Post-Break Up Feels

I know what you're thinking.

"What ?? Already ??? But you said he was your first love!!"

I know. He was. And always will be.

But you have to find peace and love for yourself before you can share that love with anyone else. 
He's got some soul-searching to do.
I've done mine.

I haven't written about the break-up at all since it happened. I think a part of me is ashamed that everything just came crashing down in my face and I was blindsided. Like, I should have seen this coming, but didn't. Or maybe a part of me knew it wouldn't last so I was just clinging to the last few moments we would have together.

It was a nice thought, having a long-term relationship. But I'm over that now.

Don't take this as bitterness, as I'm sure a lot of you will. It's just when you meet your soulmate, you know there is no one else in this world you will want as much as him. 

I'll never meet anyone like you for the rest of my life... I need you.

But it doesn't work out unless they want you back. 

It's just I thought I would be with this guy for a while and now that I'm newly single again ... I don't know. I'm not eager to jump back into the fishing pool of the dating world. Dating is exhausting. So is being in a serious relationship. So for now I'm perfectly content to work on my things, my self, & my work until Prince Charming comes along. I'm pretty sure that won't be for a very VERY long while, so I'll just wait patiently.

Too high expectations? Maybe. But if I don't set them, then who will?

Second Chances

Everyone is deserving of a second chance. I truly believe that.

& yet, it gets harder and harder for me to give them. Because if a person didn't fuck up in the first place, they wouldn't need a second chance, right?

Right.

I'm not gonna sit here and preach to you about having faith in people when there are times that I have felt I've lost all faith in people. Times where I've felt betrayed and stupid for depending on others, and revert back to relying on no one but myself.

But that only works for so long.

I will tell you this, if there's someone you're thinking about giving a second chance to. In life, you won't regret the things you did do. Only the things you didn't do. And that's a fact.

Short & sweet for today

xx hugs & lovin' xx

Anna

With Silent Roars, She Let's Go

Why do we bother
With boys who aren't men
And laugh like little hens
At anything that is mildly, remotely,
Inappropriate or raunchy?
Where are the good men?

Who take you out on a date,
Don't dare to be late,
For fear you're left waiting?

When did it become okay
To get drunk & just say
All of those thoughts
Louder and rotten
Than anything sweet
He had said, now forgotten.

It's not okay to joke about me
It's not okay to make me feel like a fool
For having insurmountable dreams
And close in candor expectations.

I will wait.

I will wait until a man
(a MAN, not a boy)
Comes into my life
His words swift & nice,
His actions to match'em.

The struggle?
Oh it's real.
It's constantly there, picking at my heels.

A hungry lioness
Breathes inside me deep inside
She's been hunting for so long,
It's hard to deny,
That hunger, that aching
Deep down in her belly.
She wants to eat now,
Before the weather turns to jelly.

Juicy and thick,
The first bite is satisfactory,
Meaty and warm,
The second goes deeper.
Eager and wanting,
The prey kneels in surrender
In surrender to the lioness
And all of her splendor.

Confronted with two options
The lioness sticks her long neck out,
And back slowly into it's mane.

The zebra was alluring
The deer was endearing
And the elephant, well he was such fun
"Why I can't I just, stick with just one?"

An image she knows not
Sensation seems default,
More faulty the senses from all of the rot
Therefore she cannot.

Option two leaves her growling
When the lioness has been starving
For over 1095 sunsets and nightfalls
She knows she can't stall.

Claws retracted
Tongue still salivating
Pawsteps lead her to turn away from her prey
And away from the game.

Breathe that sweet anticipation,
Lioness darling
Don't let your haughty tracking
Begin to undo you.
Your essence is too great
To succumb to petty grumblings from your tummy
Meat is yummy

Yet the prey disgust me.
Have you ever seen them bathe in the dirt?
I have not and cannot
Let their feces unpure me
So quickly
Too quickly
For me.

Let go to of that girl
Who has only captured my toe.

xx Hugs & Lovin' xx

Anna

Art Propels Me

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_________________2________________

When people see some things as beautiful,

other things become ugly.

When people see some things as good,

other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.

Difficult and easy support each other.

Long and short define each other.

Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master

acts without doing anything

and teaches without saying anything.

Things arise and she lets them come;

things disappear and she lets them go.

She has but doesn't possess,

acts but doesn't expect.

When her work is done, she forgets it.

That is why it lasts forever.

__________________________________

I didn't mention this in my last post, but the version of the Tao Te Ching I'm working with is the Pocket Edition translated by Stephen Mitchell. Also, the Tao Te Ching contains 81 verses, to anyone not familiar with it.

My day started out mundane, but quickly turned otherwise as I decided to have happy accidents. Here's my own definition ©AnnaDTM:

happy accidents: a coincidence that wouldn't have otherwise occurred had you not been in a good mood; a common occurrence otherwise, yet heightened by the high state of mood the accidentee is in.

You know when you find yourself in a good mood, skipping down the yellow brick road, and all of a sudden your luck seems to be up? All the music on your iPhone shuffle seems to be aligning with your mood, you have a great conversation with someone unexpected, that random stranger who you thought was cute smiled and said hi? All of those things happen in a beat and you get home thinking to yourself, "Wow, this turned out to be a pretty great day. I'm beat, I think I'll hit the sack early tonight."

It's like when we feel up and have no room for negative thoughts, our self-care is a little better, our work ethic a little cleaner. But in the end, you can't depend on random occurrences to make your day have a great ending. True happiness and satisfaction derives from within.

From within also lies the power to have a great day. It all depends on your outlook before you begin it.

