Child at Heart

I recently ran across an article titled "Top five regrets of the dying" via The Guardian news. (See entire article here.) According to this piece, the top five regrets of those on their deathbeds are the following:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2.I wish I hadn't worked so hard.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

I recently lost a very close friend, and I'd be lying if I said that death hasn't been weighing heavily on my mind recently. This article surprisingly didn't provoke thoughts of death for me, though. Instead, as I was reading through the list, I began to think that each of these things is so very childlike... in the best possible way.

1. Children don't care what others think of them. They will approach anyone and befriend anyone without the insecure notions that plague us as we age.
2. Children don't live from paycheck to paycheck. They have the luxury of not having to do so yet. They DO know how to lose themselves instantly and enjoy the moment though, something that we too often forget when we get caught up in the rat race.
3. Children are honest to the point of having no filter sometimes. They definitely don't hide their feelings though. Children are the first to say "I love you" and the first to reach out for a hug.
4. Children live for their friends. They don't see a divide between social classes, race or income.
5. There is no noise greater than that of a full-bellied eruption of laughter from a child. Kids haven't forgotten yet how to be happy. They see the world with wonder and not as a place of evil.

All of these realizations struck me as common sense. It's hard to "forget" how to be an adult. It's hard to go back to a place of no cares when there are bills to pay, classes to pass, appointments to make and obligations to fulfill. Since I realize that this concept isn't just a switch that you can turn on and off, I decided to make my own list of child-like things that I'll never be too old for. Maybe these can remind me to take a minute to try to see the world as a place of endless possibilities, even if just for a few minutes.

I'll NEVER be too old for:

1. Hair Bows*

*Or puppies

2. Nap Time

3. Disney Movies

4. Dress-Up

(now it's just the more grown up version..)

5. Swing sets. 

6. Sparklers 

7. Sandcastles 

8. ICEE Cokes 

9. Catching Lightning bugs 

10. Calling Mommy or Daddy when something goes wrong... 

Displays of Affection

Be still, my heart.... Everyone already knows that I'm a sucker for anything pink, anything homemade, and anything romantic. I agree with all of the Valentine's critics that say that we shouldn't have just one day dedicated to love. We should love every single day. But why shut out doors & boycott everything heart-shaped or vaguely resembling chocolate for the next month? Whether it's romantic or platonic, we could all use a little bit more love :)

Learn how to make pretty, chic garland here and fill your home with the love that you make.

Tired of chocolate? Cut your fruit into hearts & make kabobs to dip into yogurt dip!

Recycle your christmas lights to make a pretty, romantic canvas. Poke holes in the canvas and poke white lights through! 

 Dress your beau up & add a little pink to his closet. How about a pink seersucker bow tie from Southern Beaus on Etsy?

Buy yourself an absurd amount of flowers. Then, take a note from Emmaline Bride and arrange them in mason jars. So chic & southern!

Make Valentine's M&M Samoa Blondies for the sweetest sugar rush. Try this recipe from Six Sisters Stuff.  Seriously addicting. 

Add splashes of pink and red to your decor by trying your hand at replicating your favorite Lilly print onto canvas. Or, leave it to the professionals and order your own set of 2 from mcleansa on Etsy.

Go overboard on candles! If you can't let yourself use girly decorations all year long, this one month can be your excuse. 

Random Acts.

      It's nearing the end of January now, and the glitter from New Year's Eve has long since settled in corners, joining the dust from last year. A month ago, so many people were setting goals for 2012. They would eat right. Excercise. Read their Bibles every day. Lose 10 pounds. Learn French. Stop hanging onto vices. Get a promotion. Find the love of their life. Take over the world.

     In our society, we are encouraged by these ideas, by the fresh start that begins with the drop of the ball. Too often though, these resolutions are packed away before the Christmas tree is even picked up off of the curb. We set such high standards for ourselves or we decide to change the most stubborn parts of ourselves that it becomes easy to give up the first time we stumble. It's just like addicts that are sent to rehab over and over. We won't change drastically unless we want to. We won't change unless it's by our own agendas.

     Or maybe we're just trying to change the wrong parts of ourselves. 

      The other morning I received a text message from my Mom. "Pay it forward with an unexpected kind act to someone today," she said. "I will try to also."

     I had been having a rough couple of weeks and her text message inspired me to think about others for just a few moments out of my day instead of dwelling on myself. I wasn't setting an extremely high bar or being asked to do anything that I didn't enjoy doing. She wasn't asking me to change anything about myself. She was only asking me to change my focus for a couple of minutes.
     For the next few days, I challenged myself to go out of my way for others. I didn't set out to save the human race. But I do think I might have made a few people's days a little easier. I didn't volunteer for hours in the community. But I did give out a couple hundred smiles. And hugs. And compliments. I gave a listening ear to a few friends that needed one. I surprised my brother with free dinner, and answered my phone at 2 a.m. when I needed to sleep but a friend needed someone to help mend their hurting heart a little bit more. I gave a few rides home. I practiced patience when the other person didn't deserve it. I let cars onto the highway instead of speeding up to get by them and I helped a woman older than my own grandmother get her groceries into her car. I didn't change anything about myself, either, but I have found that the best way to make myself happier is by setting out to make others happy first. The best part is that it's instant gratification.

    I'm telling this story because it is the end of January. Many, many people have already given up on their resolutions. I didn't even set one to begin with. But I tell this story because I hope that it might inspire you. That you might resolve to go out of your way for someone tomorrow. Maybe the next day too. Maybe every day. I challenge you to this low-maintenance resolution, not in hopes that you will follow through with it every day until 2013, but that you will maybe include it in a small part of your life.

Challenge yourself to be just a little bit kinder. Change yourself by making someone else's day just a little bit easier.