Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.
—Unknown
The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.
—Steve Furtick
In life, you will realize there is a role for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you, some will love you, and some will teach you.
But the ones who are truly important are the ones who bring out the best in you. They are the rare and amazing people who remind you why it's worth it.
—Unknown
It's okay to want someone you can't have. It's okay to keep friendships when you don't want them, or want something more. It's okay to cry when you're hurt and it's okay to stay mad at someone who hurt you.
Believe it or not, it's always going to be okay.
That's just how it works. Sometimes, things don't always work out the way you want them to, and a lot of times, it seems like they never will, but its okay. That's how life's supposed to go.
It's all about learning how to deal with the bumpy parts in the road and waiting till they're smooth again. It's all about forgiving and forgetting. It's all about waiting and wishing.
That's just how life is.
—Unknown
The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.
—William Morris
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.
—Albert Einstein
Zoe Means Life →
I just found that a new and dear friend of ours, Zoe Inciong passed away last night. I'm deeply saddened and inspired in so many ways. We've only met Zoe a few times, but her very being and strength as a 15 year old fighting Ewing Sarcoma.. is truly an inspiration.
I received an email back in September 2011 from a friend of a friend of the Inciong family, leading me to the blog entry of Zoe's mom, Maria. And in this blog, Maria mentions that Zoe is a fan of AJ Rafael and hopes to meet him one day. We finally got to make it happen in December 2011.
Since then Maria and I have kept in touch especially as Zoe's 16th birthday was coming closer and we wanted to see if AJ could visit Zoe during her trip to Disneyland from Make-A-Wish Foundation or perform for her birthday party. Scheduling wise we couldn't make it happen, until AJ called me the night before the party to tell me he was going to make it. It was an amazing moment we can't ever replace to see Zoe's reaction, and to feel the love of all of her family and friends.
Meeting Zoe is one of those things in life that really are meant to be. And even if we met her for a few moments, we are so much more honored to have met her. Zoe not only reminds us of the kind of impact music has on a person's life, but she's allowed me to take a step back and just remember the impact of human life. Many of us today have all lost someone to the battle of cancer, and I myself try to remind myself every day that one of the inspirations for working in the industry that I'm in today - is because of my best friend who passed away from Lymphoma Cancer. (Blog link)
We can find inspiration in Zoe, in all of our loved ones who have battled cancer, those who are battling it today, and most especially in the family and friends of those with them all the way.
God bless you Zoe. You've touched my heart in a way that changes and motivates me. Thank you. My prayers go out to Maria, Randy, Teo and the rest of the Inciong family. God bless you all.
We all have the potential to fall in love a thousand times in our lifetime. It's easy. The first girl I ever loved was someone I knew in sixth grade. Her name was Missy; we talked about horses. The last girl I love will be someone I haven't even met yet, probably. They all count.
But there are certain people you love who do something else; they define how you classify what love is supposed to feel like. These are the most important people in your life, and you'll meet maybe four or five of these people over the span of 80 years.
But there's still one more tier to all this; there is always one person you love who becomes that definition. It usually happens retrospectively, but it happens eventually. This is the person who unknowingly sets the template for what you will always love about other people, even if some of these loveable qualities are self-destructive and unreasonable. The person who defines your understanding of love is not inherently different than anyone else, and they're often just the person you happen to meet the first time you really, really, want to love someone.
But that person still wins. They win, and you lose. Because for the rest of your life, they will control how you feel about everyone else.
—Chuck Klosterman, Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story
Take chances when you're young; tell stories when you're old.
Try not to confuse 'attachment' with 'love.' Attachment is about fear and dependency, and has more to do with love of self than love of another. Love without attachment is the purest love because it isn't about what others can give you because you're empty. It is about what you can give others because you're already full.
—Yasmin Mogahed