Photographer- RaeAnn Walters
How I'm feeling: Rae and I shot this outfit at an old shop about 5 minutes from my house. I've driven by this place forever, but never thought to stop and take some pictures there until this year. I like the vibrant colors of the building and that it's advertising a "quick stop". We all take stops in life when we're lacking something (s) and in need of replenishment. Sometimes the thing is food that can be replenished with a quick stop to the corner store, supermarket, or restaurant. However, sometimes the thing we need is something deeper like happiness. Unhappiness comes from living in real lack or at least living with the mindset that you don't have all you need to be happy. However, living a life of gratitude will cause you to experience a life of joy. For example, I never have a bad day because I can honestly acknowledge that something good happens to me everyday. Yes, I have have days when I feel like I'm struggling to make it through and I temporarily feel unhappy. However, when I find myself slipping into a pit of self-pity I quickly remind myself that there is always something good to be grateful for. So I thank God for the strength that brought me through my struggles
As humans, we all experience moments of unhappiness-moments when we're not getting what we want or need in life. So how do we get what we want and need out of life? Ask for it. Demand it when necessary. Claim it! Have faith that you are going to get what you need and be purposeful about it. "...You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss..." -James 4:2-3. You have the power to get all the happiness you need in life, just be bold enough to believe in yourself and the power of living your life intentionally. During a few months last summer along with a few months earlier this year, I found myself in an unhappy place because I viewed myself as a victim of the situations I found myself in instead of making those situations work for me? How did I reclaim my happiness? I made a decision to ask for what I needed along with some of what I wanted and then I made it known. Yes, it took some courage knowing that I might get some no's but I asked anyway and began living more abundantly because of it. Those experiences taught me that I have power and my mind is a powerful thing. I was unhappy because I chose to be weighed down by my situation instead of leveraging my power and making my circumstances work for me. Eventually, I wizened up. My situation didn't change immediately but my mindset did. I knew that the struggle wouldn't last forever and as my mentor at the time told me, "at some point the bleeding must stop." In other words, you need to find a way to improve your situation and the only way to do that is to ask for (or sometimes demand) the tools you need to do that. So how are you going to take charge of your life and happiness (or whatever you're lacking)? The power is in you!
Wonderful story. Ty
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