Stories About Strangers

When you wander into your favorite coffee shop or cafe, do you ever notice the people around you - what they are doing and how they appear?

People watching is underrated, I feel, simply because there are so many wonderful and interesting people out there with stories to tell and memories of experiences we may not ever know ourselves. We're very egocentric and live in our own bubbles; we forget that people around us are whom we read about in books or those who inspire us on Pinterest. Each person has a story.

I love people-watching downtown - with a huge mix of tourists, businessmen and women, hippies, and easy-goers, it's hard not to allow my imagination to run wild with various thoughts, ideas, or images. A woman carrying a laptop bag may be on the brink of publishing her first e-book, accomplishing a dream she has had since childhood to become a published author. A man running to the bus is trying to make the bus to meet his wife at the hospital because she is in labor.

You never know.

It's nice to imagine sometimes.

Off to dreamland,

Creating Pockets of Adventures

Blessed. This is the perfect word to describe my life. While not everything goes in the direction I hope, nor does it ever happen in the ways I plan, it's mine and I have joy. More often than not, I face obstacles and sometimes rather painful experiences that I find to be overwhelming at times. All the same, I conquer. I have faith in a few things: a higher power, that higher power within me, and in myself. Faith always carries me through and has brought me to where I am.
I think my life to be somewhat average in many ways. I am not poor, but I am not wealthy. I can usually obtain the things I want if I plan for them and budget in most instances. However, I wasn't always affluent enough to afford small luxuries, such as my beloved Starbucks habit or my car. These two things would have exceeded my budget by far if I were 23-years-old again.
Though, one thing that I am wealthy with is ambition. I've always been wealthy with ambition. If I want something, I find a way to m…

I Didn't Know What to Say

This world is full of both wonderful and heartbreaking circumstances that wear us down daily. As a nation, we are mourning another tragedy where violence has torn apart communities and families - and for what purpose? We just don't know.
I didn't write on this yesterday because I didn't know what to say. I've read that it's the deadliest mass shooting in American history. I don't know what's more sad to me: that this deplorable act is something that I feel numb towards given the increasing numbers of shootings and tragedies we are seeing nationally, or the act itself: where some random person unbeknownst to even his own family made a decision that forever altered the lives of millions of people.
The biggest encouragement and consolation I can try to provide is to continue to shine the light into the darkest corners of the world. Whether you emit joy and love, peace or kindness, these are a few ways to impact the world in a positive way that anybody can gi…

Compassion

Months ago, I filmed a video about compassion and empathy. When I downloaded it to my computer, I didn't have the time or the drive to edit and upload it... until today. I re-watched the full 11:37 video and realized that my message was very clear and that it applies just as much to today as it did when I originally filmed it in November.
Compassion. It's something that many people lack - not on purpose, but out of convenience. Out of carelessness. Without a thought. People aren't bad because of it, rather unaware and lacking mindfulness of who is around them and how they may be feeling.
I wanted to share this video as a reminder for people to view other people as humans - as people just like themselves. To have empathy and compassion because you just do not know what another person is going through.

Lovingly yours,
Em

Bellezza di Vita

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