Give Away Your Heart Every Time

"maybe you've already heard that I really like life. like more than a friend. i say it all the time, and it seems simple enough, but like anything else, could probably use a little explanation. i remember years ago reading The Brothers Karamazov and getting to the point where alyosha says (i think to ivan, but i might be wrong, it's been a while) something like I believe everyone should love life more than anything else in the world. and it sounds almost funny but i think it makes so much sense.

every day i try to pay attention to the things that make me happy. on days when i need a little extra help, i write them down because otherwise i'm likely to dwell more on the things that aren't so good. but most days i don't need to write them down, i just notice and it kind of propels me through the things i have to do that maybe aren't my favorite. i don't mind getting up early every day for work, because i wake up early to cats asleep on my legs, and sometimes to my favorite kind of toast for breakfast and i don't mind not really having money to out to eat or to the bar or shopping when i know the library is full of audio books to listen to while i knit, knitting books teach me new tricks, and a fiction section with probably thousands of books i haven't read or even heard of.

when you really start noticing how many things in your day-to-day life you actually like, it gets almost funny that there can be so many, and that they can be so minute. i like the way my floor looks after i sweep it. i like when i wake up before my alarm. i like when i can feel the weather changing, and i like the first day that i need to wear tights and a sweater. i like walking to the bus station different ways in the morning sometimes. i like when both my cats sit in the window at the same time because i think it looks like they are on a date.

i think it's nice to look at life like this, in terms of like instead of dislike. and i think it empowers you to change the things that you maybe don't like as much, because it's sort of less overwhelming. so i guess that's what i mean, about loving life. it's not that everything is all that perfect, although i do realize i have it a little easier than a lot of people in the world. but i think it could be important for anyone to at their day like that, really. i dare you to make a list of everything you like on any given day. and i dare you to make a list of things you don't like and then see how you can make them better, or how you can work around them. and i double dare you to make a list of things that you're afraid to do and do one a week, or one a month, or one as often as you can stand it, because it's such a big deal to do what you're afraid to be doing."

- from the zine Nothing Rhymes Issue #4

I felt such a kinship to this girl's words and her outlook, I had to share them in full. if you're interested in seeing her whole zine, you can't Boo! She has gone out of the bizniz...