I’m reading through my old blog this evening and finding some solace in reading my own words. It’s funny how we often have to remind ourselves of things we know deep down inside. It’s as if we have to dig deep past all the millions of other thoughts clouding our minds to rediscover that one little gem of wisdom we had all along.

Here’s something I wrote exactly two years ago:

I find it so easy to catch myself in a state of existence in which I’ve been on ‘cruise-control’ for a while. Days ebb and flow and over time I get too acclimated to the days that seem mundane. We all have the montage in our heads; get up, go to work, come home, sleep, repeat repeat repeat…it is so mind numbing yet I believe we all find ourselves in varied states like such. Maybe instead of work it’s school, and maybe thrown in there you have a routine of watching a certain tv show or spending a few hours stumbling online. Regardless, it’s the archetype for our lives, or, I’d like to think, how our lives can be but most definitely shouldn’t be.
We are creatures of habit, and there’s no denying what’s in our genetic information and the way we have evolved over time. However, change is good and the wonderful thing about being human is that we are capable of choosing change. We are ready and able to mix things up instead of being stuck on cruise control for the rest of our lives. I know, it’s so easy to say something but how do we really allow this to happen? I think being in the arts has allowed me to add variety to my life. I’m not always using the same medium, I’m sometimes working in my studio alone, sometimes with someone else simultaneously working in his or her studio, (providing the building with some extra creative energy.) But I believe variety can be attained in any line of study or work. I think that the key to variety is really a sense of adventure and risk. It doesn’t always have to be extreme risk…it can be as simple as trying a new restaurant or wearing a daring pair of shoes.

Adventure is what keeps some people going and most of us could use a little more:
•Try a cuisine you’ve never tried before
•Go to sleep early for once and get up to watch the sun rise
•Stay up all night doing something creative: music, painting, writing (studies show creative types work best in the late evening/wee hours of the morning)
•Talk to a friend to whom you haven’t spoken in a while
•Maybe even have coffee (at someplace you’ve never tried) with said friend
•If you are a CD/mp3 fiend, buy a vinyl and enjoy the unique, soft sound they possess
•Buy vegetables and fruit at a roadside stand or farmer’s market instead of a grocery store
•Stop and marvel at the intricacies of nature
•Climb a tree
•See how many days you can go without watching television
•Write a letter instead of an email
•Discover a new favorite movie
•Make plans to take day trips to nearby cities you’ve never explored before
•Give something another chance, our tastes change as we grow older, and something you might be dead-set on disliking may actually whet your appetite now.
•Actually read all the books on your list of books to read
•Take photographs with a film camera

The list could go on forever, and everyone’s will be different. We all have different habits, different rituals, different styles, different tastes….so its up to you to identify what you could do to break out of the routine and make life interesting. After all, it’s no fun being stuck coasting along..sometimes the detours and pit stops are really where life really happens.

spinning a nightmares on wax album to get the day going

Change is inevitable. After a long hiatus on my blogspot blog, I’ve decided my outlet needed a makeover and a shift of focus. Yes, I still love writing inspirational and motivational pieces, but I am so multifaceted, and I want my blog to reflect that. I need to share my growing interest in vintage fashion and sustainable living as well as my current loves of quotes and food and art and music and travel etc, etc… So without further ado…I smiled sweetly version 2.0! New and improved! So fresh and so clean! I smiled sweetly is about all things that make us smile sweetly…. a new discovery, a great book, an insightful quote, an incredible meal, good friends, beautiful photographs, inspiring fashion…the list goes on.