Reflections Before Bedtime #5

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Soon, 2015 will be getting “real” as far as work and grind is concerned. I have been at home reading, storing up sanity and peace for what is to come, and meditating on life (nerdy– I know). I have been listening to people’s plans for this new year. I have been thinking about my own hopes, plans, and not only that, but also the real and difficult changes I want to make in my life.

It has been rainy and chilly. I go on morning adventures with my doggy friend and camera through the acres around us. As I take photos of different things, I am reminded of how I need to refocus the camera and make adjustments to capture what is in front of me just the way I want to get it.

Life is very much like that. It takes a lot of refocusing and perspective. I have had so many thoughts cross my mind recently, like: how I will need to take some leaps of faith to end up where I want to be post-graduation, even if it is not what I had originally envisioned; I never want to date a guy who would command me to type his fellowship applications on a date when my arm is freshly broken, and I have only one functioning hand in pain (I am looking at you Stephen Hawking; apparently, I am still suffering for Jane Hawking after reading her experiences. Why Hawking, why?!); I need to be open to some things for some things to actually happen; I should be less stubborn; I need to learn to pronounce some things in English like everyone else does; I need to be more positive; I need to study my Bible more… there is a lot that needs work, but I am willing to weed the garden and not let some blossoms choke.

Some plans have changed, new hopes have emerged, and things that I once hoped wouldn’t happen are now a reality I am actually happy with (ironic). Sometimes, God has to allow us to break to get us where He wants us, where it is best, and where we can serve with humility and grow without pretense.

One thing continues to be a theme: I keep seeing the impossible become possible (reminds me of that Mandela quote).

This year is going to be exciting, tough, uncomfortable, unique, and there will be sacrifices, but it is going to be AMAZING. 2014 brought me unexpected gifts and surprises, I need to enjoy them and open my heart to what 2015 will give me. This time, with no reservations.

I am grateful for every day that I get to try to grow and improve my severely flawed self, for every day God’s will unfolds in my life, for every day I give and receive what money can’t buy, for every day a dream comes true and a new one is born.

/In this place that has no name,
I can’t remember why I came;
Then I hear you whisper low,
One more mile to Jericho/

/Nothing is ever what it seems,
When you live inside your dreams;
The walls will tumble/

Jericho, Hilary Duff

[Image from Tumblr]

Khoshbin Quotes

Compiled by: Gabriela Yareliz

I find a lot of inspiration in the Khoshbins. Manny Khoshbin never fails to remind all who look at his success where he came from, and he continues to give back. He is all about positivity, faith and perseverance. He always reminds me that life is about the things that can’t be taken away from us and that seeds of hard work, sacrifice and faith allow the reaping of great rewards.

I leave you with Manny Khoshbin:

Never give up.

[Quotes from @MannyKhoshbin]

Monday Inspiration: January 12, 2015

“She quietly expected great things to happen to her, and no doubt that’s one of the reasons why they did.”
Zelda Fitzgerald

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Happy Monday! Not much light is coming in through the sky lights today; it is dark, cloudy and rainy with a soundtrack of thunder. On Friday, I attended a very inspiring memorial service for a young woman I never met. The way people spoke about her was lovely. She touched so many peoples’ lives. It certainly made one reflect on how one lives life, how fleeting life is, how unnatural death is, and everything one person can leave behind.

Several close church friends are moving to California, which has also been a lot to take in. Lots of changes. I finished the Jane Hawking book. By the end of it, I just wanted to weep. I started reading Nick Vujicic’s book about meeting his wife, Kanae Vujicic. It is interesting to read two love stories involving people with what many would call a rare disability. Both men, while having a condition, have chosen to live so differently. Stephen Hawking and Nick Vujicic couldn’t be more different in the way they approached life. It was Stephen Hawking’s birthday not long ago, and I find it ironic that the fact that he has lived as long as he has lived defies all science and expectation. Compassion, which he despises and sees as pity and a religious sentiment, is one of the reasons he is who he is today. He is a miracle.

Anyway, perhaps I will write up my thoughts about The Theory of Everything in another post. For some reason, the desire to see the inconsistent and romanticized film has faded. I have had enough of Stephen Hawking.

I am currently hiding out with my dog because of the thunderstorm. It is definitely a knee sock and blanket day. When I don’t wear makeup and I catch my reflection somewhere, it somehow takes me back to former years. There are little parts of us that remain the same forever. Have you ever caught one of your own expressions, and it reminds you of your face when you were a kid? Sometimes, I feel exactly the same, timeless, ageless, whatever.

I am off to juice, console this doggy friend and keep reading Love Without Limits by the Vujicic family. A love story between two positive, sacrificing, wise and faith-filled people is so beautiful. While the Hawking “romance” (if one can even call it that) fills any chest with tightness and dread, the Vujicic story fills a heart with joy and hope.

This week, don’t underestimate the power a positive outlook and faith can have on your life. Don’t ever forget you have choices, and your choices determine what will come next; they really do.

[Images from Tumblr]

Friday Glee: January 9, 2015

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Happy Friday! It has been a good week. I got a wedding invitation from a good friend (so exciting), I am 3/4 through Travelling to Infinity by Jane Hawking, and I fixed my last academic schedule. I hope you had a great week. Many started work and classes this week. The busy routines begin, but Friday has come to rescue us from the grind.

“I want you to stop running from thing to thing to thing, and to sit down at the table, to offer the people you love something humble and nourishing, like soup and bread, like a story, like a hand holding another hand while you pray. We live in a world that values us for how fast we go, for how much we accomplish, for how much life we can pack into one day. But I’m coming to believe it’s in the in-between spaces that our lives change, and that the real beauty lies there.”
Shauna Niequist

“Every majestic oak tree was once a nut who stood his ground.”
Proverb, Unknown Origins

“The best project you’ll ever work on is you.”
Sonny Franco

“There’s a lot I’m dreaming about for 2015, but one thing I know: whatever I do, I want to do it with the people, near & far, who’ve shaped my path to this point. Friendship is God’s greatest evidence of himself here on earth.”
Shauna Niequist

[Images from Tumblr and Webstagram]

Tanto Que Decir

Por Gabriela Yareliz

Cielo azul con borde amarillo.
El sol se va
y se busca un espejo.
La luna se viste de dorado,
y nos manda recuerdos en cada rayo.

Cada día, el cielo nos cuenta una historia;
Con sus partes tormentosas,
y sus partes de calor.
Las estrellas, las pestañas de una mirada que no sera olvidada.

Cada mañana, la luz nos besa con su promesa de lo eterno.
Lo eterno nos deja sin palabras y con dueño.

[Foto de Aida Artiles]