"I've Been Keeping My Eyes Wide Open....I've Got My Mind Wide Open....."

~Switchfoot

Since my last blogpost I've been attempting to make each moment I live....actually come alive. The most distinct sounds awaken the falling stars. Airplanes hovering above the city, crickets chirping, wind blowing--it all adds up to a bewildering paint. I've discovered new metaphorical colours to distinguish the unknown. (i.e. I'm expanding the horizons of what I've always known and drawing what I've been afraid to.)
Need a Piece of Advice? Learn a new language. (Or at least try. :P It doesn't matter if you never finish; I've tried 4-5 times. I only speak English fluently....and I'm being forced to learn French) Listen to music you hate. Read books you don't feel like touching. Find out things that are uninteresting....
Sounds boring.
But I can guarantee you will find out something you'll cherish forever...and it'll be yet another snippet of inspiration you will be able to carry around with you....for life.
Need some evidence? I've got two stories for ya. :)
1.) This summer my mum read a book on Getting New Ideas (I forget the real title) ;) for writing, arts, literature, etc.... and one of the segments involved thinking like a child. Trust me--it helped me with my paintings. I didn't just stick with one "utensil" so to speak. Usually my art is strictly watercolour, OR pencil crayon, OR pastels. For one of my last pieces, I pushed it all together. I smudged where I didn't want to, I coloured out of the lines....I HAD NO RULES. Which is definitely stepping out of bounds for me...when it comes to the brunt of it...I can be too much of a perfectionist....and by experiencing what I didn't want to, I learned to paint in a whole new way. My next step is to move onto Acrylics.
I hate acrylic paint. :P
2.) I've started listening to new genres of music--some of which I've never heard of. If you read the tab on the right I've listed every single one of my favourite bands. It varies from Rock, Alternative, Classic, to Indie//Indie Rock//Indie Punk//Indie Electronic (Indie is one of my favourites XD) to Rap. ;)  I love how people can express their most inner feelings through music, even if it doesn't make sense, because it allows us to see things differently. We can make it what we want it to be. There are no rules.

So, you can see how easily perspectives may be changed. It's just the process of actually stepping out of your comfort zone, and working with what seems impossible.

Memo: Never lose your values though. Keep them strong, keep them well built, and never knock 'em down. It's hard because they're exercised daily. Ex. I have to maintain my walls by not listening to music with a negative perspective. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's not. Daily goals revolve around standing strong in what you believe, but at the same time caring to hear the wise thoughts of wise people.
I hope that made sense.

Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." To me, that pulls everything together. We keep our values, we strengthen our weaknesses, we believe in ourselves and it provides hope. We become our own inspirations.

Memo#2: Thank you Athos for that quotation. I will be sure to use it this Saturday. :) I very much do agree with your point. So so true. :)