Lessons learned.

question your intentions. have faith. be hopeful.

process your successes. examine your failures.

love without reserve.

travel with your eyes wide and your heart open.

feel deeply. share your dreams.

take a moment to breathe.

be brave.

evolve endlessly. be still. be an encouragement.

eat chocolate.

laugh by yourself. laugh at yourself. laugh with the ones you share life with.

allow healing.

create. be a good friend. cry hard. strengthen existing relationships.

watch the sunset. buy flowers for yourself. have integrity. try something new.

know you are blessed.

know you are not defined by your circumstances. and some days, its difficult to do any of these things- just pray.

pray often.

lets pretend that we are all human beings, with hearts. with feelings. lets pretend for one moment that we all go through experiences that have a common core meaning or value. in these experiences we most likely feel similar emotions, think similar thoughts, ask similar questions and have similar doubts. should this not make going through life easier. should this not make communicating easier. should this not make decision making easier. should this not be a comfort. youd think so. everybody forgets that we are all human and only human and that at the end of the day we ultimately feel, see, want, need, ask and experience the same things in life.

Hope.

I have been taking walks on the strand with a friend of mine, Ashley. Tonight's conversation: emotional. But the night brought relief and hope. To Manhattan Beach and back, we concluded our walk at the end of the Hermosa pier. Before me, a vast ocean so difficult to grasp, but as I stood still and silent, the ocean reminded me of this one simple thing: that life goes on.

I panned my view and was awe struck by this incredibly beautiful body of water that never stops going. Its waves, its movement, continuous. Each break, each variation, are us. You, me. And I realized, we must keep going. Its imperative because life keeps going. The sun was low, gleaming off of the water. Speckles of silver shimmered in all directions. And I realized, sometimes life has these moments that glimmer so magnificently, and other times the sun is hiding, there is no light and there is little hope. But the sun is perpetually doing what it needs to as well and eventually, it comes out again to reflect its light on those breaks and variations of the waves. Its a natural cycle. You just need to move forward and trust the process that takes places in spite of your circumstances.

I believe that every thing and every one is interconnected. I believe that every single thing has a purpose. I believe that in a sense, we are are mirror images of one another, and of our environment and the things that surround us. Maybe thats why I was able to find this connection, this symbolism between the beings of this world and the ocean. Maybe it was just conjured up to comfort me.

In less than 10 minutes, these thoughts were realized in my mind. Some how, it gave me hope. If I have hope, I have strength to move forward. If I can move forward, then I am okay. Even though the things I saw in the ocean are very simple and known, I think the fact that I was reminded of these basic realities through the ocean, made it more compelling. Maybe because of what it represents to me. Strength, freedom, peace. It is so powerful and mighty. Like God. And you know what, I believe that God speaks to us through various means. Even the ocean.

This is what I came away with tonight. So, I will keep moving forward and holding onto the glimmers that I can, that I have been blessed with.