Hey, Hello. The last time we spoke I was recapping Harley adventures and wishing the best for 2022. Since then, WE BUILT A HOUSE!
It took approximately 245.5 years, but she’s done. And she’s everything. And we L.O.V.E her.
I have all intentions of getting my blogging hat resized and refit to recap the last two years of this eventful journey.
Until then, it’s good to see ya. Grimmy Girl says hi.
Cheers!
The Fight of Two Wolves Within You
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
”It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil–he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you–and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
What wolf are you feeding?
Our thoughts can be our own worst enemy, or are biggest advocate. How we channel our thoughts effects the trajectory of our lives. It is inevitable that both “wolves” will always be a part of our journey, however, we have the power to choose which one wins minute by minute, day by day, one small victory at a time.
The evil wolf allows negative thoughts in that add up over time to where you no longer realize you are living in your own self-made world of pity, sorrow, skepticism. You have fed into the negative talk for so long that it has now become a part of who you are and maybe even how you are perceived. This wolf is the easiest to feed. It’s easy to slip into negative self-talk. It’s even easier to complain, gossip, brush-off, ignore, or give-up. Even the negativity that you brush off as joking is feeding into the evil.
Negativity breeds negativity.
But the second wolf? That second wolf is full of promise. It’s also full of work. And THAT my friends, is where the magic resides. The second wolf requires patience, commitment, tenacity, grit, perseverance, trust. It feeds on learning, sharing, praising and the forming of habits.
The second wolf brings forth a sense of accomplishment, pride… peace even.
What’s that cliche phrase? Nothing worth having comes easy. You could apply it to this evil versus good wolf scenario. Take the road with the challenge for the end result is worth more than its weight. Feed the good wolf. Feed the wolf that reaps the most benefit.
Right?
But what if I told you to feed both.
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If you read into the Cherokee story, the alternative resolution is “if you feed them both, they both win.”
Think on that for a moment.
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Both wolves have characteristics necessary to life. The evil wolf provides fearlessness, courage and strong-will. The good wolf provides reason, clarity, courage, longevity. When paired together they are powerful.
It is up to us how we manage our thoughts and how we provide an avenue for both wolves to co-exist. Mental clarity, self-awareness and confidence resides in the mind over matter.
“How you choose to interact with the opposing forces within you will determine your life. Starve one or the other or guide them both.”
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Towards the end of August I had the privilege of taking some photos for my very dear friends Andy and Liz, to only be surprised with the news of a baby on the way! What a fun opportunity to switch mindsets from doing a couples photo session to a BABY announcement session. My heart! ❤
The weather was not in our favor, and having already rescheduled once, we were determined to keep plugging away, despite the rain and 1 million percent humidity levels.
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As all males, I think Andy was less than thrilled at the idea of photos, however, adding in the excitement of the baby announcement helped ease the nerves and joy and pride soon took over. We had a solid hour of photos, endured the rain and then I held the honor of keeping this beautiful secret locked tight.
Until now.
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I think it is safe to say these two are going to make the absolute COOLEST parents on the block. I am overjoyed for them and cant wait to spoil this baby in all things Harley-Davidson.
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Congrats, kids!
Enjoy the Ride!
In the world of social media, one could make the assumption that a blog is just another platform to overshare. There are many reasons as to why people choose to blog whether personally, professionally, branding, memory preservation, or for collaborations across brands.
All blogs have their purpose for the identified author and audience.
When I first started my corner of the blogging world, I started out with sharing experience’s, places, networking and promoting brands and products with giveaways and challenges. It has evolved into a place where I can share stories of what means the most to me as it relates to the people, events and experiences I surround myself with.
Mostly,
I blog for memory preservation and for story telling.
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I am not a big fan of documenting my every move and every photo on traditional social media platforms. My mind has shifted over the years to providing rich snapshots of my life versus a smattering of unrelatable photos and check-ins. My blog provides me an outlet to share the what and the why’s behind my actions, my thinking and my surroundings.
3. Personal! It’s my place to share my beliefs, ideas, tips but also the highlight reel of my family life, married life, biker life and all the things in between that mean so much to me.
But, to dive a little deeper… I blog for memory preservation. Alzheimer’s and memory loss are legitimate concerns for me. I do a lot of reading on Alzheimer’s and memory preservation. My memory fails me often the more I shove in my brain over the years. I often joke that I have early onset, mostly because there are many events/moments that I simply do not remember that others do, but I also know that is partly because I wasn’t making a POINT to imbed some of those moments into my long-term memory.
At any rate, I want to be able to look back on the special moments in my life and read about those experiences long after the little details have left my mind. I want documentation of my thoughts, my adventures and progression of my personal and professional development.
Blogging provides a different platform to share. It’s my platform and little corner of the world, and for those of you who continue to follow along, I thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your life to read about what is going on in mine. You have taken a deeper love and interest in me and what I find important and valuable. Thank you.
I only hope I provide you the same respect, love and admiration.
Cheers to living, breathing and loving this life we have.
❤
Harleys and Heels 