Happiness

What is your purpose in life? It's one of, if not, the biggest questions in life.

Last Thursday, Rainn Wilson (aka Dwight K. Schrute from The Office) came to UNT for a lecture. And I was blown away with what he had to say. He wasn't there to talk about his time on The Office or what it was like being an actor. He was there to talk about SoulPancake, his company and website that challenges you to "Chew on life's big questions". He talked about what compelled him to create SoulPancake. The catalyst behind this was his spirituality. It was one of the best lectures I've ever heard.

This lecture got me thinking about my earlier question, what is my purpose in life? This question doesn't have a black and white answer. It's different for everyone. And maybe I won't ever get an answer to this question. But I can tell you what I feel it is.

I feel my purpose boils down to just being happy and spreading that happiness with everyone I meet and everyone I know. For the past week, I've really tried to do this. Expressing whatever happiness I can in any way I can. And for the past week, I've felt really good.

So my message to y'all is to just be happy! If something's got you down, do something you love to do or help someone else out. It'll make you feel better knowing you helped someone. Spread your happiness and create a chain reaction! BE HAPPY!

Keep on Dreaming Y'all!
-Ryan

Be Grateful

So it's been a while since my last post and a few things have changed for me! First off, I am now a student at UNT!! It finally happened and I couldn't be happier to be an Eagle! I've made so many new friends and am having an awesome time. Second, I celebrated my 21st birthday in January! I'm now legal for everything! The only bad thing about this was that the calendar played this awful, sick and twisted joke on me and scheduled it on a Monday! I know! What a jerk! Finally, something that hasn't changed. I will be going back to Camp Hale for another summer out in the beautiful Ouachita Mountain National Forest! I'm so excited to be returning and I REALLY want camp to start now!

All of these things bring me to why I'm writing tonight. I heard this song called "Be Grateful" by The Farm. This song really got me thinking. Too often in life, we take things for granted. And then I started to think about what I have taken for granted in my life. I try very hard to not take anything for granted. I'm very grateful for everything in my life. I'm grateful for my family, friends, my education, my faith in God and just being alive! 

This is probably why I'm so happy all the time. I mean the last time I had a bad day was in November and I can't even remember why. The only reason I know it was a bad day was because I tweeted that it was a bad day. This was the last bad day I had because I just kept looking at the positives in my life. Nothing has been so major that it would just completely ruin my day. Now I just roll with the punches. Each problem is a new challenge to be dealt with head on. As long as I have my family and friends and as long as God lets me wake up for another day on this Earth, I'm happy and grateful. 

What I'm saying is that if you're having a bad day, think about what you have going for you in your life and be grateful for what you have.

Below is the official lyric video of "Be Grateful" by The Farm. Seriously take a listen to it!

And as always, Keep on Dreaming!
-Ryan