Christmas Season

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while, this would be for a number of reasons. The main one being that I didn't really have anything positive to say, and since the nature of the Blog was to to show people how I am choosing to be happy, I didn't think it would be right to post.

However, here we are in December, just fourteen days away from Christmas, and I now feel it's time to post.

December is always one of those months where most people are feeling happy, they are enjoying the Christmas season, they feel love, happiness, and joy, and generally just have a good time. This makes me happy, we, as a people, need to feel this more, don't you think?

Although, I'm not going to lie, December is a tricky time for me. Anyone who has ever read one of my earlier posts will know that my niece sadly passed away in December 2010, just five days before Christmas. Understandably, this makes things a little hard. But, I do know I will see my niece again one day, making this feeling a little easier.

Not to dwell too much on this, I want to talk about the true meaning of Christmas, and what it means to me...

As a child, I guess you could say, Christmas is all about the lights, the trees, the toys, Santa and all the little things that go along with it. This is nice, I guess. As a child, it was always really exciting in Christmas Eve, as we, as a family would sit in the front room and sing Christmas Carols and songs really loud, so Santa would come. We would leave him a glass of milk and a mince pie, after all, he did have a long night ahead of him. We would leave come carrots for the Reindeer too. I also remember my younger brothers and sisters having to leave their dummies and bottles on the plate as they got older, for the baby reindeer. It was always a magical feeling waking up and seeing everything we left gone!!

Now that I am older, don't get me wrong, I'm not OLD, but I'm older... Christmas has a different feeling, it is no longer about the gifts, the tree and the lights. Those things are great, and they do bring a lovely atmosphere to Christmas. But I think I've realised Christmas is a little bit more... I personally think it's about catching the joy on others faces as they enjoy the season. It's the feeling of peace you get because nothing else matters on Christmas day.
But most of all, I think we need to remember that Christmas is about Christ. What he did for us, and what he continues to do for us.

I know I can be guilty in going with the whole comercialised aspect of Christmas, but this year, I want to focus on something else.

"Maybe Christmas" he thought, "Doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas... perhaps... Is a little bit more..." The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Dr Seuss

Merry Christmas Everyone!! :)

Time

Time, it's a funny thing, in other blog posts I've commented, or complained, depends on how it's read I guess, on how I seem to have so little time, like I'm always going from one place to another. Which is true, I often do. 

But now, I've finished Uni for the summer, and it seems like I have all the time in the world, there are very few things that fill up the day. I may have to send a few emails, organise a few activities, or whatever, but that never really fills the whole day. 

They say 'Time flies when you're having fun...' and that I believe, is true. There's lots of times when I'm doing things that have taken up the whole day, yet it feels like I've only been doing them for a few hours. It's funny how people, places, and different activities seem to take time, and make it speed up. 

Yet, there are other times when I could be doing something, and the time seems to go so slooooooooow, I mean, it feels like an eternity for one minute to pass. It's probably just my mind set, maybe I don't really like the task at hand, but it has to be done. 

But, my point is, time, it seems to be going faster and faster. Like do you remember when you were a kid, and it felt like forever for your birthday or Christmas to come around? But, now, it seems to just appear from nowhere. Maybe it's just because I've grown up, well that is probably why. 

But there are other things where time seems to disappear. So two years ago, I started Uni, now I'm chilling at home in what could be my last summer holidays, before I enter the big bad world to work, and whatever else is chucked in my direction. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to be finishing Uni next year, and I'm excited about where it will take me, but still, it's kinda scary how fast time has gone, and how little time I have to enjoy the summer at home, with nothing too big to worry about.

I'm not complaining about all this free time I have, in fact, it is a welcome break from running around like a headless chicken, and sometimes, I kind of like just doing nothing. However, there is only so much of this you can take. There needs to be some adventure, a story to tell, something that made the summer of 2012 the best yet, that made the hours go fast, and helped me develop a new part of me. I guess that's where my other blog comes in, '50 things to do in 2012', and if times going to keep going fast, I don't have much of 2012 left to complete them. So here I go, to create the memories, and enjoy the summer of 2012. 

