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Quote of the Day

“We are what we believe we are.” C.S. Lewis

October 15, 2021

why I love this quote: our thoughts have so much power. Everything that you do, every action you take or word you speak, is grounded in a belief. It may be a true belief, or it might not, either way, we are wired to act in accordance with what we have latched onto as as what is real. Subconsciously, we let these beliefs about ourselves and the world dictate our actions. But at the core, who we see ourselves as and how we think others see us will carve our path of life. So if you understand that core belief has so much power over you, what is it that is defining you? What are you giving the power of your choices, and is it something you should reconsider or something worthy of who God made you to be? I could go on and on about this topic and the importance of core beliefs, but instead, here’s a link of a pretty thought-provoking view of values of the heart.

Poem of the day

February 5th, 2022

beautiful beautiful poem written by Muhammad Hafiz

So, what really is Spirituality?

January 3rd, 2022

Existence transcends much more than body, what is physical.

To know another person is to connect with their soul. Soul is the incoporeal, immaterial part of ones being, comprising of mental abilities such as character, feeling, conciousness, reasoning, memory, perception, thinking, etc. This essence is most closely related to the mind, emotions, and will, which is typically shaped by experience and inherited traits. It is what defines humanity and set apart from other animals of the earth.

But to know ones purpose, the basis and grounds for living, is rooted in ones spirit. The spirit functions as how we connect with what is outside of earthy existence, eternity. It is where one would connect spiritually and deeply with God. Like food to the body, a spirit needs to be fed and grown by following in the way of God and honoring Him along with corresponding beliefs. Oxford dictionary defines it as “a non-physical part of a person regarded as their true self and as capable of surviving physical death or separation.” Therefore, the spirit is a connection of eternal living with God as the supernatural force driving existance. If one chooses to forego deism, than they have no need for a spirit. 

It is so interesting because human beings are and have always been equipped with all three components of being: mind, body, soul. All three parts were designed to not only coexist, but cooporate to create ones experience of existance. When a relationship with God amd the pursuit of existence after life on earth is neglected, a key component of being is forgotten and unused.

In a time with immediate access to nearly unlimited resources, materialistic items such as technology and online relationships, food and drink, pleasure, or entertainment, human beings have put too much worth in physical, leaving soul and spirit to suffer and function improperly.  It is so hard to escape this lifestyle so many are living, but to reconnect means to change perspective. Life and life after ultimately lies in the shape of ones spirit. With God as the supernatural force driving ones existence, human beings are capable of connecting with others souls and rejoicing in what is to come. This way of life is nearly forgotten because people lose sight of the spirit! To live a day where all physical beauty is neglected and only spiritual beauty remains would be so eye-opening to defining ones worth. 

The eyes are the door of the soul, and the soul the window of the spirit. To connect and love others comes from understanding our spirituality and life beyond, well, life.

Sunset

He dips his paintbrush in the sun

And rinses it off in the night sky

To create a portrait of pink and orange and purple and blue.

He pulls clouds from Heaven to contrast the blends of colors.

My eyes consume this view like I would consume water after days without it;

It fills my soul and grounds me in its beauty.

Impossible is it for an artist to replicate his work exactly:

Everyday the sun rises, God has created a new sky masterpiece.

Suddenly my worries are burnt up by the rising sun,

its bright rays laughing at my lowly concerns.

What a sweet reminder of the beauty of existence,

that each morning brings newness that is consistently recurring.

I thank the Ultimate Artist for granting a life of beauty

in the simple existence of the everyday.

My weekend with no social media 📵📵📵📵📵

It has always blown my mind how the way we construct our social lives, our phones/social media, wasn’t really around 10 years ago. This weekend, I decided to delete all of my social media apps, including Snapchat, Instagram, and VSCO to see how our “ancestors” had to survive. Friday-Sunday without these platforms taught me a few things:

  1. I noticed how many times I involuntarily picked up and unlocked my phone out of habit.

Several times, I caught myself picking up my phone and scrolling through my apps, almost as if I was looking for something to open. When I realized I had deleted these apps, I was kind of ashamed how habitual I had let checking these platforms become.

2. It was interesting to see the people who would go out of their way and text me to keep in touch since they couldn’t reach me on snapchat.

I feel like the circle of people I stayed in contact with dramatically decreased because only a few people stayed in touch with me through texting and calling. That being said, there were several times I wanted to take a video or picture of something and send it to a group or post it, but I was obviously unable to do that these past few days. Despite its bad rap, I realized snapchat really is an evolved way of contacting people (in comparison to imessages) due to its multi-technical features of texting, picture/video-taking, group chats, private stories, etc.

