A Purpose

Recently I went to the movie theaters to see “A Dog’s Purpose,” obviously I cried because it’s a dog movie, have you ever seen a movie strictly talking about cats or a cat's life? Not really and if there was, let’s be honest it wouldn’t be the same as a dog movie. Cats are cool, don’t get me wrong and not all of them lay in the sun all day. I’m not a cat person, you can probably tell, actually I’m sitting next to one. I think I’ve developed an allergic reaction to them recently. Anyways my rant isn’t on cats, nor is this blog a rant at all. Instead it’s simply the purpose of why we are here, but first let me talk a little bit about the movie. 

It’s about a loyal companion to a young athlete named Ethan, him and Bailey (the dog) are the best of friends. Along the way Ethan meets Hannah, no not me, and eventually falls in love. A tragic accident has Ethan leaving Hannah and Bailey behind while he goes off to college. Bailey is broken hearted and as a result suffers greatly and, here comes the tears, passes away. Bailey then reincarnates as a K-9 unit dog named Ellie who passed away tragically. Bailey is reincarnated again as a Corgi (OH MY GOSH! I want one SOOO bad), named Tino. He helps his companion find love and start a family; Bailey states that this was his best life as he lived until his old age and for the final time is once more reincarnated. His last reincarnation is him as a St. Bernard and is brought into a home where no one really took care of him. His owner couldn’t have the dog anymore and begged her boyfriend or husband or brother, it wasn’t clear, that he be taken to a good home, however the man dropped off the mangy dog on the streets and was deemed a feral. Bailey wonders what his purpose was in each life and how he used those purposes to find Ethan again. The movie was really touching and inspiring, despite how many times I cried during the film.
 I loved this movie, not because of the dogs or how funny it was, but because of the quotes that were used. I love and live for quotes, they are my life source often times and I pin them all over Pinterest and on my walls.  The end quote was my favorite and made me think, is this not only the purpose of a dog, or is it for anyone?

         “ There are three rules I have come to understand in my life. 1.) Have fun, obviously. 2.) Whenever possible find someone to save and save them. 3.) Lick the ones you love. 4.) Don’t get all sad faced about what happened and scrunchy-faced about what could.”

The quote doesn’t end there, but first I want to talk about this first part. In this darkened world, where the norms of what our life was even 2 years ago is now muddled and confusing, where we are slowly and silently being abused by conforming and accepting to everything whilst still shaming anyone who views little things differently than our own, we must stay positive.

I love how they said that the first rule should be having fun. Yes, as the generations are growing up and there doesn’t seem to be enough time of the day, stop. Stop what you are doing and look, actually look around you. See the trees the blue sky, and the fresh flowers blooming, it’s real. It’s not behind some glass screen, it’s actually right there at fingers length away Get off your phone and go have fun like children do, be silly, get wild, and go crazy.

Nature is begging our generations to come back and explore its vast and unknown lands. Have fun with your children, loved ones, your dog, or just by yourself. Leave your phones and technology behind you as you do so. When I was little, now I sound old, we didn’t have cell-phones. Our parents trusted my friends and me almost too much as we left the safety of our homes and yards to explore what was around us. Mind you, I lived in Vegas. I could have been kidnapped at any point and time in my life but I wasn’t. Want to know why nature is dying; it’s not because of pollution, men (or women) chopping trees down, or because of global warming. It runs much deeper than that, no one marvels at the trees anymore, no one looks under rocks or fallen branches in search of bugs, no one lays down on the soft grass and gaze at the stars above, no one seems to care anymore and it’s hurting.

While I am going on a tangent about not exploring nature, I’m probably missing the point. Have fun, it’s important to step away from the hectic busy life we are thrown into; by relaxing and being near the ones you love most helps increase productivity and cognitive growth. Yes, having fun should and always be number 1. 

Rule number 2 is my favorite part; I have always believed I had this magical power within me to help those in need.  I know this seems childish to say and especially writing it, I often wonder if I was an angel in my previous existence. I’ve had a few cases were my friends told me that I was like their guardian angel and that I always know when they are in trouble or need some cheering up. Even when I text my friends I always seem to have this intuition that something is either bothering them or they aren’t being truly honest with me on how happy they really are. Always find someone in need and help that person, I always try to give a dollar to a homeless person if I have one on hand. They may not be homeless, or maybe they are, but I always feel good that that dollar could mean a lot to them. 