Remember, 'time flies when you're having fun' so make sure you have lots of it. There's always a reason to smile, so try and keep it on your face. Whatever you do, time will seem to go too fast, or too slow, so take it in your stride, and enjoy the time that you have.

Behind closed doors.

"Behind closed doors, that's where the truth is, that's where the lies are." - Peter Andre, 'Behind closed doors.' (I know you're all now judging me, please don't...)

They say silence is golden, and in come respects I agree. Like when you come in after a long day, and there's no one home, and the dogs being quiet, and you can just chillax. But in a lot of ways, it really isn't. Silence is bad, it's time we started talking, like properly, none of this "I'll Facebook them." or "I'll drop them a text." it doesn't work, in a society where everything is done through technology, we never really seem to know when people actually need us.

See, I've come to the conclusion that for some people, walking out of the front door in the morning is like becoming a new person, sometimes, I can be one of them, I'm a different me in the house, with my friends, with my family. Don't get me wrong, I don't have multiple personalities (well at least I don't think I do...) I'm just different around different people.

But, my point is, in a society where we take everything written on the Internet or sent to us in a text to be the truth, we've forgotten to show our true emotions, and how we much we actually care for people. Maybe part of the issue is that it's easy to be someone online, and try and keep it up in person, but it's also easy to say something online if we're not going to bump into anyone.

I can't really say want I'm trying to, maybe that's just because there's some parts of me that don't really know what I'm trying to achieve here. But what I do know, is that it's time we started looking at people, and getting to know the 'real' them, the one behind the closed doors

"Behind closed doors, that's where the truth is, that's where the lies are."

Distractions...

Okay, so I figured, I've not written a blog post in a while, actually it's been too long since I last posted, and I wanted to fix this. 

Today I'm supposed to be revising for my exams, well actually I've been doing this for a while, but I always seem to get distracted by... Just stuff. Like right now for example, I came to the library in the hope of beginning some revision, yet, here I am, fixing my blogging habits. But, I think I'll let this one slide.

So why am I blogging about distractions? Well I guess the thought first came into my head after attending a fireside on Sunday. Then, I was casually sitting on the bus on the way to uni yesterday, when I realised how much time I actually allow myself to get distracted, and how pointless some of these distractions can be.

Take social networking sites for example, you know the ones I'm talking about, Facebook and Twitter. Don't get me wrong, I think they're great to keep in touch with people, find out whats going on, and updating people with different information. But, there becomes a stage when they become the distraction from reaching something better. 

See I look at myself, and then I think about my degree, if I put as much time into getting my degree as I do when updating my Facebook page, I think I could do a lot better. In fact, I don't think this, I know it. At the time, Facebook and Twitter seem more interesting, but refreshing the page obviously isn't going to get me anywhere...

There's lots of things that we can get distracted by, and sometimes I think it's good to have the break from the constant study, or constant work on something else, but I guess it's finally clicked with me. I need to learn to just switch off from Facebook and Twitter, the world is not going to end, I'm not going to miss out on something majorly important that I can't find out from others.

Now, I've just picked on Facebook,Twitter and uni because right now they're the things that obviously relate to me, and I am the only one that can fix or change them. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't let life's little distractions take you away from seeing the bigger picture, whether that be getting an education at any stage, passing your driving test, or just reaching that little goal you've had for a while. But, make time for the little distractions, they can be good, and often help you motivated to reach your goal.

Steve Jobs once said "You've got to find what you love... if you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." - Maybe this is why I keep getting distracted from uni work, I've not yet found what I'm looking for? But, whatever the reason, I'm pretty sure I wont find it on Facebook, or Twitter for that matter.

Anyway, now that all that's off my chest, it's back to revision... What were the theories that underpinned the design of your school? :S

Come what may & love it

Sometimes in life, it feels like all the things that could possibly go bad or wrong, go bad. It's like every single bit of your life is shouting at you to give up. But, why should we? Why would we want to? We have the opportunity to overcome everything that is thrown at us. We can get though our hard times.

