HAPPY BIRTHDAY G+Wendi!!!
Originally uploaded by chocolate monster mel

"I just figured if I was going to make the world a better place, I was going to do it with cookies" Stranger Than Fiction


Life has a strange way of taking you to places you could never have imagined... and in ways that you never thought possible. Plans are cast aside to make way for incredible and unexpected journeys of realising dreams you never knew you had. 5 years plans are good to have, if even for the sake of creating a self assuring safety net to the tune of I-know-what-I-want-I-know-where-I'm-headed, a way of asserting some sort of control over existence and contribution to the world.

Plans allow you to describe yourself as ambitious and driven, striving towards something bigger, something better, something great. But sometimes finding yourself on another road, a world away from your 5 year plan, can be more fulfilling than anything that could possibly have been planned. That is not to say we should forget about fostering any kind of ambition and throw away carefully drawn up plans with reckless abandon. Rather, it is with an open heart & mind that we should go forward - enjoying the journey with ambition.. and flexibility.

Make Plans, Lots of them: Plotting & planning can be an exhilarating experience. Putting all your dreams and ambitions to paper is rewarding - the first step in actualising your dreams is saying them out. So write them, yell them, do them! Don't just write those which you perceive to be 'doable', write everything and anything you want to do with your life. Don't be afraid or limit your possibilities. Your life is a one time sort of a deal, so you best be making it a damned good one, right?

Be Open Minded & Embrace Change: Now that you've got your plans down, be willing to let them change or happen in some sort of backwards order. Who knows how your life will pan out - you could travel the world when you are 22 years old and complete a degree at 40. You could hit the big time with a career opportunity at 25 or you might have children at that age and realise career super stardom at 45. You might cram it all in before your 30 and then retire to a different lifestyle all together after that. You plans and actions give you some solid foundations by which to live but if other opportunity present themselves don't be too quick to turn them down just because they don't fit into your life plan. You might just end up living your best life by accident...

Create Your Experiences: While being open to opportunities is a super positive situation to embrace, it is equally as important to create your own. You can't stay curled up in your doona watching reruns of your favourite TV show & expect the world to come to you! (though this is a great way to pass SOME of your time) Putting yourself out there, experiencing new things or partaking more in those things you love are how you can create your own path. If you want to be an entertain, start busking or take classes. Don't wait to be "discovered". If you want to be a vet, volunteer at an animal shelter. Be proactive and bring your dreams into reality- it's up to you to make your life happen in a big & fabulous kind of a way.

Be Truly Present: This idea follows on from the previous. Once you start putting yourself out there and creating these great experiences, you need to enjoy them. Looking to the future is vital, sure, but there is no joy in constantly plotting & planning with disregard for what you are experiencing now. So it is with one eye on your sparkling future, and the other on your fabulous now, that you should go forward & celebrate life. Focusing too heavily on your past or future depletes your emotional energy & consequently your capacity for being truly present in the now.


What do you want to do with your life? Are you doing what you expected you would or have you found yourself on another path? How do you WANT to make the world a better place?