Many people try too hard to protect themselves from the inevitable facts of life. According to a study, women spend on average $313 on her appearance. I am not entirely sure how factual that study is because people tend to buy brands. For example, Channel is one of the leading brands on the market for cosmetics. For a .12 oz container of lipstick, you can expect to pay a whopping 42 US dollars. Of course, there is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to look sharp, but I personally refuse to spend that much money on altering or “outlining” my beauty. Some might deem that very low maintenance of me, but I embrace my natural beauty and I never have to worry about carrying around a makeup bag or worrying about smearing it right off my face. Women on average tend to spend much more on their appearance then men, but shopping for the latest trends to appear modern and up to date is just many of the ways that consumerism has shaped our lives. Again, nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but can we then sit back and complain about world hunger and homelessness in the world? The actions and the thoughts just seem to contradict.  

    The above quote is about the tragedy of death but also how beautifully constructed this life is. We need to be more thoughtful as to how the rest of our life story unfolds. With all the content that is out there for people to inject into their brains we need to figure out the stuff that can really be transformative and meaningful for generations to come. As it stands our world structure seems to be crumbling in our hands because we have very little control over our impulsive nature. We have impulses of all sorts ranging from anger to embitterment to materialistic excess. With social media we have a need to react to everything! Honestly, the way dating is curated these days it is way easier to cheat on your significant other or to start some family drama all because one single text message was taken out of context. My message to myself and to others is to try and find a way to simplify your life and do things from a place of self-respect and authenticity. Don’t do things in exchange for something else, do things because you really want to and it will bring you more joy and happiness. People don’t find joy paying bills but maybe you can even look at that in a different light so that you can find peace with parting ways with your hard-earned money. Be happy you have a home to pay morgatage on, keep it clean and tidy so that it doesn’t feel cluttered. After all your environment has a huge impact on how you function. 

         To summarize, this life is teeming with endless possibilities! We need to be conscious of the choices we make because I believe in cause and effect. For every action there is a response. Sitting still and doing nothing is still an action in my book. It is not realistic to think that yesterday’s mistakes will be erased the next day but you can look at each day as a new canvas to draw upon using all the various mediums life has to offer. Make your life count in whatever way feels right to you! May you all feel less anchored down by the fear of death and instead find rejuvenation in all the glorious wonders this world has to offer if only we just took the time to simplify our lives and enjoy the process!