Do you always trust your first initial feeling?
Special knowledge holds truth, bears believing
I turned around and the water was closing all around
Like a glove, like the love that had finally, finally found me
Crystal - Stevie Nicks
Be the Yes person.
It's been a long time since I have last blogged. I took an unintentional hiatus, probably due to a busy schedule and lack of inspiration. I felt as though my blogs posts were beginning to become a little pretentious. That is something I never want to portray, so I just backed off until I could collect my thoughts again.
A dear friend of mine shot me a text one day that would end up being what has ignited the new fire in my heart. Somewhere along my journey I became a "Yes" person. This drives my mother crazy because she thinks it runs me ragged and it lands me into places or situations that makes my friends think I've lost my mind. By being a "Yes" person, I mean that I rarely turn down anything I've never done before.
The text I received was form my friend Katie, asking if I'd like to be a makeup artist this year for The Valley of Fear haunted attraction. Being a full time student, employee, and business owner I wasn't sure how I was going to balance it all out. However, I couldn't resist the opportunity to grow as a makeup artist. I've been wanting to explore the character makeup end of my skills again for some time. There was no way I could pass this chance up. Naturally, I said yes.
Beginning the season, I didn't know what to expect. My coworkers all seemed to come from all kinds of life, throw in the same big pot. As the weeks went on, personalities unfolded and so did the love. Yes, of course I expected to make friends. What I didn't expect was all the genuine love that came from every single person I encountered working at The Valley of Fear.
Here I am thinking the makeup fun I was going to be having would be the icing on the cake. Nope. Not at all. Saying "Yes" to this opportunity thinking I would gain one thing, allowed me to gain something totally different. It seems most people in life, including myself, get so caught up in the rat race. We think a world filled with materialistic objects is going to make us more of a person. Maybe even happier. Life isn't about this. It's about love. The love we give to each other and receive from each other. When the "glitter" fades, you'll have nothing to hold onto if relationships aren't put first on the priority list. I'm feeling grateful for the past month. My coworkers, who are now my friends from The Valley of Fear have taught me even more about myself and the meaning of life.
I thank you all for that. Your smiles, dirty jokes, and twisted senses of humor brought countless smiles to my face. More importantly, it has sent a surge of life back into my soul.
Turning down a chance to talk to someone new, or a chance to go somewhere you have never gone before is only hurting you. This blog is taking me back to the movie "Yes Man" starring Jim Carey. I'll give you a great example of the "Yes" chain.
Down at Xfinity live in Victory Beer Hall one night, I was dancing on the table and happened to point across the room to a guy dancing on the table as well. He jumps tables to continue dancing the song with me, flailing away. That night, that man was a total stranger. He is the reason I got to see Stevie Nicks eleven rows away and ended up shaking her hand. We've sent and received post cards from each other during our travels all over the world. We talk business, life, and music....almost everyday. He's become one of my greatest friends. All from a moment of not refusing to let the universe rush in.
Maybe I'm hopelessly pretentious because I feel like I soak in the lessons life teaches me, or maybe I just inherited my father's impeccable lecturing skills. There are just certain aspects of what life is about I want people to make sure they get to absorb as well.
To conclude my resurrection from the blogger grave, please say yes to life. My best friend Jenn's mother told me once "When you do things with good intentions, good things will come from it." Being open to all that life has to offer isn't going to harm you. It's going to turn you into a more beautiful version of yourself. You'll meet people that will touch your heart forever. You'll find things out about yourself that may even surprise you! And at the very least, I'm sure you'll smile and laugh at least once or twice. :)
Forever Love,
Brittany
