Passion for life

I recently saw the movie "Eat, Pray, Love." In the film, Liz Gilbert is newly divorced and at a crossroads. She has lost who she is and has lost passion and zest for life. So, she steps out of her comfort zone and takes a risk. She let's go of everything she has and embarks on a journey around the world. She first heads to Italy where she learns to enjoy the pleasures of eating, without freaking out about calories and gaining weight. She then heads to India where she finds the power of prayer and finally, she heads to Bali where she is reminded what it is to love.


While this wasn't the greatest movie I've ever seen in the world, I was captivated by its message: to hold on to your dreams and find a passion for life. I feel as though it's easy for people, myself include, to forget to hold on to their dreams. Maybe you think your dreams are too far-fetched to achieve. Maybe you think you aren't equipped enough to achieve your dreams. Maybe you feel as though your dreams are bigger than yourself--too big.


To all that I say, PISH POSH! Elenor Roosevelt once said "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."
How true is that? Your dreams are BEAUTIFUL! God created us to be dreamers. He puts dreams in our hearts, dreams that are sometimes bigger than ourselves. And if it is in God's plan, He will equip us with the tools needed to achieve those dreams! Nothing is impossible when God is behind us!!


When we lose sight of our dreams, we lose a passion for life. We lose part of ourselves. Our dreams, no matter how big and how far-fetched they are, they are part of us. They are part of our heart...they make us who we are. When we give up on our dreams, we lose a passion and zest for life that comes with achieving those dreams.


And so I say to you: don't lose sight of your dreams--no matter how big or how small they are. Keep dreaming! Step out of your comfort zone and take a risk. Do something you've always wanted to do, but have been afraid to. Do something you've always wanted to do, but haven't really had time to. Enjoy every moment. Find passion and zest for life. Don't give up!


I've learned that I can't be afraid. And so, I've decided that's time to start checking things off my bucket list. Here's a few things on my list:

• Publish my own cookbook
• Learn how to play guitar
• Learn how to knit
• Learn to like running. Cause I hate it. A lot.
• Run a 5k
• Open a bakery with my best friend
• Take ballroom dancing lessons
• Fall in love
• Write a song
• Play Belle in the musical "Beauty and the Beast"
• Cook my way through a Rachael Ray cookbook
• See a Broadway show in New  York City
• See Europe. All of it. Italy, France, London, Austria, Germany, Greece, Norway again...ALL of it!
• Ride an elephant
• Go parasailing
• Eat some crazy weird food in a foreign country
• Start a new fashion trend
• Have a family
• Sing in a karaoke contest
• Coreograph a dance
• Learn how to sew and make a quilt
• Take a random road trip with no particular destination
• Hike through the mountains
• Direct a musical
• Become an interior designer
• Eat ice cream until I puke
• Learn how to draw...well
• Send a message in a bottle
• Catch a fly ball at a baseball game (cause I stink at sports)
• Send someone on a treasure hunt

Your dreams are beautiful. Don't let them go!