lessons learned

I made a friend the other day. I don't know her name, but I know other things about her. When she was younger she had five sisters. She has traveled to every single state in the United States, and her favorite was Colorado. She went to beauty school, and loves gardening. I also know that she is 93 years old and living in a nursing home. Weren't expecting that were you? It's nice finding RADIANT friends in unexpected places. I met her when my youth group helped people decorate eggs at a nursing home. She became my partner and we talked a lot. Although I was only at the nursing home for about 2 hours, I still learned some lessons that I would like to share with you.

1.) Travel. The world is RADIANT (especially the mountains in Colorado--as my friend would say) and there are beautiful things all around you. You just have to look.

"A gentleman ought to travel abroad, but dwell at home."


2.) Do what you love. This is one of the keys to happiness. Whether its gardening, snowboarding, or wood working, who knows what you love? My friend loved hair and makeup and she had an amazing time at beauty school!

"Above all, be true to yourself, and if you cannot put your heart into it, take yourself out of it."-Anonymous


3.) Spend time with your family and friends. These relationships are precious and should be handled with delicate love and care. Throw in the fun, and your all set!

"A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with thee."-Buddha


4.) Accept everyone for who they are. And i mean all of them--their RADIANT qualities, and their not-so-good qualities. Don't judge the book by it's cover.

"A loving heart is the truest wisdom."-Charles Dickens
 
5.) Think positively and enjoy life! Sometimes it may be hard and you may just feel down in the dumps(like my friend did when she fell and broke a bone in her backyard) but you have to find the silver lining of the situation. Time flies so we have to savor the RADIANCE of it when we can!

"A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life."-Charles Darwin



Well the other week I truly found out that Love and RADIANCE can be found even in the most unexpected places, especially in the shimmering kind eyes of an old, wise, woman.

MUCH LOVE(+&RADIANCE),
Amanda