"Good Morning..."

May 31, 2011

“Good morning, baby…I love you so much”—Just like every other glorious morning spent with the love of my life—today’s sweet words whispered in my ear were no different than any other.  Every morning for the last two months I have been experiencing an absolute dream come true.  Each day I have had the blessed opportunity to both fall asleep  and wake up next to my soul mate and best friend—and it has been complete perfection. 

However, early this morning, complete perfection was surpassed when I lived what every girl dreams of and wishes her entire life for—today, I was asked to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams.  I experienced the perfect marriage proposal from my one true love.

This entire weekend leading up to this morning was an absolutely perfect one spent with several family and friends.  We all had a complete blast with one another and the time that my love and I spent together was a dream, like always.  Every moment spent with those we love was memorable and each moment we spent together was almost unreal and out of this world. 

It is miraculous how deep our love runs for each other.  This past weekend was filled with incredible and emotionally-charged conversation about our love for one another and our remarkable future together.  We are both so amazed and blessed with the fact that we have found one another.  The profound bond that we share melts our hearts daily and helps us to appreciate every past experience that we had to go through in order to be with one another today.  Although we often dread thinking about every moment that we have spent apart up until this point; we still try to make it a point to reminisce on how empty and mundane our lives were prior to him and I becoming “us”.

Although we care for our families and friends and value their opinions, in general; we have both also learned and decided through our previous marriages, that we cannot live our lives any certain way in order to please those who care and love for us.  Just because people love us, they still are NOT “us”.  At the end of the day, WE are the only ones who live our lives and know what is best for ourselves; so, why should we be stuck in purgatory living each and every day unhappy with the wrong people and lifestyle?  Sadly, we have both already been there and done that; yet, as a result, we now have fortunately learned our lessons and have thankfully found each other in the process. 

While every moment spent together is treasured; the mornings have always been the most cherished part of the days we share.  I am not quite sure how or why the mornings have become so special for the two of us—but, for whatever reason, it has been a great bonding time for us ever since we began waking up next to one another.  Maybe it is because we are both morning people or maybe it is due to the fact that we both feel as if we are living in a dream life now and the sheer presence of the other after sleep is at times hard to believe; either way, EVERY morning is a GOOD MORNING for us.  J  And now, our mornings together have been given even more significance because of the wonderful marriage proposal that we shared together today. 

Since we have been discussing our marriage to one another since the first week we had ever kissed; we had already also agreed that the “perfect proposal” would simply be something truly from the heart and an event that only the two of us would share together.  Neither of us wanted any attention from others—no onlookers, family, friends, or strangers—we only wanted one another’s attention on each other.  We didn’t want to share OUR special moment with any other person.  And this morning, Tuesday, May 31, 2011, the love of my life accomplished the truly “perfect proposal” in our bedroom.   

As we lay cuddled close in bed, wrapped in each other’s arms, the sun shined brightly in on us as the two of us smiled and breathed each other in.  After looking into one another’s eyes and sharing our love for each other—like our glorious morning routine every other amazing day—he then began to slowly move out of bed toward the front of the room.  However, since I only thought he was getting up to use the restroom or freshen his breath; I then found myself in total shock when he leaned on one knee and expressed his love to me with a ring in his hand at the side of our bed.  My heart fluttered with excitement at the sheer shock and pure joy of what I was experiencing at that moment.  Everything was absolutely perfect!  And as I whispered “yes” into his ear during our loving embrace, I just could not get over how absolutely thankful I was for the amazing man whom I had been so greatly blessed with—now and for eternity.

The love of my life and my best friend is now my fiancé and I couldn’t be happier.  Even though our dating time period had been brief; our friendship has always been extremely solid. And the fact that we were both so dearly in love with one another prior to our courtship makes it feel as if we have been together and in love forever.  I love him so extremely much and I couldn’t be happier…and I know that he feels exactly that same about me.  Ultimately, our wedding, like our proposal, will also only be us—because in the end, it is only our love for one another and our bond, alone—that will increase and deepen the rare love that we share.  From the very beginning of our work relationship and then into our special friendship and what we have now, we both knew that there was something different about one another.  We had constantly felt some common connection to each other and we could never exactly figure out what it was until now.  Early this morning, we confirmed that we are soul mates and that we will soon be life-long partners, as husband and wife.

Happiness

A great Greek philosopher named Epictetus (AD 55-AD 135) was once recorded as saying, "There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will."  His philosophy was rooted in his belief that although life is ultimately controlled by fate; individuals still have the ability and freedom to choose how they react to every fateful life situation they encounter. Being raised and traded as a slave in his early life and then crippled in his later years; Epictetus thus decided early on that he, alone, was the only one who could determine his life’s level of happiness and worry. 

In comparison to Epictetus’ life and times, happiness seems so elusive to many people in this world of ours.  For some reason or another, the human race has always seemed to have issues (both minor and major) when it comes to the simple enjoyment and sheer pleasure of everyday life and living. 

Regrettably, the act of worrying about matters beyond one’s own control has stolen happiness’s place and taken center stage in many individual’s minds and hearts.  In effect, the worry then goes on to create extra stress and anxiety in not only each individual’s life; but also in the lives of others who care for them and whom they are involved with on a daily basis.  Thus, happiness is compromised and replaced in order for worry to flourish and destroy. 

Unfortunately, life is not always perfect every single day we are on this earth; but, the good thing is that many of us have already realized this “golden life lesson” through many years of living and our own past experiences.  And with this “golden life lesson”, we—like Epictetus—have hopefully also come to know that we are the only ones who can truly determine our own happiness, as well as what we choose to worry and not worry about.  Effectively, we are the “masters of our own fate / happiness / life”—and we, alone, have the power to control the way we perceive and react to any and every life situation (regardless of whether or not they are good or bad for us).

So, like Epictetus, we too can all decide whether or not we will choose happiness or worry or something else for each of our lives and days on this earth.  Although Epictetus’ life was not perfect, he still chose to make it the best possible life that he could—and ultimately, it is in our own power to do the same for ourselves. 

“There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will."  ~Epictetus

Gratitude & Appreciation

In today’s world, gratitude and appreciation are often concepts that fall by the wayside during the chaos of everyday life and routines.  We all, for the most part, realize that life is a special gift and that the relationships that we foster within our daily living are something to be valued.  However, many of us also find ourselves far too busy to take the time to sit down, think, and truly assess and appreciate the countless aspects of all of the precious gifts we have in each of our lives.

Unfortunately, we are not awaken to many of our lives’ blessings until something tragic or uncomfortable takes place—until we are faced with the possibility that we may lose the very blessings which we never truly realized we had in the first place.  Many times, it is only then—when life seems that it is at its toughest—that relationships, situations, and life, itself, actually seem to recapture their true meanings and really make sense again.  Sadly, it is in those times of confusion and pain, when absolute gratitude and appreciation for life (and everything and everyone in it) begin to come into focus, sometimes even clearer than they ever were before.

Yet, even though many of us may need to go through some form of loss in order to grasp the significance of the greatest parts of our lives; in all reality, the best part of life is that we actually do have the opportunity AT ALL TIMES of our life to exercise our gratitude and appreciation for all that we have been blessed with.  So, with these words, I hope to encourage you all to live life to the fullest and with the utmost gratitude and appreciation for all that you have and for all whom you know.  Because without full gratitude and absolute appreciation in life—while you are living it—you will never truly know what you have until it is gone.

Gratitude (a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation)

Appreciation, grasp, hold (understanding of the nature or

meaning or quality or magnitude of something)

(http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=gratitude)