Becoming an intellectual sponge.

Both as an architect and a photographer I love when light streams into a room. I have three happy thoughts I refer to when I'm upset or stressed.  The first is the wind gliding through my hair and the warmth of the sun on my skin as I'm biking and inevitably the big smile I have on my face.  The other two both relate to to the image above.  The second being the mornings in my architecture studio in college.  It would be after a long night of working, and slowly I see the sun creep over into our balcony and finally shine through our floor to ceiling windows.  I remember feeling so refreshed those mornings.  My last happy thought is waking up early enough in the morning to see the sun stream in through my blinds.  I feel a sense of hope and peace when I wake up those mornings.

Since returning to California I've invested much time to really improve myself.  I'm searching for ways to have that perpetual happy place in my heart.  As a Christian I believe it comes from a satisfaction in knowing Christ and feeling secure in that; also in knowing that God loves me, and that alone is enough for me. That's a great start, but I need something to really put that concept into practice.  So over the past weeks I'm learning that I can apply advice and practices from other cultures and religions and practices to reinforce what I personally feel convicted of spiritually.   I've found new ways to refresh my spirit like those happy thoughts through non-Christian avenues.

And it occurs to me that everyone, including Christians, would be so much happier and fulfilled in life if they did draw in knowledge from other sources.  Take Christians for example.  The Bible offers quite a bit of guidance in the ways of living a good life and being a blessing to others, but that doesn't mean one can't find positive influences from the teachings of a transcendentalist or a Buddhist or Jew or atheist.  As I read my books and talk to people around me, I'm learning to take what they say to heart and cater it to my personal spiritual beliefs.  I believe that God exists, but hey, I also believe those Buddhists have a good thing or two to say about how to treat others.

I'm rambling as always, but I feel so happy to be headed in the right direction in my personal search for the right life for me.

(The image above is from North Vancouver, Canada)