Phases

I've been taking a lot of deep breaths and just getting through it recently. Talking myself up enough just to get by. Gosh, I hate living like that.

So I'm going to do one of my bright side moments, and think about the good things - the positive experiences I've had. Because when I truly sit down and think about what makes me smile, it's always the experiences. Which is why I've always tried to focus on experiences over things. It's something I need to go back to thinking more consciously about, because it really is what brings me happiness. And if I'm being honest, I've had a lot of experiences in my 39 years.

I'm someone who has smoked a cigar with my husband in Havana... Eaten cherry ice cream with my son in Istanbul... Acted in plays... Jumped off a cliff with a hang glider I'd only met 10 minutes prior in Brazil... Learned to play instruments... Taught a non-English speaking Austrian woman to knit on a train in Germany... Gotten kicked out of a sumo stable in Tokyo... Camped outside on my own...

Experiences make me happy.