Live, Love, Laugh

Did I choose my phrase for the year because it's painted on every cutesy two x four, in every corner "bow"tique, in Utah? No. I chose it despite that. These words kept coming back to me, and it's probably some craftsy and ribbony subliminal message, but I decided to go with it anyway. And if I end up with a placquard or two with the saying on it by the end of the year, well... you'll know they were giving them away.

The first word that actually came to me was "laugh", however this group of words better defines what my vision for this year is. At a particularly low point in my life, I remember being in a mall cafe, and overhearing a group of women laughing... the sound was so foreign to me, that it stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't remember the last time I had laughed like that, and wondered if I would ever have moments in my life that were that joyous. Much time has passed since then, and I'm at a point in my life where I have found happiness. I'm comfortable in my own skin, I'm in a marriage that I wish for every woman, and I'm at a good place professionally. Now, it's my time to laugh...

But in order to laugh, I need to live. Really live. I've said it before, but I need to remind myself- that I don't ever want to be defined by what I do- I don't ever want my profession to be my life. Having direction is important because people rarely stumble into happiness. However, I've seen people take their chosen direction as a one way road, and by doing so lose more than they gain. I have a theory that people who have passion for what they do, especially outside of work, are ultimately the most successful. Bet you can guess where this is headed...

But in order to live, I need to love. The past two years, I've focused on myself, which was absolutely necessary. Is it possible to help others if you can't help yourself? Is it possible to love others if you can't love yourself? For me the answer would be no, not fully anyway. And now I'm in a much better place physically and emotionally, and have the ability to meaningfully focus on the people around me. A life well lived is about the people we love, not the things we do or have. A great life to me is one filled with moments of true emotion shared with these people.

Yesterday, New Years Day, after partying most of the night and not getting to bed until five in the morning- I was at work because of an end of year deadline. This extra project was thrown at me only a few days before Christmas- and meeting the challenge would take extraordinary lengths. So, there I am during my holiday weekend, working diligently on a Saturday afternoon. I had been there for about an hour, when I noticied I had a text message. It was from my sister... asking if I could I go to a movie with her that evening?

Leave work to go play? Live, love laugh? Live, love, laugh...

I wrapped things up, deadline unmet- and went to have fun with my sister. And we laughed... like the memories I have of those women from a lifetime ago. And we cried... she and her husband had just found out that he will not have a job in about three weeks. And we lived... sharing everything in our lives and making memories to cherish for a lifetime. But mostly we loved... because sharing anything is only worthwhile if it's done out of love. It was the perfect first day of this New Year.