on a more serious note...

Relaxing. A great adjective to describe my week. I actually didn't work as much as usual- which was lovely! I found some alternative activities to keep me busy-such as going to the beach, getting tapas/coffee, napping, and spending time with marvelous friends.
I spent the Fourth of July the most American way ever...by going to FRANCE. We went to Carcassonne- absolutely stunning. It is a fortified French town-meaning it's surrounded with defensive walls. It's complete madness that people actually live there. It looks like something from the History Channel or a movie set...unreal beauty.
This coming weekend, my roomie and I are going on a little getaway to the island of Mallorca- can't wait. The following weekend we're going to the beaches at la Costa Brava and godwilling I am going to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia [northwestern Spain] in a few weeks. I would die happy if I went there.
Speaking of Santiago de Compostela, I started reading the book, The Alchemist [but in Spanish] -which is about a young Spanish man, Santiago who is trying to pursue his personal legend.
The cover of the book says, "una fábula para seguir tus sueños" [ a fable to continue your dreams] and this got me thinking about life. I'm a true believer in the fact that you have to fight for what you want. We as humans fight for what we want everyday of our lives. Whether it's for a promotion at work, to get that cute boy or girl to notice you, or an A on an exam- we're all fighting for something.
Obtaining what you want takes an abundance of courage and patience. The book reads, "Pero el secreto de la vida esta en caerse siete veces y levantarse ocho" [ but the secret of life is falling over seven times and getting back up eight]. This quote not only shows that life isn't always easy, but that we all have the strength to jump back on that horse and keep going. However, some of us fail at getting back up because of a little thing called, doubt. This single feeling has the capability to deplete any motivation and causes uncertainty. It's impossible to achieve anything in life if you're insecure. You have to have faith. It's not called a fight for nothing- you're striving for something that you can't live without. So now it comes down to this, what's worth fighting for?
Naturally, here is a very fitting Mason Jennings lyric to end this post, "Be here now, no other place to be, all the doubts that linger, just set them free. And let good things happen and let the future come into each moment like a rising sun."

xoxo,
mp