She's Alive!

Hello lovelies! As you could tell, for the last month and a half I've completely dropped off the face of the earth. Several changes have taken place in my life recently, the biggest of which is that I ended the relationship with my long-term boyfriend. Lately, I've just been trying to meet new friends and spend time doing things I love that I never had time for previously. Anyways, I'm alive and well, and I'm back from my blogging hiatus now! For this first new post, I'm going to share two quotations that I love with you, one of which I find very thought-provoking and the other, inspiring.

"Most of us spend many hours each week watching celebrated athletes playing in enormous stadiums. Instead of making music, we listen to platinum records cut by millionaire musicians. Instead of making art, we go to admire paintings that brought in the highest bids at the latest auction. We do not run risks acting on our beliefs, but occupy hours each day watching actors who pretend to have adventures, engaged in mock-meaningful action.

This vicarious participation is able to mask, at least temporarily, the underlying emptiness of wasted time. But it is a very pale substitute for attention invested in real challenges. The flow experience that results from the use of skills leads to growth; passive entertainment leads nowhere. Collectively we are wasting each year the equivalent of millions of years of human consciousness. The energy that could be used to focus on complex goals, to provide enjoyable growth, is squandered on patterns of stimulation that only mimic reality."

-- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

"So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more dangerous to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

-- Chris McCandless

Hope you all have been doing wonderfully! Let me know your thoughts on these two quotes, 

and tell me what you've been up to! 

XOXO, Caylee

 Photo credit: here and here

Befriending your Inner Child

When was the last time you played?

I'm not talking about going downtown to a bar with your girlfriends and stressing about guys the whole night. I'm talking about carefree, unadulterated, joyous playing. When you are concentrating on the true fun you're having and nothing else. For some of us, the last time we had a memory of a time like this is around when we first became a teenager. When I was ten, my friends and I would all run around playing hide and seek for hours in the woods surrounding my house, even after it got dark. In the pool, we would all giggle as we made up creative and funny new ways to jump in the pool. It was so great!

Around the teen years though, most people got stressed from more difficult schoolwork, became infatuated with their first loves, and get involved in more mature past times which makes it easy to forget about the pure happiness of our past. One day, years later, some of us may wake up and realize with regret that we haven't been enjoying life as much as we should be. I am calling on everyone to change that. Befriend your inner child, and give it the attention it wants!

I dare you to...

- Get a big sheet of white paper and finger paint!
- Go outside and blow bubbles!
- Make a gingerbread house!
- Take a friend to a playground and swing!
- Enjoy some chocolate milk (I do this everyday!)
- Fly a kite!
- Make a sandcastle!
- Color in a coloring book! (I find this very nice and soothing)
- Run around in the summer rain!
- Visit my new blog about living the good life! (x)
- Take silly pictures with a friend!
- Watch your favorite childhood movies!
- Make cupcakes!
- Take an energizing dance class!
- Create a "secret" space for reading and imagining! (x)
- Go rollerskating!

Double dog dare: Paint or draw on one of your walls to make your own personal mural!

The point is, just let it all hang out and have an awesome time! One of the greatest traits in most children, aside from their carefree happiness, is how curious they are about everything in the world. There are so many amazing things to discover, so while you're at it, embrace this quality of your inner kid too! If you have any other fun ideas or opinions, let me know!


Learn, explore, and play,
Caylee xoxo


Pictures found on We Heart It.