I's not always easy to accept something that is happening to us, especially when that thing is something that we never wanted to happen, or something that makes us feel like we can't carry on. So it's not always easy to think "come what may & love it." But, I think we're all capable of giving it a good shot though.

I was recently watching part of a talk given by Joseph B. Wirthlin, he tells us of a few things he had learnt that helped him to "come what may, and love it," the first one he says is:

-Learn to laugh: he says that the next time you're tempted to groan, you might laugh instead.

-Seek for the eternal: our trials may seem difficult to handle at the time, but we can look back and reflect on them. They help to stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for others.

-Understand the principle of compensation: he reminds us that every tear we experience today, will be returned with one hundred fold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.  

-Trust the Lord: We are never alone. He wants to be happy, wants us to be successful. Do your best to endure, and leave the rest to Him. 

I know life isn't always easy, I know that it doesn't always go the way we want it to. I do know that we have the choice to change our feelings and the way we deal with things. Sometimes it is easier to say "come what may and love it," than it is to do it. But, I know that as we try to live that way, and try the four suggestions from Elder Wirthlin, things will be easier to handle, and we will have experiences to build on.

I know my blog posts reflect a lot on my religion, but, it is a big part of my life, something that shapes who I am, something that helps me, be me. I am grateful for my membership in the Church, and for all that it helps me with. I know that my redeemer lives, and I know that one day, I will get to meet Him again. I know that one day, all the pains and sorrows we go through now will be gone, but for now, we must learn to "come what may, and love it."

Come What May & Love It - if you want to watch the little talk I was writing about, check out the link...

This is so true, something I think we all need to give a try sometimes...

More awesome than a monkey in a bacon tuxedo...

Okay, so the title of this blog post was stolen from an awesome child out in Texas, but I think it fits in with what I want to blog about today. 

So a little more about the title... Yeah, that's right. You're awesome.

So in this world, it seems as though we're all trying to be number one, we're all trying to fit in and be like everyone else. This is something that I really don't want to be. I want to be proud of who I am, and what I stand for, and right now, I can say this. I am Jade Stoneley, I am happy, and I am proud of who I am.

This world also makes us feel like we're sometimes not good enough to achieve, or that we are not special. But you are. Everyone is special, and everyone matters to someone.

This has got to be one of my favorite stories ever. I think it just shows how important we are. If anyone ever reads these blog posts, please take the time to read The Wemmick Story, it is THE best ever. The Wemmick Story.

As we go throughout the day, I think we need to remember that we are "More awesome than a monkey wearing a tuxedo made out of bacon..." (I actually love that phrase) "And in case you didn't know that's pretty dang sweet."

"'Cuz I define myself and find my beauty in the light He gives.

I'm refined by His divine intentions every day I live.

It doesn't matter what the world believes,

Or what they say that beauty means,

It comes from within,

I want to be beautiful to Him."

Beautiful to Him. 

Have a happy day people!

'Top Team'

You all wish you looked this cool.

Okay, so I'm a day behind on the challenges from Miss Sarah French. Yesterday I was challenged to write a blog post about how me and Sarah make a top team.

Okay, so here it goes... 

I've known Sarah for quite some time now, and we have become like partners in crime. We do a lot of things together, and work on many different tasks. 

Sarah, is an awesome person with a lot of ambition, she has many goals that she wants to reach, and I know she can get there. 

Me on the other hand, I'm just going with the flow, I have my own dreams and things to reach, I just have no real plan to get there yet. But, I will.

The reason I think we manage to make a 'top team' is because we manage to make each other laugh through the tough times, and we manage have a lot of fun, even when things seem hard. 

We know when each other needs some help, and we're both there for each other. I guess I've interpreted the term 'top team' to mean 'top friends'. I have lots of awesome people in my life, and Sarah is just one of them.

To those who make my life happy, who are like the sunshine on a rainy day, I love you guys, and I think you're amazing. Please stay happy, and stay strong. 

Much love to you all :)