A Spin on Bad News

I know that keeping up with the news is necessary in order to be an informed and functioning member of society, but it's just not something that I ever really enjoyed. I just never understood why the first thing that my dad wanted to do in the morning was hear about death, natural disasters, murders, and all the other negative things that are happening in our world.

On a similar note - I have very limited patience for people who are negative, spiteful, and full of self pity. No person alive is perfectly happy and everyone is allowed to be in a funk every once in a while, but having an overall hopeless attitude in life will not make things any easier for you or anyone around you for that matter.

Very naïvely I tried to live in a little bubble of positivity - ducking at any negativity that came my way.

I found this to be completely and utterly impossible no matter how hard I tried. The reason I called it a little bubble is because there is far more negative than positive in the world - granted the positive is always far more powerful. This realization really bothered me because I am a firm believer that your life is under your control and no one else's. I believe that "all that we are is the result of what we have thought" (Buddha) and that "your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions" (Einstein). If this was true - how could it be that I couldn't control everything that came my way?

Here's how I see it today:

 I may not intentionally focus my attention to negative people or events, but sometimes its inevitable and often even necessary to make you really appreciate the positive people and events you already have the pleasure to enjoy. When you are genuinely grateful for something you respectively get more of it because that's just how positive energy works.

Think about a time in your past that you really appreciated something. It can be as simple as appreciating a conversation with someone, and then later that day having another really great conversation. Maybe you were really grateful for a deal you got on something you've wanted for a while and then stumbled upon another steal. Or perhaps you even appreciated yourself for doing well on a task at work or an exam, and continued to perform up to your fullest potential. It can be theoretical or it could be materialistic. The more you are grateful for something, the more you receive of it.

Today I confront and accept the fact that we don't live in a world comprised of rainbows and unicorns. It's healthy for there to be conflicts and unfortunate events will occur in the world. Whenever I am faced with a negative situation I take it with a grain of salt and try to direct my thoughts to something or somebody who makes me happy. In doing so you literally transform something negative into even more of something positive and are able to exponentially enjoy all the beautiful things in life.

Tuesday Tracks

A couple of gems.

This duo is just raw talent. Is it me or does her rap style resemble B.O.B a little bit?

In my opinion this video is a bit too transparently Lady Gaga, but a good jam nonetheless - particularly at 00:35.

Enjoy.

Worrying & Bubblegum

I'm generally positive, but before I received my student visa I was more worried than I had been in a while. I had already picked out all of my classes at the business school I'll be attending and paid for my entire four month trip in advance - plane ticket included. The only factor that was potentially stopping me from fulfilling this trip was not receiving this one little document. As I turned in my bed over and over the night before my appointment with the consulate I thought about everything that could go wrong. Not having the right documents, not having the approval I need from other organizations, etc. Then I remembered something:

"Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum" 

It's really easy to get caught up in a web of worries and most of us do. Most things we worry about aren't even under our control. What is under our control is the choice to stop worrying. Consciously working towards this peaceful state of mind is all a part of acheiving a balance that can seriously improve the quality of our lives. Life is going to happen. It's happening right this very moment. The way you react to it is going to determine your mood. And if you're in a good mood life is great. Who's going to tell you otherwise?

A friend showed me a video months ago that I still think about daily & share with others whenever I can. It's an assortment of pictures that are set to a speech by Baz Luhrmann, a director from Australia. It's really difficult to pick my favorite line from this speech. I can honestly disect it and would be able to live by each and every single phrase. Whenever I am having a rough day or become carried away in a spiral of negativity - this inevitably puts me back on track. If you've seen it before, I know you won't mind watching it again. If you have never seen it before - you're in for a treat.



Tuesday Tracks

Music is an enormous part of my life. So big that I found uploading one track a day to my music tab was getting extremely tedious. Ergo I have thought of a new plan - one that might add some structure to my little place on the net as well.

I'll be dedicating my Tuesdays to sharing some tunes. You can still find them in the music tab as before, just in a slightly different format.

Today I have two video highlights.

The first video I discovered courtesy of my high school French teacher, the beautiful Mrs. Pia Gomez who is always up on the latest trends.

I suppose we can dedicate this to my upcoming trip. I found it highly amusing. The making of Alors on Danse.

The next video is bringing it back to Mother Russia. I feel as though pop bands don't really thrive in the US as much as they do in Europe - especially ones with both men & women.

These guys call themselves In-ya [Инь-Ян]. They are unbelievably talented (& not to mention good looking). The style and sound of this video is extremely European, so if you can't appreciate it then at the very least you get some eye candy.

Southeastern Adventures.

Last week was spent in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was imperative that this week would be spent doing all things fun and relaxing being as it is my only week off from the summer internship which started in Mid-May. 

And relaxing it was. It began with a 12 hour road trip with my parents and little sister. Can't say this was the most relaxing part of my trip, but we brought snacks. Everything is better with snacks.

Fine dining was a highlight of the week. Restaurants visited include:

Rioz

Mykonos

Kono

Yamato

Approximately 2 miles away from our hotel there was a place called Boardwalk on the Beach with a lot of really unique attractions. An upside down building called Wonderworks, for example.

There were Ripley's attractions scattered all over. Including a Mirror Maze and a Haunted House.

Just when you think I've stopped talking about food... I must mention the fantastic Willy Wonka inspired candy store we visited (on multiple occasions).

Never got around to riding the Ferris Wheel, but it was absolutely a site to see. Definitely on the list of things to do for next time. (The cabins have AC)

An attraction I was super stoked about getting to see was Le Grande Cirque. The show itself was a little under 2 hours long. I could have watched for double the time.

& of course - Myrtle Beach's oldest and biggest attraction of all time is its beautiful shore and water.

On my first day back up in the Northeast, I visited the French Consulate in NYC. I am pleased to announce that I have completed the last step of planning my Parisian adventure & received my student visa.

More great times ahead - & I'm grateful for every minute of it.