I have an extraordinary friend who came into my life not too long ago, I was just starting my freshman year at BYU-Idaho and I was so nervous. Not because I was going to be on my own, but because of the people who will be my roommates. I prayed so hard that I would have at least one really great friend by the end of the semester. Turns out instead of one I got two, Jessica and Kirstin, and they made my first semester so much more meaningful than I could ever hope for. Jessica and I have been roommates for 5 semesters and friends for almost 5 years.

She taught me patience, kindness, love, and charity. I love Jessica more than anyone I could have ever known, we often joked that if either one of us was the opposite gender or we met each other we would get married. She is my best friend and I hate that I’m not always in that much contact with her and I feel awful knowing she needs someone to talk to and I can’t most times.

Despite being graduated, I tried my best to be there for her. To be someone she could trust and lean on to for support to save her as much and as many times as God would allow me to, as she has saved me multiple times. If you find someone special or know someone who needs you, go to them. They need you more than they probably needed someone else and you should feel honored. Whenever Jessica called or texted me if I was busy, even if I was, I dropped everything just to spend a few minutes with her. Time waits for no one. 

I’m going to skip the 3rd rule as it’s implied that you should love more often to your spouse, partner, boyfriend, or even friends. This doesn’t have to mean kissing only; just loving someone is just as important. The 4th and final rule is one we should all remember and learn from. The past is in the past; we shouldn’t keep looking back on it. What happened happened for a reason; whether it was good or bad all decides on how you look at it and how you treat it. Stop thinking about the “what if…” moments. Again, what happened; happened for a reason. We should focus on the present time in our lives and while I do know that some cases are harder to move on from and some cases are hard not to think about, but in time we should move on. I always say that if nothing works out the way it does or I want it to, it’s because something bigger is coming my way.

Great! Now that we discussed on the 4 rules, what about the last part of the quote. Here is where I got all sappy, again I love quotes and some get me teary eyed.

            “Just be here now. Be. Here. Now. That’s a dog’s purpose.”

Just be here now, it kind of went hand in hand with the last rule, but sometimes it’s hard to just be here in the present. It’s hard to stay, because our mind likes to drift off and get a boarding pass to the future or in the past and everywhere in between. However we need to just be here live and breathe in the present. Take it one moment at a time because every time you blink, it’s a new moment, a new time, and a new world. In one blink, you’ve just woken up to a new present in a new now. 

On a side note, the 2nd here sounds like an emphasis. At least when I read it, but if not, let me shed some light. I decided to look up the definition of the word here and in the Webster’s Dictionary this is what I found.

1. A: In or at this place {Turn here} - Often used interjectionally especially in answering a roll call.
    B: NOW {Here it's morning already}
    C: In an arbitrary location {A book here, a page there}
2. At or in this, particular, or case {Here we agree}
3. In the present life or state. {On Earth}
4. To this place. {Come here}
5. Used interjectionally in rebuke or encouragement {Here now, that's enough}

Out of the definitions, look at #3. "In the present life or state," so now let's look at that part of the quote again, but replace here with that definition.

"Be. In the present life. Now" 

How beautiful does that sound? It's more meaningful and more impactful, don't you think?

I’m a Mormon and I LOVE the Mormon messages on YouTube, they are for all who want to hear and listen. Some are about trials, pains, and afflictions; some are about charity, faith, and love. It’s for all religions and not just the Mormon community to hear, we can all relate to a story and that’s why I love them. They are great videos and I highly encourage anyone to watch a few; I have some that I love watching over and over again. There is one in particular called, “Things that Matter Most.” It’s a beautiful video that plays in happy, upset, sad, or confusing moments in anybody’s day or life, all done in slow motion. It tells us that in a fast paced world, we should slow down a little and enjoy what is happening around us. View it in slow motion and marvel, bask, contemplate, and feel it as it is happening. Whether it's something great, or something simple we should just be in the present.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l70e1TfN34w

