Category: The Path

Time is an illusion and there’s no such thing as a new year, really. Everyday is new start, any day can be a new year for anyone. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, this year my new year’s resolution is to not have a New Year’s resolution. I realize that putting constraints on things like my life never really works.

When there’s too much emphasis on the idea that maybe next year things will be better, that maybe I’ll find the answers, maybe everything will turn out okay. Of course that’s the hope, but when I try to hold myself to everyone’s impossible standards, I crack under pressure (and experience a lot of anxiety). The truth is that the new year is just a new day like any other day. We can’t pretend to predict the future, we can only predict the now and that’s by showing up as we are.

With the next year, I’m saying sayonara to the past because that’s the only thing I can control. I’m saying goodbye to social expectations, to the people who hurt me, to the past versions of me that did the best they could. I realize by changing how I see my life and the world around me, that’s how I change the future. That’s how I change my life.

Letting people put me down for not fulfilling “expectations “ is simply not getting me anywhere. It’s impossible to change who I am, my personality, my DNA. This is the manifesto of the future, not the past. I hope that you, just like me, can finally let your tears dry after enduring pain in the past by understanding that everything is always changing right now all the time .

You don’t need to change everything about who you are, just by letting yourself see the light and taking a deep breath- that’s change. I can only change the future by letting go of the past. I can only grant myself a new year by letting go of last year.

-Luisa Kalina ❤️

Life is full of surprises. We should be expect that by now. Nothing is more unexpected than our own lives, even if we expect it. Making plans can be helpful. Planning your grocery shopping ventures, planning your wedding, planning your bedroom renovations- we all make plans. And a lot of the times, it works out. It helps us organize our life and simplify our needs and goals. It helps to get from A to B.

But, we should also take note of all the ways that things did not work out the way we planned, like a terrible vacation or a disastrous job interview, because life is not a mathematic equation. Sometimes 1+1 doesn’t always equal 2, sometimes it can equal missteps and mistakes.

Instead of interpreting this as a failure, think of it as an adventure- when things are not turning out as you’d expect. It keeps things exciting. It keeps the blood pumping. It makes life worth living.

People are always trying to plan their life to the very detail as if they know how everything will eventually turn out. They don’t. Sometimes what seems like a good idea may be a bad one and a what seems like a bad idea may be a good one. It’s up to you to decide what you do and take that step into the unknown. Because that’s the only way to find out the truth about the future.

Don’t let plans get in the way of the future. Don’t let logic get in the way of dreaming big. Don’t let perfection get in the way of making valuable mistakes. Planning can be a tool to get things done, but don’t let planning get in the way of having a true adventure- living your life.

It’s no doubt, that perhaps the most beautiful thing about fall is how the leaves change. We love seeing colors change in the fall, from yellow to red to crisp brown. It’s refreshing how Earth alternates between seasons and colors and weather. To celebrate the fall, here are some things I want you to remember.

This fall, I want you to remember to grow just like the trees and grass and the leaves. I want you to remember that nature’s destiny for us is to grow- in every possible way. Whether that’s learning a new recipe or an important life lesson.

This fall, I want you to remember the beauty of letting go. I want you to remember that letting go is not failure nor is it an inherently sorrowful thing. We need to let go of what no longer serves us.

This fall, I want you to remember to cherish the season you’re in, no matter how bitter or cold it gets. I want you to remember that there is beauty and purpose around you even if you can’t immediately sense it.

And lastly, this fall, I want you to remember that things will never ever be the same. Things will always change just like they do in the fall -and all year long. You’ll smile and cry and laugh and scream through it all- and most importantly, you won’t be the same by the end.

This fall, I want you to embrace whatever is coming at you whether it’s cold air or the warmth of a fireplace. Because this season will end, just like so many others already have. This fall, embrace the change.

To truly get in the fall mood, here are some fall photos.

It may not feel like it now, but one day this will all be over. One day you’ll look back and realize that this was all part of the journey. When you’re in the midst of it all, it’s so hard to understand that this is only temporary. Because the truth is is that things change- they have to. It’s just part of life, and like everything else, this will too.

It’s difficult to understand this when you’re going through a rough time, when all hope seems to be lost. When you all you see is dark, it’s hard to believe that that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Because, there actually is. You just haven’t found it.

You see the way life works is that nothing stays the same. It might be tempting to think that this experience that you’re having right now is defining of all the rest of your life. But, just because you’re feeling depressed now doesn’t mean you will feel like this forever. And just because you’re stuck now doesn’t mean you will be forever.

They say it’s always darkest before the dawn. Just because you don’t see it yet, doesn’t mean the end isn’t near. That’s why you have to keep pushing forward no matter what. It’s sometimes impossible to grasp this because all you see is where you are now. And where you are now is not such a pretty sight. But, I wonder if you could see your future self as they look back at you and say, “See, I told you so.”

One day you will wake up and this will be over. The sun will come out again and the storm will pass. You’ll wake up somewhere brand new, perhaps somewhere better than before. You won’t know it now, but one day you’ll know when it’s all over.

It’s often believed that we should never fall apart. Falling apart means that’s there’s something inherently wrong with us, that we aren’t good enough. Falling apart means we’ve failed somehow, that we’ve let the ourselves and loved ones down. But what if falling apart is the first step in coming together- in a brand new way.

When we come apart, it can make us feel like we are complete failures. It can make us feel mentally sick, like we’re going crazy. Psychologists may say that it is never okay to be not okay and that we should always be happy or there’s something wrong with us. However, there is the theory of positive disintegration. A theory that suggests that sometimes in order to truly develop as a human being we have to first fall apart.

It’s the idea that falling apart can also mean growing up. It can mean shedding our past beliefs, habits, and worldviews. We fall apart because we are no longer the people we thought we were. We are no longer living out the stories that were created for us. That is why we come apart. And sometimes it is absolutely necessary, even if it feels like the most painful thing to ever happen to us.

When we are made to be broken, we have to the opportunity to learn more about ourselves. We have the chance to see what is wrong with our lives and make it better. The light only seeps in through the cracks of our who we are. And this allows us to recreate ourselves in a way that is stronger than ever before.

Falling apart is part of the process of becoming. It is the beginning of real, lasting change.

If there is one constant in life, it’s change. Change happens everywhere, everyday. Seasons are always changing, time is always moving forward, years are always passing by. The hard truth about it all is that nothing truly stays the same- no matter how much we want it to.

But, change is a miracle in disguise. Without change, nothing would ever get done. Without change, we would be stuck on square one forever. Change is frightening. It’s heartbreaking. It’s uncomfortable. Change makes us question our entire reality. It can makes us feel crazy, lost, and confused. But, change is essential to our survival.

We can not live in the past for the rest our lives. Our old habits, old ways of thinking, past versions of ourselves can not be carried with us into the future. We will never survive that way. Instead, change forces us to grow into the people that we are destined to be.

Change is miraculous because it allows us to live another life. It allows us to be different people- perhaps, better people that we ever were before. Change strips us away from all that was not meant for us. And it instead replaces it with something new and right. Because, change is secretly a doorway to another world- another world where life is the way we’ve always wanted it to be.

Change may feel catastrophic, at first. It can make us feel like reality is bending- or crashing. It can make us feel like we don’t know who we are anymore. But, that’s the beauty of change. Change gives us the opportunity to live life to the absolute fullest because it demolishes a past that was wrong for us.