It’s 2015-Yes it is! I try to take the opportunity every January to think about the upcoming year. The hopes I have. The dreams I have. The opportunities I have. I picked up this candle from Bath and Body Works over the holidays. Three things drew me to it. First, the scent of saffron and redwood. Second, the glitter and sparkles. Most importantly, the saying, “Be Daring.” How can I live my life in 2015 by being Daring?
Adventure seeker is certainly a proper description for me. I’ve bungee jumped off a bridge in Zimbabwe.
Is 2015 the year I skydive?
As I’ve been thinking about the upcoming year my focus has been more on daring to hope more, love more, and live more fully. I am blessed to live pretty large right now, but there has to be more. I never really expected to start my blog in 2014, but it just sort of came together one fateful day in May. Falling in love was not something I expected to happen in 2014, but I certainly hoped for it. Running my fourth marathon in 2014 isn’t something I expected…ok, I did expect to do that. But I didn’t expect to have the amazing cheer crew chasing me all 26.2 miles. I certainly did not expect to participate in the Gay Games 9 in Cleveland, but I met a boy, he suggested I participate, so I did. That was daring. That was risky. That was one of the best, unexpected times of 2014 and of my life.
What unexpected things do you HOPE happen in 2015? There is that word that I love so much. HOPE. There have been so many times in my life that hope got me through, but I had to dare to hope. Granted, I’m typically a glass half full type of thinker, but there have moments and times when I’ve thought, “Screw hope, it doesn’t work.” Yet, if that is my attitude, where does that get me?
The past is behind you. You cannot change that. What are you going to hope for in 2015?
Dare to love more in 2015. Can I tell you something? Love is awesome. Being in love is awesome. Love can also suck, but when you find yourself in the sucky part of love, what I know for sure is that you’ve got to love more. Promise me, if you haven’t found love in your heart, keep going; keep loving more until you do. Share more love with your friends. Share more love with your family. And always, always love yourself more. I dare to love waking up at 5:30 a.m. Ok, that’s never going to happen, but one can always hope, right?
Live your best life in 2015. It’s the beginning of a new year with new opportunities. What does living life mean to you? To me, most importantly, is to live my best life on a daily basis. I think I’m typically successful which means getting up, working, working out, yoga, and spending time with my friends and my boyfriend over dinner, good wine, and conversation and laughs. That is a full day and I am blessed to spend most of my days that way. I dare to live more in 2015 and not wish away time. Time is precious. Although here in Chicago winter is typically cold and snowy, I’m going to try not to wish away winter, and time, until Spring. I dare to live more. In 2014 my friend Sarah and I dared to live more by organizing monthly happy hours to get people out of their routines and neighborhoods. Weekly slow cooker suppers with friends? Dinner parties to get everyone out of the house in January, February, and March? Game nights? More Happy Hours? TRAVEL! I am blessed to travel as much as I can and I plan on exploring new places in 2015! How are you going to dare to live more in 2015?
So what is all of this hope, love, live, dare stuff? It is all choice. Man, each and every one of us has the opportunity each day to hope and love and live and dare to dream, all we have to do is make the choice to DO IT! Get out there and seek something that is important to you, something that is new or maybe it’s something that you have longed for, just find the hope to continue your journey.
I feel blessed that I can wake up each day and make the choice to make it a good day or a bad day. Now as an adult, one of my favorite memories of growing up with my dad is when he used to drop me off at school in 6th – 8th grade. He would always say, as I was getting out of the car, “Make it a good day, son.” I would roll my eyes, slam the door and run into school. What I know now, that I did not understand then, is that I do have a choice each day to make it a good day. Sure, major unexpected things can happen like bad hair or minor, a stressful phone call, but how we choose to react is within our power. So I try not to think in terms of “have a good day” rather, “make it a good day.” And that, I guess, is what this life is all about. Choosing to hope when you just can’t seem to find faith. And choosing to love even though love has hurt you before. Choosing to live each day even when it is zero degrees out and the alarm is blaring at 5:30 a.m. And most of all, choosing to Be Daring when sometimes your mind thinks you’re foolish. Get out there to Ride Your Wave In 2015 and seek what you dream of and what you hope for in life. Be Daring and Say YES to Life!
Say YES to Life 