Is this really a dog’s purpose now, or could it be anybody’s purpose in life. What is your purpose, why are you here? Some may not know why and that’s ok because some lives are more complicated than our own, some are in more dire situations so of course it’s hard to imagine why you’re here if all you’ve ever known is hardships and pain. This reminds me of my first blog post on here and the book that I have come to love most, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho. They, too, talk about the purpose of you being here, or in their case, your own personal legend. Mine? I believe I am here to lift others, to be that guardian angel in someone’s life. To carry their burdens as if they were my own, be there for them in their times of need. But why now in this era, why not the next or the last one? All I can say is why NOT now; in a world full of negativity I want to make even a small part of the world a better and happier place to be in. Spreading goodness and smiles to as many people as I can, lifting heavy hearts and minds along the way. I am not perfect, no one is, but that is the way I like it. I am simply imperfect in the most perfect way that I can be.

You have a purpose too, that’s why you are here. Whether you know or not doesn’t matter, what matters is how you live your life.

“If you only ever impact one person -yourself- to live better, live stronger & live smarter, with more love for self, life and others, I believe you are living a purposeful life."

                  -Coach Bobbi

To start anew

It has been months since I last posted something here on my blog. Truth is I am terrible at keeping track of it and slips from my mind entirely. So I want to apologize first and foremost.
I was on facebook about 5 minutes ago, scrolling and looking at what my friends or pages have posted for the day, when suddenly I began to realize how empty this all seemed. I was taken aback and dumbfounded at this newfound feeling. I went to my pages that I have followed and one by one unfollowed and unliked. I was astounded by how many pages I did like, from yoplait to Barkpost and from Monster High to teletubbies.
I'm not even a big yogurt eater nor do I own a dog anymore. I do like Monster High (even though I'm a mid 20 year old) but deleted it because it wasn't worth my time and why do I even have Teletubbies on my favorite T.V show category?!
It took me FOREVER to delete all the unnecessary pages and items and I felt a lot better with this new change. It was short lived and I realized I needed to do better than that. So what did I do? I did what I never would have done, I deleted my old account (which had a VERY old email attach to it) and began totally fresh. Actually, I still have my account I only kept it because it has memorable pictures on there. I re-added my friends because I do like to keep up with them from time to time and I do have to say that I feel relieved and better than ever.
Now since I started over what do I have in mind with this new account? I decided I wanted to spread some positive vibes on the social media. I want to post some goodness and positive postings/ quotes. Either from songs, movies, in books, on pinterest, or from what people have told me. I want to be able to be in touch with myself through doing this and to my friends/ family members. I want to be a better influence not only to those I love, but to myself as well. Because how can I love a person if I don't love myself first. In a way, this new resolution is like finding myself again and doing what I know I love to do. Spread happiness, good word, and faith like confetti! Cause who doesn't like confetti?


-A few weeks later-
Sounded something from Spongebob. I could not be any happier with my decision! Everyday I think of good things to post, meaningful and worthwhile, maybe I don't post every single day, but I think of what to post instead of what I ate, what I did with whoever, etc, etc. I no longer am captive to posting my life, because that is my life and I feel like I need to be more cautious of that. I also have decided to be more positive, as if I wasn't already. The thing is, is that I have people in my life who are negative. What I mean is that they are really nice people, but they make remarks that could shut someone down or judge. While I use to be that kind of person not that long ago, I have since mentally grown up. Everyone is different, the way they talk, dress, act, or do in their daily lives is what they want to do. I shouldn't tell someone how they should do a certain something because they aren't me or they're not living up to my "expectations". In a world full of hate and negative emotions or words, we need to change. What ever happened to complimenting someone or liking something without judging or harshly commenting on the subject. Whatever happened to, "You have your opinion, I have mine, but I still value you as a person and even though I don't agree with your statement, you have good qualities."
How is it right to treat someone with disrespect and put them down? Do you truly know how they react or feel after the manner? The more I become familiar with our constant changing world and the older I get the more I realize that our world sucks, and I truly mean that. So my goal for this year is to be more conscious and more positive. I've also decided to do something good for every month of the year, with April coming up I have some great plans for me, which I hope to write about next month.

"Don't judge me. You can't handle half of what I've dealt with. There's a reason I do the things I do, there's a reason I am who I am."