”Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself bliss.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
A beautiful bride, with her beautiful spirit, shared this quote this morning and it was so perfectly perfect for how I have been feeling.
Simple is not a bad word.
There was a time (so embarrassing to admit this) that I wished I was famous. I hired a fancy shmancy business coach* and set fancy shmancy goals. And they started coming true! Visions of sugar plums began unfolding before my very eyes! Book deals and magazines and trips around the world started popping up all around me. I really thought I was finalllly going to be somebody. This was going to be it. My ego was huuuuge. I was grumpy and judgmental and kind of mean. See? Embarrassing. (*This business coach is actually super fantastic; best thing I could have ever done.)
And then something sad happened. Someone died. And that someone I used to have lunch with regularly. And for the two months before he died, he called, and I didn’t call him back. Because I was too busy being fancy.
There were other things I missed out on while trying to be famous, too. Lots of awesome things.
I’m not saying that being fancy is wrong! If the story you were put here to tell is how to be a superstar, then you grab onto that truth with both hands and you soar!
For me, though, my bliss is in the simple things.
Someone recently asked me what I stand for. I made a (long) list. Here’s a snipit:
The smell of Braedon’s feet in the morning when he was three years old and he wore his feet pajamas all night.
Lily’s smile the second she opens her eyes after her nap.
The way Thomas’ neck smells- right in the crook behind his ear.
Playing kickball outside in my backyard. Daily.
Dancing in my underwear. To old records playing on our record player.
Unconditional love.
Quiet.
Reading and Learning.
Knitting, sewing, hot glue guns.
Laughing until I think I might pass out.
Going to the woods just after a pouring rain storm in the summer and looking for frogs. The smell of that alone sends me to heaven.
Love. Real love. An old couple with no teeth selling sea shells at the side of a dirt road together for the past 62 years- love.
And because I am here to tell my story with both words and pictures, here is some simple instagram (mgardellaphotography) love from this past week.
This was the moment I realized I needed to give a super-fancy Tuscany, Italy wedding to someone else. No way am I willing to give up bath time. When in doubt, I will always choose my kids:
We got a Vita-mix! So far, this is my favorite creation. Asparagus, collard greens, Kale, almond milk soup:
We all sleep in the same bed. It’s actually three beds, on the floor, pushed together. Either way, I live for their snuggles:
Color. Lots and lots of color. Everywhere around here:
I taught Lily how to sew yesterday while mending Braedon’s pants. Every time I pushed the needle up through the fabric, she would take it with her little chubby fingers and pull, pull, pull:
This is a washing machine filled with thrift store finds. Welcome to the Gardella family beautiful handmade afghans! We love you already:
Every night we have ukulele time. Thomas knows one set of chords. But luckily for us, that magical set of chords can be Twinkle, twinkle, Row Your Boat, ABCs, London Bridge and I’m a Little Teapot:
Are there days when I wish I was a jet-setting fashionista living the fast life, sipping martinis at midnight parties with Hollywood celebrities? Sure! But that is not my story. That is not my truth. That is not my bliss.
Mark my words: I stand for the simple life, and all the beautiful, breathtaking truth that lives there.
