There have been days lately that I look around and am nearly overcome with pure gratitude. Sometimes it happens while I'm drifting off to sleep. Sometimes it happens on my walk home from Allegory Gallery. Sometimes it happens when I'm at my desk and just catch myself drifting off into my thoughts. But lately, it's been happening a lot.
You see, I consider myself one of the lucky ones; I'd be crazy not to. There really isn't much in my life to complain about. I don't say this to gloat or to sit on a high-horse or to belittle; I say this simply to express how lucky and enriched I feel to have the people in my life that I do, to have had the opportunity and experiences I've had, and to have been born under, what I can only assume, is a lucky sign.
There have been times that I've been pretty pessimistic about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. There have been times when I've been really down and really, honestly, felt that recovering from that down would never happen. But, I was born into an amazing family. A very loving family. A family full of good advice and good people. And, because of this, I've always, in the back of my mind, had this idea that life will work out. I mean, really, logically, if you're still pushing on, life is, techincally, working out. But, that's not what I mean. I've always had this notion that my life was really meant to work out well. Sometimes that's hard to see when you're really down and depressed. Sometimes I've forgotten that. But, during the good times, I'm reminded of it.
But, lives don't just "work out" on their own. We're all in this together, and in order for mine to work out, so do the lives of those around me. I firmly believe that. Andrew always quotes the saying, "A rising tide lifts all boats". And it's true. In anything that you do, helping someone else will help not only them, but you will benefit from it, as well. And, I think that's why I've always been able to feel that things will work out—I've always been surrounded by amazing people.
We have been supremely lucky to have wonderful and helpful people around us. People who are selfless in their giving of time, energy, and support. In the nearly five years of having our store in Ligonier, we've been so lucky to have found a community of people so supporting that we have decided to call this little piece of the world "home". When you take large risks in life, you never know what's going to happen. We took a risk of opening a bead store in a small town in Western Pennsylvania, and we've felt so welcomed and so supported, not only by those here, but by friends all over. I'm not even sure how that happens. How do you just luck into something so…lucky?
I'm overcome, some days, with pure emotion that I'm often rendered speechless by the generous actions of others around us. We have wonderful people who help us out and give of their time to help make us all a success. Like I said, some times are hard. The end of months and beginning of new ones are often a hard time financially…as we move from one month's bills to the next (I'm sure that's pretty normal for small businesses). But, we've kept pushing along, and we keep pushing along. And, we have amazing customers and friends who decide to "shop small", as they say, and continue to support us…by buying, by visiting, and by sharing. And the talent that these wonderful people have is amazing. I'm often blown-away by what I see them creating. And, knowing that, in some small part, we helped with that creation is amazing to me. It's oftentimes what makes the difficult times worth it. By seeing the beauty and creativity that's being brought into the world…in a small part, by us.
So, while I've always felt like things will work out in the end…sometimes that "end" seems so distant. I can sometimes be overcome by extreme fear. I'm an anxious person, in general. I overanalyze. I create projections months in advance and worry that they aren't covered already. I fall into small bouts of depression at times…as I think many people do. Luckily, I have Andrew to snap me out of them. When he knows I'm really overcome, he works twice as hard as usual (which is saying something, since his usual is A LOT) to make me feel like things are in motion. To allow me time to breathe. We work on different wavelengths sometimes, and I think that's why we've been so strong together. We see things differently. Sometimes it makes working together more difficult, but as time goes on, we're finding our places and our own ways of helping one another in the most productive manners. I've managed to find that love I was looking for—and that's creating the life and happiness I've often, in the past, been pessimistic about ever finding.
I'm not sure that this post makes much sense…maybe it's a bit too autobiographical to really make much sense. But, I guess it boils down to a little of my life philosophy that I hope everyone can gain something from:
We're all afraid sometimes. We all stumble, and we all have moments of paralyzing fear. But, your life is meant to work out (perhaps because there is no such thing as "working out"…there is no ultimate "goal" in life, after all). You, too, were born under a lucky sign. Just surround yourself by those who care…by those who are willing to help…by those who are willing to give of themselves. And do the same back for them. That's what really makes life worth it. Would you really want it to work out any other way?
