Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously

My family loves to laugh. And when we do silly, there's no telling what we will come up with. I can recall a time my sister and her friend went to the park to sing for money. They stood at a corner with a cup and a sign and sang. It wasn't too bad of an idea as they walked away with five dollars. Another time, I thought it would be fun to jump out of a moving vehicle, specifically a minivan. Though, it was fun, I probably wouldn't try it again. I got bruised up had an angry boyfriend on my hands.

Recently, the question came up whether we were too old to do silly things like that anymore. One argument was that people were watching us and expect us to be examples. There was no disagreement, but maybe we are taking our place in life a little too seriously. Yes, we cannot do some of the things that we could get away with at 16 years of age (we wouldn't want to attempt those things again anyways), but we can still allow the child inside of us loose every now and then. One friend admitted that she's not as happy as she used to be, because she cannot allow her silly side to show.

It is important that we mature and take care of our responsibilities, but we must not lose ourselves in the process. My sister and I, determined show others not to take themselves so seriously decided to dress up in the most horrible costumes and take professional pictures. The pictures itself were not the best part of the experience; it was the reactions of people we received while walking through the mall. My sister looked like a mix between a super hero and an 80's student in the movie "Fame". I just looked like a colorful mess. The pictures will not be received until March, but here are some we obtained from a photo booth.







Now after this, what was the worst that happened? People laughed and we had fun. I will use the cliche', "Let your hair down." No one is more attractive than someone that is comfortable with his/herself...and lets his/her silly side show. But, not only are people happy being around you, but you are happy being with yourself.

What is Beauty? - Day at the Arboretum

I love nature. There is nothing like a beautiful array of plants. No orchestra can compare to the singing of birds and the sound of water from a stream or waterfall. So, naturally, I ended up at LA's Arboretum.

My family and I were greeted by peacocks everywhere! I was so excited. I looked over the map, planning out our excursion carefully so as not to miss anything. My family decided that we should eat lunch first. Soon after they ate, a debate began. This was normal among my husband's family, but this time I could have died. Don't they know where we are at? Taking me to the Arboretum was comparable to taking a five-year-old child for the first time to Disneyland. Since I am in my late twenties, I wouldn't be justified in throwing a tantrum. So I sat for a moment smiling, then wandered around the restaurant take pictures of the peacocks running through our lunch area.

Finally, my hero! My husband's grandmother had enough of the conversation and began walking to an area that she wanted to see. I followed close by. Where were we going? To the tropical greenhouse and orchids? To the Asian plants? We were about to be awed and amazed!! We ended up in... the water conservation garden. In other words, cactuses and weeds. She explaind in detail all the plants that were sitting there. Some she even had in her own garden. I was not impressed. Why would you plant a weed in your garden? And why, of all the plants to look at, would you want to come to this area?

She must have seen the apparent look of dissatisfaction because she chose to explain the plants to me in even more detail. I thought, "If I run into a cactus, that would be something to write home about." But, I talked myself down and decided to just enjoy the time with her. After a few minutes of my weed lesson, I started to see what she was seeing. She pick up the flowers and pointed out the little intricate details. She made me smell them - even had me taste some of them.* And I quickly realized how amazing those plants were. I've walked by similar plants many times while camping or hiking. To me, they were nothing, but plants used to take up space. What caught my eye were the big beautiful plants that demanded attention, like the Magnolia trees or the Giant Sequoias. But, the so called "weeds" I was currently staring at had a beauty of their own. No, their beauty wasn't as apparent as most of the other plants at the Arboretum, but that's what made them exciting. I had to search for it. Stepping out of my definition of beauty and opening my mind helped me see a new world of attractiveness. The beauty in nature is everywhere. And when I enjoy where I'm at, I'm at ease.


*Please do not eat plants unless you know that they are edible.

The Big Picture

It's amazing. Sometimes, in order see the big picture, we must look at the small things.

I am a recovering perfectionist. I used to wake up thinking; I spent my day thinking; I went to bed thinking. What did I think about? Everything. I wondered how I could have been funnier, wittier, or maybe not have talked so much while at dinner with friends. I wondered if my clothes are as flattering as they could have been. I wondered if I smiled too much. Or did I not smile enough? I always wondered, "Am I good enough?" But, it was more than an occasional wondering. I, anxiously, rolled these thoughts (and many others) in my head, day after day, minute after minute. I had many sleepless nights planning out how I could be better and better, so I could be "perfect". And yet, my efforts were futile as I would never become perfect. Though I may have becomed more skilled at whatever endeavor I was chasing at the time, I would always fall short of perfection. How can a person who can never reach her goal ever be happy?


In high school, I took an afterschool college art course. We were instructed to go to the Getty Museum as a class. Instead of focusing on the pictures in the museum, our professor pointed out each rock and flower we passed by. A schoolmate and I were not too interested in the rocks. Instead, we spent most of our time talking about things that were going on in our lives. After about an hour or so of hearing our constant chatter, the professor snapped, "You spend so much time worrying about what's happening with Mary that you fail to see the big picture. In a few days, what's happening with her will not matter." My friend asked, "Who's Mary?" Neither one of us had a friend named Mary, nor were we discussing anyone by that name, but I got our professor's point. If I step out of my own head, there is a whole world out there beyond me. Then, my world seems so insignificant in comparison. Who cares if I talked too much at dinner? Who cares that my clothes may not always match?


Years later, my professor's counsel still rings in my head. So, I decided to dedicate a blog to the little things in life that make life wonderful - whether it be a good laugh, a wonderful meal, or just staring in amazement life's wonders. It's the little things sometimes, that help us see the big picture.