Life is Beautiful

One of my favorite movies of all time, despite its title, is really quite depressing. I've never been very excited about watching films with subtitles, but this one is worth the sacrifice. If you get nothing else out of it, you will at least learn to say, "Good morning, Princess!" in Italian. :) I think about this old movie a lot when I feel like life is hard. I remember the mind power the protagonist was so sure of that gave him the optimism and courage to make life beautiful when everything and everyone around him screamed that life is miserable. I really do have a beautiful life. I am so blessed. Some days are just a little more challenging than others. Today has been one of those days. It's not any different than other days really; my perspective is just slightly warped and things like dropping the freshly seasoned and cooked meat on the floor and having to start dinner over again (which seemed like an overwhelming task the first time) or scorching the taco shells to little black piles of charcoal become much more dramatic issues than they genuinely are.

I've done a lot of reflecting today about the way life is and the way I think life should be. I am afraid to say that the only thing in my life that is not perfect is...me. I've always known that. Some days it is just a more difficult reality to accept. I have been on a quest for a long, long time to become the perfect version of myself. Most of the time I am just fine to smile about my imperfections and keep on hammering out the dents as I go along. Today was just one of those days that I looked around me and saw nothing but mistakes and shortcomings. It's days like this that I have to remind myself to take the situation I am in (which I have little control over) and make choices about me (which I have all control over) that will lead to a more beautiful life. Life, after all is supposed to be beautiful with all of its surprises and disappointments...not necessarily perfect. I don't have to be perfect yet. If I were perfect, I would be done. I would have no reason to stay here to enjoy the perfectly beautiful life I have been given. We spend so much of our lives searching for the key to happiness. If only we could see that the door requires no key. It's always open.