lama wisdom and ahas

1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
2.  When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
3. Follow the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others and Responsibility for all your actions.
4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.
7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
8. Spend some time alone every day.
9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.
12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.
13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.
15. Be gentle with the earth.
16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.
18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

-Dalai Lama

also as a side note, i think i've figured out what i want to do with my time here in st george. i am going to focus on me. i really haven't been strong in any aspect of my life since the time i was 16 because i've always just pushed everything away and not ever taken the time to deal with anything. that isn't a healthy way of living. i just feel like cleaning my life out idk how else to phrase it haha. i want to just be solely me and to not be affected by anyone or anything. i want to be strong. that is one word that i never would have used to describe myself but i feel like it could be. i can feel it inside me. i have unlimited potential and who knows where i can take my life. i feel like i'd accomplished being free of outside influences but that was at safe byui. here it gets taken to a whole separate level. a level where i can't just go along with everything but i am forced to really look at it all and decide what to do. i don't feel like i would be able to have that experience that anywhere else. this break is about as my brother in law always said "finding myself" which is crazy cliche but honestly it is. i have the opportunity to really become me and focus on me which is such a vital part of life and something i really feel like i need to do.

another side note. new favorite website!! i have been obsessed with graffiti and street art for as long as i can remember. pintrest has led me to a whole website dedicated to it! i can already tell i'm going to be spending a lot of time on here. 

street art utopia there's the url. go check it out! here's just a small sample. i think it is such an art and probably because i am no artist, i am obsessed.

p.s. as soon as october hits, i'm cutting my hair. not super drastic but different. yay change!