a bit of life inspiration

hi friends! i'm back, and i wanted to say thank you to everyone who left me sweet messages, tweets, and emails yesterday.  you guys are the best!  monday was a pretty rough day for me and my ocd.  we had to have someone come repair our bathtub, and even though i tried my best to prepare, i had a complete break down after he left.  it just felt like my entire bathroom had been contaminated, and even though i used a ridiculous amount of bleach, it still doesn't feel quite clean.  that's the nature of this beast, though, and some days are really hard to survive.  i'm sure we all know the feeling of good days and bad days, of huge victories and utter failures.  life is a struggle, a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, but i think that's also precisely what makes life so beautiful.  it really is just like that cliched analogy of how a caterpillar must struggle to become a butterfly.

one of my favorite books of all time is hope for the flowers,* by trina paulus.  have you read it?  it's short, easy to read, and absolutely lovely.  it's also an amazing look at the eternal struggle to overcome fears, to choose growth over stagnation, to follow the path which will bring YOU true happiness, and to hang on to that hope that lies within all of us - basically everything that makes up life.  

we were assigned this book as a part of my young adult psychology class back in undergrad.  i went to the bookstore and for some reason began reading it right there in the spirituality/psychology section.  i was going through a really difficult time in my life at the time and this book touched me in such a deep way.  i ended up reading the entire thing in the store, crying the entire time.  i'm sure i was quite the sight - a blubbering, weeping, 20 y.o. girl reading a bright yellow, childrens-looking book in the middle of barnes and noble!  but i didn't care.  that book was speaking to my soul and i was taking the time to listen.  

i've recommended this book to so many other people since that day.  we all have a butterfly within us, and even though it's overused, i still love using this analogy to see where we are in the growth process.  are you already flying high or are you doubting you'll ever grow your wings?  are you currently working hard to build your cocoon or are you struggling to climb out of it?  or maybe you're in the gestation phase, resting before the struggle?

whatever the case, i wish all of us the best as we move forward in this crazy journey of life.


* UPDATE - whoops! i meant to add that this only looks like a children's book.  it's actually a book meant for adults...  although i guess we all have kids inside of us, so maybe...  :)