You see, I consider myself one of the lucky ones; I'd be crazy not to. There really isn't much in my life to complain about. I don't say this to gloat or to sit on a high-horse or to belittle; I say this simply to express how lucky and enriched I feel to have the people in my life that I do, to have had the opportunity and experiences I've had, and to have been born under, what I can only assume, is a lucky sign.
There have been times that I've been pretty pessimistic about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. There have been times when I've been really down and really, honestly, felt that recovering from that down would never happen. But, I was born into an amazing family. A very loving family. A family full of good advice and good people. And, because of this, I've always, in the back of my mind, had this idea that life will work out. I mean, really, logically, if you're still pushing on, life is, techincally, working out. But, that's not what I mean. I've always had this notion that my life was really meant to work out well. Sometimes that's hard to see when you're really down and depressed. Sometimes I've forgotten that. But, during the good times, I'm reminded of it.
But, lives don't just "work out" on their own. We're all in this together, and in order for mine to work out, so do the lives of those around me. I firmly believe that. Andrew always quotes the saying, "A rising tide lifts all boats". And it's true. In anything that you do, helping someone else will help not only them, but you will benefit from it, as well. And, I think that's why I've always been able to feel that things will work out—I've always been surrounded by amazing people.
We have been supremely lucky to have wonderful and helpful people around us. People who are selfless in their giving of time, energy, and support. In the nearly five years of having our store in Ligonier, we've been so lucky to have found a community of people so supporting that we have decided to call this little piece of the world "home". When you take large risks in life, you never know what's going to happen. We took a risk of opening a bead store in a small town in Western Pennsylvania, and we've felt so welcomed and so supported, not only by those here, but by friends all over. I'm not even sure how that happens. How do you just luck into something so…lucky?
I'm overcome, some days, with pure emotion that I'm often rendered speechless by the generous actions of others around us. We have wonderful people who help us out and give of their time to help make us all a success. Like I said, some times are hard. The end of months and beginning of new ones are often a hard time financially…as we move from one month's bills to the next (I'm sure that's pretty normal for small businesses). But, we've kept pushing along, and we keep pushing along. And, we have amazing customers and friends who decide to "shop small", as they say, and continue to support us…by buying, by visiting, and by sharing. And the talent that these wonderful people have is amazing. I'm often blown-away by what I see them creating. And, knowing that, in some small part, we helped with that creation is amazing to me. It's oftentimes what makes the difficult times worth it. By seeing the beauty and creativity that's being brought into the world…in a small part, by us.
So, while I've always felt like things will work out in the end…sometimes that "end" seems so distant. I can sometimes be overcome by extreme fear. I'm an anxious person, in general. I overanalyze. I create projections months in advance and worry that they aren't covered already. I fall into small bouts of depression at times…as I think many people do. Luckily, I have Andrew to snap me out of them. When he knows I'm really overcome, he works twice as hard as usual (which is saying something, since his usual is A LOT) to make me feel like things are in motion. To allow me time to breathe. We work on different wavelengths sometimes, and I think that's why we've been so strong together. We see things differently. Sometimes it makes working together more difficult, but as time goes on, we're finding our places and our own ways of helping one another in the most productive manners. I've managed to find that love I was looking for—and that's creating the life and happiness I've often, in the past, been pessimistic about ever finding.
I'm not sure that this post makes much sense…maybe it's a bit too autobiographical to really make much sense. But, I guess it boils down to a little of my life philosophy that I hope everyone can gain something from:
We're all afraid sometimes. We all stumble, and we all have moments of paralyzing fear. But, your life is meant to work out (perhaps because there is no such thing as "working out"…there is no ultimate "goal" in life, after all). You, too, were born under a lucky sign. Just surround yourself by those who care…by those who are willing to help…by those who are willing to give of themselves. And do the same back for them. That's what really makes life worth it. Would you really want it to work out any other way?
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