"Be kind to one another."

By the time we reach our 30's, we should have learned how to behave. We should have learned how to treat people and how we want to be treated. We can not treat people poorly and expect to be treated well in return.

Treat people how YOU wish to be treated. Treat people with kindness and respect, even when it's difficult to do so. Don't be a mean girl. Don't talk behind your "friends" back. You never know what will get back to them and how much your comments might hurt.

Lets be part of Ellen's movement to simply "Be kind to one another". Sounds easy, right? 

Hold the door for the person behind you. Say please and thank you. Pay compliments. Smile at people for no other reason other than to spread joy. None of these things cost you a cent, but they can mean the world to someone. Always remember that little things mean a lot.

Never forget that people are struggling. Everyone has something going on in their lives that is less than perfect. Maybe its a job, a relationship, an illness...maybe it's on a much smaller scale, like an upset stomach or blister on their heel. The point is, everyone is dealing with something.

Be kind. Spread joy and share smiles, not rumors. Be patient, be present and treat others how you wish to be treated. Life is a beautiful thing. Lets make it even more beautiful together.

Choose Joy

Just finished reading Elizabeth Gilbert's "Not this" post. It's exactly what I needed to read.

Have you ever been at a point in your life where you know it's just not right? Whether it's your job, your circle of friends, your relationship, etc...you just know, for whatever reason, you are not where you are meant to be.

What matters is how you handle this situation. Do you just quit the job? Leave the friends? Get divorced? Or do you make a plan first? The point is, do SOMETHING. Change SOMETHING. We get out of the world what we put into it. So if we are miserable, we get misery.

Life shouldn't be all about hating our jobs, feeling frustrated in "friendships" and insecure in our relationships. There should be joy. Find joy. Search for joy until you have it.

Life isn't perfect. We are not in search of perfection, but we should be in search of a little joy.

A Little Martimer Venting

Living in the Maritimes, for some of us anyway, means working your hardest and only just paying the bills. It means working 60+ hour work weeks and still not always coming out ahead. Do we have a wonderful quality of life here in other ways? Yes! BUT we pay dearly for it. Our food costs more, our rent or mortgages are high and we get paid less. This is why people move out West, and elsewhere. Living in the Maritimes, unless you have a specialty profession, is hard. It's a sacrifice.

Raising my kids here is why I make this sacrifice. They live in a beautiful province. They go on adventures throughout this beautiful province and discover its' diversity constantly. In my opinion, that element of their lives is crucial and irreplaceable.

I have this silly dream that I'll win the lottery and not have to worry constantly about money. I'm told you have to buy tickets to win though. Go figure.

So, for now, I will work my 2.5 jobs and hope and pray that things get better here...for everyone. The sad reality is that the current government won't be what gets us there....but I'll save that rant for another day.