selfie sunday

I sat at the beach this morning.. like I do many weekend mornings after, what I like to call Brunch but, what most would call Breakfast. The minute I sat down, the view took my breath away – honestly this happens a lot. And all I wanted to do was take a photo or some awesome contemplation-by-the-water-selfie to share. Because it’s moments like these where my coined hashtag #myeverydayisyourvacation is perfect.

But then I thought, “lol – am I just being an asshole every time I post that?” I try not to think I am, but I can definitely see how some people might be all “Oh look at her again.. this ocean in her back yard, brunch on the weekends, blah blah, life is perfect.”

And then, if you know anything about me, my next direct thought was: “oh who gives a sh*!” Lol

But for reals, none of my photos came out nearly as wonderful as what my eyes could see anyway. It was SO CLEAR to the North – I could literally see every beach-city landmark from Redondo to Malibu. And all my senses were taking in the, blue-r than normal, water and the warm sun hugging me in the cool breeze.

Thats where a new thought came to mind that one of my fave IG pages posted:

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I’ve had this conversation with many a people – but this here, entirely describes what we have become, and hopefully where we are going. Back to living our lives without justification. And don’t get me wrong, to share some amazing experiences is one thing, but to blast social media with “proof” of what you are doing on the daily is another.

It was a sign when all my tried photos failed. I didn’t need to share this with anyone, it was ME time. And for the next 32 minutes (I know that’s pretty exact, but when you live where meters run your plans, you understand lol) I lost track of time because I put my phone away, and the only reason I even looked at it was to check time.. because.. meters people!

Point is, I am blessed. I have the Pacific Ocean in my back yard at my disposal people, my backyard! Ok well, 1.5mi from my doorstep, but you get the idea. I run here, I meditate here, there are cafes and brunch spots. Sea breezes and sunsets. I literally live where people vacation, and I’m sad to admit, I get annoyed at the tourists. Stop littering in my backyard!

Anyway, my “normal” life may seem to be a sort of extreme to some, with this image of a SoCal lifestyle, but for me this is more than I ever imagined. Just 5 years ago, my plane landed (an hour late!) in the middle of the night, in the rain. I left the only life my adult-self knew. Right out of a 5yr relationship, and being 31yr old. People thought I was crazy. I thought I was crazy! I only had 3k to my name. No job, no home. If you have followed me all these years, you know the story.

So to find myself sitting, with the views that I have, and the access that I have to something SO amazingly beautiful, maybe it’s these moments we don’t need to bombard social media with. Because not everyone knows or understands where I have come from.

Because what’s another favorite to share?:

tell no one

People ruin beautiful things. I did my best to live this mantra ^^ this year.

I’m still going to try and live this way, year after year. In life, we only have so many people who we actually care to know our lives. Knowing this, why must we share everything to the masses? If you live properly, share amazing experiences, and create an impact, your story gets told by those closest to you. It is shared, and it’s for the world to find out naturally – not forced.

So live my friends! Live for yourselves. And don’t let people ruin your beautiful things.

 

 

is it really pictures that are worth 1000 words?

Now don’t get me wrong here, I understand the idiom of “A picture is worth a thousand words”. But today, I’m seeing this as more of a life vs picture comparison.

I’ve said this time and again when I am posting on IG or some other social media site, that the photos I am taking, no matter how well they come out, do not give justice to what I am actually seeing with my own eyes. And I know a whole bunch of you out there are like: “Duh, a camera will never be able to express your eyeballs”. But sadly, there are millions and millions of people out there that use photos to express their lives, and do believe these photos provide adequate explanation. And I mean, yah, I love me some good photos to have memories, but I have been careful recently (in the past year or so, hasn’t been too long) in what I am posting, picture-wise, to show a moment or express a feeling of what I am looking at. Or maybe I hear you saying, “You need a better camera, lol”. But I have friends who own “real” cameras, nice ones at that, who still tell me cameras don’t see what your eyeballs do. All a good camera can do is manipulate what your eyeballs see.

It really made an impact when I went to Palm Springs for Christmas this past year. It was a wonderfully adventurous solo-trip, and the first time I had ever been. It was winter, of course, but being from New England I was overly prepared. And I mean, it was only in the 30s-40s on average. For someone who has lived through negative temps and having no power for days, this was not bad at all. I would have taken a winter like that any day! It was a little rainy which made it feel colder, but it was also sunny more than it was rainy, so it was nice. Anyway, as mentioned, I had never been to Palm Springs, so of course I was ready to take a million photos, which I did 🙂

But so many times did I take a photo and it was not what I was seeing! I deleted more than I probably took, because the snow-capped mountains were nothing of what I had seen before, and my camera was not seeing what I was seeing. California has such a wild mix of landscapes, (within a 2-3hr drive no less!) which seriously makes you forget you are in CA sometimes. And I have seen mountains before, beautiful ones in New Hampshire, especially in the fall ❤ But rocky mountains of sort, with snow on them? Nope. And honestly, I have seen these mountains before too, but from afar and never with this amount of snow on them. And boy was it beautiful. It felt like what I imagined CO would be like.

Here is one of my favorite photos from that trip, the pictures were literally taken about 2 hours apart.. Oh California.. #fromDeserttoOcean ❤

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Point is, that was the first time it really hit me – and annoyed me – that all these photos I take (and sometimes share) are just.. eh. Compared to what my eyes see, there is no comparison, and I began to disclaimer my photos. Because, like I mentioned previously, I didn’t want people thinking this was a representation to what I was living.. what I was living was soooooo much better. I also found a new appreciation to putting down my phone and enjoying where I was. Being present. Because this camera will never see what I see.. and I think that’s another point.

This popped in my brain because earlier this morning, I went to brunch, and then spent some time at the beach. It is such a gorgeous day out today, I am trying to find reasons to be outside! When I got to the beach, it was flooded with surfers! More than I have ever seen at this small local beach, so it was a little exciting. The waves looked good, which I assume was the reason for all these men on surfboards (I didn’t see any women). And so, out of habit, I wanted to snap all theses peeps floating, surfing, and waiting for more waves. But when I snapped my little video, you couldn’t see any surfers! But I see them! With my eyeballs! Ugh. Once again I was disappointed in technology. I still posted my snap, but again, with a disclaimer..

I can’t imagine I am the only one who feels this way, but for those who just think I’m crazy, maybe this will have you think differently about what you see, and what your camera sees. I hope this is a little reminder to be present, and enjoy moments – to actually be in the moment, just you, whoever else is there, and with whatever is around you.

 

🙂

90% is still an A, amiright?!

Gah! I have failed you all again 😦

But also again, it was for wonderful reasons.. I spent time with some of my favorite people, celebrated a birthday (and you know how much I love Birthdays!), and saw Beauty and The Beast with my most favorite people in the whole world. Well, maybe I bribed him, lol – because I paid, knowing I would love the movie more than him. But c’mon, I also chose Batman Lego Movie, and that movie was bomb!

Anyway, I don’t have much insight or news, rather, just sharing that it was definitely a weekend of getting my life back together. I cleaned, did laundry (with still two more loads to go! 😦 ) went grocery shopping, ran some errands.. You know, all the simple things that trick your brain into thinking you have your life in order..! Lol

Stress is still keeping off the track with my heart-break-dancing, but I do have an appointment in a week to get that baby checked. All the small, wonderful moments of the weekend helped ease some thumping though 🙂 I haven’t been this happily tired in a long time 🙂

I hope everyone out there had at least a good moment this weekend, and more so, I hope Monday didn’t take away the goodness ❤

 

🙂