Tuesday Tunes | Matt Simons

                                                             we do not remember days

                                                             we remember moments.

                                                             - cesare pavese

hello and happy 2014

a little late but happy 2014 everyone! i hope the year started well for you and will hold many good things, inspirations and intellectual challenges.

2014 is going to be exciting for me - i will finish my bachelors degree, will start to work for my church and hopefully start doing a masters.

as all my creative energy flows into my dissertation at the moment i will just leave you with some of my latest inspiration:
a beautiful song (my friend simone and i may or may not have started our day of studying by learning it on the guitar...) and a quote from my favourite book the fault in our stars by john green.

some words and some music

"i actually attack the concept of happiness. i don't mind people being happy - but the idea that everything we do is part of the pursuit of happiness seems to me a really dangerous notion and has led to a contemprary disease in western society, which is fear of sadness.
it's a really odd thing that we're now seeing people saying 'write down three things that made you happy today before you go to sleep', and so on. we're kind of teaching our kids that happiness is the default position - it's rubbish.
wholeness is what we ought to be strieving for and part of that is sadness, disappointment, frustration, failure; all of those things which make us who we are.
happiness and victory and fulfillment are nice little things that also happen to us, but they don't teach us much. everyone says we grow throught pain and then as soon as they experiecne pain they say 'quick! move on! cheer up!"
i'd like just for a year to have a moratorium on he word 'happiness' and to replace it with the word 'wholeness'. ask yourself 'is this contributing to my wholeness?' and if you're having a bad day, it is." -hugh mackay

i am not quite sure if i have posted this quote before, but whenever i'm having a bad day, i remind myself of this and it helps me to see a situation from a different perspective.

but also, when all else fails, there is always this song:

 

happy wholesome weekend, friends.

loneliness

via.

"it is both a blessing and a very, very bitter pill to swallow."

-meg fee 

life is a journey.

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going. I cannot see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But, I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all I am doing. I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

                      -Thomas Merton   

via.

humble and happy?

source

i read this quote last week and it thought yes, yes that is true. but then i thought: how do i spend less time thinking of myself? 

two weeks ago i listened to a preach in my church, and the preacher told us that he always prays when he is in the car on his way to work. 

when i am on the bus on my way to uni, i usually think about what i need to do that day or i lose myself in daydreams of my future house, husband, children, job etc - and in these dreams i always are in the centre of attention. this is not really the definition of humility. also i don't think that these dreams of the future where everything is better than now, are particularly helpful or constructive.

i felt really challenged this morning to consciously choose not to think about myself but to recalibrate myself again and again and set my focus on jesus. 

it is my experience that when i occupy my mind with him, all the other things come into perspective. things i worry about or that make me feel scared are not as daunting and important anymore. funny, how thinking of myself less, actually makes me more calm and satisfied.

rather than dreaming of the future i want to thank god for this day, for the people who surround me now and i want to be open and perceptive to where i can be a blessing to others. 

my beautiful lancaster... ♥

end of the week link-up

hello friends, i just quickly wanted to wish you a happy weekend! i don't have a lot of time on my hands - had an exam yesterday, one this morning and one more next week. think of me on monday at 5 - then i will be as free as a bird! 

but for now, here's some weekend inspiration:

this quote on one of my most beloved blogs.

this playlist of happy songs to make your day perfect.

this post about books and people who love them. yes, yes and yes.

last year in scotland 

tuesday tunes

every day we should hear at least one little song, read one good poem, see one exquisite picture, and, if possible, speak a few sensible words.             -goethe

here is one little song. 

it makes me ridiculously happy and gives me this feeling of being excited and full of anticipation. for future projects. for the summer. for freedom.

i hope you all have a great day filled with poetry, art and sensible, encouraging words.