch".  

iii.  it's okay to feel a bit lonesome, a longing, a discontentment, and a sorrow, a yearning that nothing in this world can ever fill, even in the midst of riotous laughter.  go make friends with saint augustine.  

iv.  words are powerful.  use them beautifully.  use them wisely, kindly.  amdg.

v.  be brave with your life.  

vi.  "it was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light, it scattered the night, and made the day worth living."  ~ f scott fitzgerald

vii.  never underestimate the depth + force of the feelings that a neatly-bound stack of paper with ink markings on it can do to your heart.  (brideshead revisited, return of the king, and a tale of two cities, I'm looking at you.) 

viii.  "riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise; Thou my inheritance, now and always."  ♥

ix.  love deeply.  

x.  "I don't want to be just one thing.  I can't be.  I want to be brave, and I want to be selfless, intelligent, and honest, and kind."  #divergent 

xi.  I want to become the best Saint that I possibly can be.  "we are what we repeatedly do.  excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."  aristotle knows what's up. 

xii.  above all, LIVE LIFE.  it's too beautiful, too heartbreakingly lovely, too painful, and too real, for me too ever want to close my eyes. 

//

2 0 1 4, you've been marvelous.  ♥  and 2 0 1 5, how I cannot wait to see what beauties you'll bring -- the struggles, the joys, yes, and even the pain, but most of all, the memories, and the friends.  

God bless you all.  

night is now falling / so ends this day
the road is now calling / and I must away