are you kidding me, april?

I cannot, cannot, (I repeat) can not believe tomorrow is April 1st. 

But, I will admit that I've been looking forward to the esteemed April Fool's Day all week. Why? Because (please judge me for this, I give you permission) I've been planning to post the "Jar of Hearts" music video on one of my best friend's Facebook walls. If you've never heard the song before, I suggest look it up because it is so entirely depressing and dramatic. So then, what's so funny about it? This best friend and I heard it about twice a day, every single day during her last visit. The lyrics were so very ironic to be heard as we celebrated the best New Year ever, and thus, it became our hysterical theme song for 2011. It's hard to believe that that took place a whole three months ago.

Oh so much has happened since then... so many crazy sexy miracles, if you will: I backpacked through Costa Rica and Panama, came home again, landed a dream of a job, revisited my alma mater to celebrate, fell in love with green juice , took a weekend getaway to Colorado and journeyed to even greater self-awarement.

Plus, I met (my idol) Kris Carr, because of the dream job mentioned above, and was beyond inspired all over again. A few quotes from the lecture featuring the lovely force of spiritual wealth and hot prevention (pictured above with myself and Shayne) and the amazing lady of ~ing, Gabrielle Bernstein:

• "A miracle is when we choose love over fear."
• "Don't judge your ego with your ego."
• "Get out of your own way. Intentions become our reality."
• "There's no glass ceiling when you're working with a miracle mindset."
• "When we are taking impeccable care of ourselves we create a daisy chain of goodness."
• "Change your mind about your power. Live like you mean it."
• "It's only without happiness that you have nothing."
• "You change people when they're in diapers, the rest of their life you just have to lead by example."
• "Always have your own back. Many people might leave you, don't leave yourself."

I walked out of there on cloud nine, literally. I felt not only like I could have every single thing I desired in life, but that I deserved it. And you know what? It's as true for me as it is for you. The weather absolutely sucked today--it was rainy and cold and may have very well snowed at some point--but my day was fantastic. I ate well, took a yoga class that rocked my world and enjoyed drinks with a new friend. I chose to be happy and grateful, and I was. 

Then, on my train ride home, I read more of Women Food and God. I may only be five chapters in but I'm finding that it's a book that's living up to it's self-proclaimed potential: "An Unexpected Path to Almost Everything." An excerpt...

It's like washing the dishes. If you focus on getting the dishes done so that your kitchen will be clean, you miss everything that happens between dirty and clean. The warmth of the water, the pop of the bubbles, the movements of your hand. You miss the life that happens in the middle zone--between now and what you think your life should be like. And when you miss those moments because you'd rather be doing something else, you are missing your own life. Those moments are gone. You will never get them back.

...

You already have everything you need to be content. Your real work, despite the corporate latter you are climbing, is to do whatever it takes to realize that. And then it won't matter if you're Someone Special or No One in Particular because you'll be fully alive in every moment--which is, I imagine, all you ever wanted from Going Places to be Someone.

Is all that a bit too much for you right now? Okay. Try this instead: pour yourself a glass of wine, smile sweetly, and look forward to the day of jokes and pranks ahead. No matter how great, or not-so-great, these past 3 months have been, we still have real spring and summer and fall ahead of us. The fun is just beginning.