…Despite the ups and downs…

…Do you love your life?

Did you have to think about that question? Or was “yes” the first thing that crossed your mind? Let’s say it was a yes. Next question. Why do you love your life? Is it your home, your family, and your friends? Your partner, pet, or place of employment? Is it because you have everything and everyone you love? Is it because you love yourself? A life that you love, full of love, is the only life worth living…right? It’s where we all want to find ourselves…right? In the position of looking off into the distance and thinking, “Wow, this is my life and I love it.”

Next question:

If there was nothing stopping you and you could be anywhere in the world, with anyone, where would you be?

If the answer isn’t right here, right now…if the answer isn’t yes to all the above…then what the fuck are you doing?

 Let’s have an existential crisis together, shall we? What happens when some of the answers to the questions above are no? Or, what happens when you love life itself, but not your life? What happens when you want the life of somebody else? Or a totally different life than the one you have?

 What do you when you don’t love the life you’re living?

 You change it.

 Easier said than done, of course. We all have the power to decide to change our lives. However, change is a choice that requires sacrifice. You have to be ready for it and you have to want it. It’s no walk in the park. Changing your life is more of like climbing a mountain without a trail. You have to navigate through unmarked territory and FAW THA LOVE OF GAAAD who knows what will cross your path…but if continue moving upward, you will eventually reach the top.  

 The first step is the simplest, yet hardest. This is admitting to yourself that you’re in the group of “no.” Yep, you’re a no-er. It’s a hard pill to swallow, because “comfortable” and “no” are very very good friends. It’s fine, it’s scary, but it’s good. It means it’s time to make a change. Before I moved to NYC, I was in the group of “no.” Then, for a while, I was a “yes!” Six months ago, my awesome “yes!” became “no.”

 It was time to go. I thought the problem was that I had fallen out of love with life itself, not my own life. Afterall, in theory, I had it all. The opportunity to travel the world, an amazing job, a great paycheck, an apartment in Midtown…I was young and fit and ready and…withdrawn.

  I had begun to pull away from what I loved the most about life…

 People.

 I love meeting new people, conversations with strangers, life stories, and fleeting moments of connection. Lending a hand, giving spare change, and sitting with lonely old men on park benches. I love talking to people in the line at coffee shops, on the street, or in parks. I live for fleeting, happy, interactions. That’s what brings me the greatest joy. I love finding something to love about everyone I meet, and I love letting them know. Everyone deserves to hear something good, even it’s from a passing stranger.

 The goal is to be an infinitely wandering burst of light … like a firework. A rush of positivity that flashes in and out like lightening. To exist as an impermanent, constantly moving human. My thing is to come and go, simply pass-through different places, share positivity, and leave nothing behind but good memories. Keep it new. Inspiring. Moving. Free.Keep it all about love. No matter what, no matter who, no matter where.

 We’re all helping each other through this fuck of a mess we call life, and while we may not love the life we live, we should at least love the people in it. Every single one of them. The good ones, the bad ones, the ones who stay, and the ones who leave.

 And, I think, if the people who answered “yes” helped the people who answered “no” the world would be a much much much better place.

Life doesn’t have to be complicated. If you’re in a blessed position to make the change…consider these very simple sentences..

 If a place makes you happy, go there.

If a person makes you happy, tell them.

If a decision feels right, make it.

If it feels wrong, don’t.

Listen to your soul. Sometimes, it is better to feel more and think less.

Murphy’s law is real. But…things always work out.

Life is the best when you accept the unexpected.

Be real, be present, be smart.

Say yes.