3. I was less focused on my appearance because I wasn’t constantly sending selfies on snapchat.

Yeah, it sounds a little stupid, but I didn’t realize how much we actually look at our reflection on the camera of snapchat when we snap other people. I wouldn’t necessarily say it is a bad thing either, I honestly just noticed myself being less aware of what I looked like throughout these given days.

4. By the end of my social media-less weekend, I noticed myself being more productive and less anxious because I wasn’t missing my phone anymore.

I think I got used to being disconnected because it no longer felt like something I was missing. It’s interesting to me how quickly breaking a habit can make it feel like it was never something you did in the first place.

5. I got to spend more time focusing on the people in front of me rather than the people behind a screen.

Again, not a bad thing to communicate to people virtually, but in the end, real relationships are the people we get to see, talk to in person, and spend time with, and by going on this break I realized I was more present with those definite relationships.

My takeaway…

This little experiment taught me that social media has a lot of benefits, like easily staying in touch with many people at a time, seeing what’s going on in the world around you, and the ability to capture pictures and videos to more easily remember them. On the other hand, I realized how much of a habit it had become for me to constantly check these apps, when my time could have been better spent doing something else. I got to focus on what was happening right in front of me instead of what was happening on my phone. I hope to take what I’ve learned from this and continue to be more present amongst a group of people, along with not instinctively resorting to my phone out of procrastination when I could be working on something else. Overall, I would rate this as a 8/10 experience and would encourage anybody reading this to give it a go!

Quote of the Day

Oct. 27, 2021

“If God is exalted, a thousand minor problems will be solved at once.” – A.W. Tozar

Choosing to let God preoccupy the majority of the space in our mind causes thoughts of fears to shrink in comparison. A beautiful quote to consider, but a choice that takes much discipline.

Random thought of the day

Oct 17, 2021

I think songs should be 1 1/2-2 minutes instead of 3-4 minutes because who actually listens to the whole song? We all end up skipping through it half way so why not just cut the multiple repetitive parts and just make it short and sweet? Just a thought for song writers😌

Why I Believe Fall is the Best Season

I’m prepared to convince you that fall is hands down the best of the four seasons of the year. Do not get me wrong, summer is great and all: no school, swimming all day, being tan and happy. Winter has its perks as well, whether that’s Christmas, the occasional chance at East Texas snow, and winter break. Spring in Tyler Texas is just–Eh. But I firmly hold my belief that fall trumps them all. And here’s why.

  1. The Weather: First things first, nothing beats the crisp, cozy feel of consistent 50 degree weather. The autumn leaves that decorate the trees and streets where they have fallen with reds, oranges, and yellows that fill ones vision. You want to wear shorts and a long sleeve shirt; that’s fine, no one’s judging you. Or you’d rather layer up with some pants or leggings and a light sweatshirt; even better, because fall is all about being comfy and cozy.
  1. Pumpkins, Pumpkins, and all things Pumpkin. Truly the best seasonal flavor in my opinion, and obviously a national fan favorite, as anytime someone visits Starbucks and asks for a pumpkin spice latte, the barista responds with an annoyed sigh, “I’m sorry ma’am, but were currently out of all pumpkin spice flavoring.” (I believe Starbucks is an overpriced and overrated globalized coffee franchise, but that’s a topic for another day.) Pumpkin BREAD. If God had given us 25 hours of the day instead of 24, I’d probably spend that time every day baking pumpkin bread. Nothing tastes better and it never gets old. The fact that it’s in season only a couple months of the year makes it even more delicious. Pumpkin CARVING. Single-handedly the most popular autumn activity is carving pumpkins. Whether you are the most artistically inclined individual on the planet, or God created you color blind and without a creative bone in your body, this staple fall activity can be fun for all. Make it a fun date with your significant other, a time of fun with family and kids, or just get a group of buddies together, as long as you got a sharpie, a knife, and a couple pumpkins, you are all set. Nothing beats the final affect achieved when putting your candle-lit jack-o-lantern on the front porch for the whole neighborhood to see.
THIS PICTURE IS OBVIOUSLY A JOKE but I thought it was appropriate to include for the fall message
  1. Halloween! October 31st, what I would classify as the dead middle of fall, marks one of the most fun holidays of the year. A day where you can dress up as literally anyone or anything, and no one will question your choice behind it. With a variety of different costume categories, (funny or sweet, sexy or over-the-top,) there’s a costume out there for everyone. Halloween parties are probably the best type of parties of the year. The candy, seeing everyone’s costume, and the halloween-themed games just make it such a fun gathering. Have younger kids? Guess what, trick or treating is right up your ally. Accompany their door to door visits asking for candy, and they might just let you have a couple pieces from their haul at the end of the night. Contradictorilly the most fun and exciting thing to do during this season is hit a haunted house with your friends. Although scary, I think haunted houses are such a blast and it’s so fun to see friends scream out of clown-induced terror.
  2. Football season. A nearly weekly experience to look forward to, high school football games are a staple to the fall season. Grab your friends and spend a couple hours before the game hanging out and getting ready to dress all out for the theme. And if your team sucks, good news! Watch your favorite college teams on tv on Friday and Saturday. Or, potentially, end the week off right by inviting pals over for a Sunday night NFL viewing party completed with chili, drinks, and desserts.
STUDENT SECTION!!!
  • my student section:))
  1. THANKSGIVING!!!! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, for so many reasons. First things first is spending time with family. There’s not a more nostalgic feeling then going out to the family farm and playing flag football for hours as we wait for the extravagant meal to finish cooking. Which brings me to the tastiest aspect of fall: Thanksgiving food. Turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean caserrole, sweet potatoes, carrot cake, chocolate fudge pie, the rolls. My mouth is watering just writing about it. The only downfall of thanksgiving is feeling like a balloon for the next couple days from all the food consumed.
Mayeli digs in to some Mac n cheese Thanksgiving 2020

