Living Intentionally

For the past few months, I’ve been going through the motions. I haven’t been paying much attention to the world around me, even when I thought I was. I was constantly living in the past, future, my mind; anywhere but the present. Today, something felt different.

My husband and I adopted a puppy two weeks ago (more to come on that soon!) and we took him out for a hike this morning. We went to one of our favorite parks. The temperature was perfect. It was the kind of weather that made you feel like the fall is coming, but still warm enough to call it a beautiful summer day. The air was cool, the sun was warm, and the breeze was perfect. The sky seemed bluer than usual, and the grass much greener.

I suddenly realized that life is so much more beautiful than I’ve been giving it credit for. Sure, it’s not always perfect. But I felt a sense of relief I hadn’t felt in years. Things just felt okay.

I am now at a place in life that “past me” prayed so hard to be. I have a loving husband, a cozy, safe apartment, two wonderful pets, and a job that gives me the freedom to live a nice life.

All of the twists and turns of life that didn’t seem to make sense have all lead me to where I am, and I couldn’t be more grateful. It made me think even more heavily about the concept of living intentionally, and more importantly, being grateful.

It can be very easy to look at everyone else’s life around you; what they’re doing, where they’re going, what they have. But what if we started training our brains to look at what we have and be grateful for it?

A fun little way to help yourself get into this habit of being grateful for your life is to make photo albums or short videos. On my Instagram (@kennpearl.art) I love to put together cute little reels that sort of showcase my life. Then, I watch them back and realize that my life is already the life I want to be living and am so grateful for.

Living intentionally isn’t easy. It requires a lot of effort, and I often find myself failing at it time and time again. However, the more I fail, the more I learn. I know that I will never be perfect, but starting out each day with a grateful heart is a good first step, and can really help set up the day for success.

If you do find yourself being ungrateful and constantly comparing your life to other people’s, it may be beneficial to take a break from social media. Social media can be a wonderful thing, but it’s really important to gauge your use of it. Is it benefiting you? Is it inspiring you to actually go do things, or are you laying around wishing that you were somewhere else? Only you can make that decision.

So today, I challenge you to take a look at your life and your life alone. Don’t compare it, don’t contrast it, don’t pick it apart. Just find the beautiful things. Write them down. Make an album. Make a short video. Show yourself what you have to be grateful for.

<3 Kenn