Recently I found myself browsing a book at Barnes & Noble titled, "What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast" by Laura Vanderkam. I only was able to browse through it, but one main point that I got from the first few pages was the power of giving yourself mornings to regroup. All successful people lead busy lives, full days, and even fuller weekends. So when do they catch a breath? In the morning! At the very beginning of their day!

People work out first thing in the morning, and work happily without tiredness the rest of the day. Why? Because they already did one good thing for themselves today, so if they get stuck at work or in traffic and get home tired and late, they can happily down dinner and wine and knock out! No guilt, no trying to fit in things when you don't have the time or energy.

Now I know it's quite paradoxical of me to be writing this at 1:57 a.m., however I attribute this to my restlessness. Since I've returned home and haven't had the luck of securing a second job, nights have been restless for me. I don't do much during the day, thus in consequence I have a lot of energy to release at night. My Dr.Jekle & Hyde.

Regardless, take this wittle illumination of mine and comment below with your morning rituals. I'm becoming more and more inspired to be proactive in the morning, because I'm convinced a good morning = a good non-mundane day. Even stepping one step outside of your ordinary daily routine can be enough to bring interest into your day.

Good night & good day Sir/Miss.

xx hugs & lovin' xx

       Anna

Honestly, I Don't Know

Honesty. The quality of honesty is one I feel we all seek in other human beings. Especially when beginning new relationships. But what does being honest really mean? 

honest,  -adjective- : 1. good and truthful : not lying, stealing, or cheating.

                               
2. showing and suggesting a good and truthful character.

3. not hiding the truth about someone or something : not meant to deceive someone.

(via Merriam-Webster online)

They should add the word "purposely" to that last bit.

Now, let's be real. We've all been dishonest at some point. I know I have, because there are just some things people don't need to know. I'm for the most part a private person and don't go blabbing my business to anyone who will lend an ear or exposing parts of myself that opens up that door to vulnerability.

I try to avoid being vulnerable at all costs necessary.

But when it comes to the big things, I try my best to suck it up and just say it. Be direct, look'em square in the eyes, speak openly and honestly. Even if I'm terrified, even if every cell in my being is shaking, even if I have no idea how the person I'm opening myself up to will receive it or react. Because there have been one too many times I didn't clearly state whatever was on my mind, then looked back with regret thinking, "Hmm, I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I had told him how I really felt?" 

Sometimes it works out. The action of letting that word vomit come out can actually turn into a nice, empty stomach feeling. No butterflies, no spiders afterwards. With family, being truthful has always led to a good new direction. With friends, it can go either way. With boys, it can go astray. Fairly quickly too.

Honestly, I don't know what the value of being 100% good to someone is when they don't reciprocate it. Haven't quite pin-pointed the purpose of the detached goodness and grace Mother Teresa wore so well. Yet, to know that I didn't hold back and said everything there was to be said is a process that I'm working through. I think in the beginning of a new unstretched territory with a boy, I always go in with the awareness that I'm taking risks. I know that if I hold my gaze to his a little longer, he'll become curious as to why. I know that if I subtly make efforts to touch him at any opportunity, he'll become more comfortable touching back. Yet I also know that when it comes to words, I've been thinking about what I've been wanting to say for a lot longer than he has; thus when I speak I can articulate it, even if I'm shaking to the bone as I do. When he speaks, there will most likely be a lot more fumbling, pauses, "Um"'s "Fuck"'s & "I'm Sorry"'s. 

(Tip: Patience is an important virtue here as well, my friends. I know us girls like to talk, but if we just bite our tongues and shut up for a minute, the awkwardness will pass and he'll say something worth waiting for!)

I lastly know that in the end, I won't always get chosen. We don't always get what we want.

The value of goodness and truthfulness is as heavy as you amount it to be. I give honesty a heavy weight these days. Many people have proven incapable of carrying it, and have seen their way out of my life. But I don't regret holding high standards to this quality. You have to show me all the ways you're capable of being good before I can forgive the bad. Not about to be a sucker for companionship, or allow loneliness to wash over the clarity of my judgement.

No.

Stick to your guns. Go with your gut. And keep your head held high, regardless of all the shit that lies on the ground. It's easier to look down when there's something worth looking up for.

Comment below if any of you have any thoughts to share on this topic, I'd love to read'em.

xx Hugs & Luvin' xx 

Anna

Defeating the Mundane: What It's All About

It's when the air has become stagnant. When you can't differentiate today from yesterday. When you find yourself repeating the same words in response to commonly asked questions. When all your dreams from the past have been completed and it's time to start anew, yet there is nothing around you, object or person, single event or time shift, that motivates those new dreams to become a reality. 

That's the mundane.

Yet those dreams must become a reality. 

As defined by Merriam-Webster via online, mundane has two definitions:

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the world

2. characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary: commonplace

Both are very relevant for this period of transition that I'm in. Being nineteen-years-young of the female variation, I made a very big decision last spring when I decided to leave university on the East coast. Now being back in the suburb of California that I grew up in, I've re-stationed myself for the next year and a half, until I can transition back out.

In order to keep the typical dullness of suburbia from creeping into my life, I have created this blog: Defeating the Mundane. I, just like many other lost young adults out there, am reaching a point in my life where I want to take hold of my youth while it still hangs in reach. I want to know that where I stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, butt-naked with no other life surrounding me, I could survive because I don't need to depend on anyone other than myself.

Now, how to keep my sanity whilst a year and a half of my youth is secured to this small town?

That's what I'm venturing to find out.

Come along with me if you wish to defeat mundaneness as much as I & aim live a life where your Tumblr dashboard is your reality.

xx hugs & lovin' xx 

Anna