Finally, Fall is a time of CHANGE. Fall is a transitionary season between two opposite seasons, summer and winter. It prepares us for the coldest time of year, but it also has its own unique perks I touched on in this post. Fall will hopefully always be my favorite season, and I would love to know If reading this grew a more appreciative spot for Autumn in your heart as well.

Mind Body Soul

A poem,

Oct 5, 2021

Mind Body Soul,

A trilogy of existence

A triangle of fluidity, 

The triune of oneself. 

When mindfully connecting the three,

A state of ease is attained. 

God affixes the trio,

and the connection is fully me. 

Listen to the mind, what it thinks,

the soul what it desires,

the body what it feels. 

Listen to others close by, and you see this trine connection rare to find. 

Through it comes freedom, an indigenous existence. 

I am simultaneously 

removed,

yet

engulfed in life. 

Nothing means too much;

nothing means too little. 

I simply observe and respond in a joyful manner,

for the fruition of connection puts me at ease. 

This relevance does not come easy,

An interconnection is a sagacious choice. 

But yet,

a choice one must strive establish. 

The Beauty and Fault of the Fractal

July 23, 2021

A fractal is a simple, never-ending pattern that is composed of infinitely repeating systems. No matter how magnified or zoomed out, the pattern time and time again repeats itself. Interestingly enough, the universe is considered a fractal. Included in this categorization are tree branches, snowflakes, rivers, clouds, crystals, circulatory systems, electricity, and many more everyday objects. Most shockingly of all, life and existence itself qualifies for this definition. I was slightly shocked by this realization, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Through daily journaling, I have observed repeated habits and routines that I consistently and unintentionally carry out. Little things such as what time I wake up and get tired at night, my skin and makeup routine, my craving for a piece of gum after every meal, or my subconscious scrolling through apps and social media platforms when given a small amount of downtime repeat multiple times daily. I also realized that certain regular events produced the same negative thoughts that stirred up a low level of anxiety within my mind. Most of the time, these habitual negative thoughts were very much unrealistic and harmful and could be changed by embracing a different outlook and understanding on where those thoughts originated. I apprehended that my feelings of needing to prove myself and win acceptance from others stemmed from a lack of love and assurance of self. Through removing things in my schedule that I had committed to for others and making more time for hobbies and passions of my own, I am finding it is so much easier to love and stay true to myself. I honor my relationship with God and my moral beliefs because they are more important to me than fitting someone else’s standard. Once so committed to a life scrammed with activities and events, I am finally taking the chance to spend my own time on what I want, not what I assume someone else wants from me. That lifestyle of busyness did not produce happiness, it only prevented me from having time alone with my own thoughts, a time to reflect on who I really am and hope to achieve. Now I look forward to the possibilities of each day and what the Lord has in store for me. My anxiety has decreased because I can more easily rest in the excitement of new experiences instead of control and routine. So, while the concept of the fractal is a beautiful and partially inevitable aspect of existence, it does not demand absolute repetitivity. I am learning that each and every day is a chance to improve, change, and enjoy life and new experiences with others. To wrap it up with my favorite quote from The Alchemist: “…when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.”

disclaimer: Much of the personal information I’ve touched on has taken vulnerability on my part, but I hope it has helped you see me in a more genuine and relatable light!