Barcelona: Day 115 : Quotables .

Haven't done one of these in awhile, so figured I would today! (especially since my day was rather uneventful). I know that often I ramble away from the topic at hand, but usually the quotes just act as a way to get the ball rolling; I hope you don't my erratic writing style. Anyways, here goes: It was once said by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that "the world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes."


Ever feel like the answer to some problem or issue is just right under your nose? Happens to me all the time. Why is it so hard to find the simplest, most obvious things? It's like when you go around for an hour looking for your glasses when they were on your head the whole time.

I think, though, that describing life as an unsolvable complexity borders on the absurd. I think that in truth it's as simple or as complex as you make it. There are very few things that are unavoidably important. There are very few things that I feel that I should give my complete attention to at all times no matter what. And there are very few people that really deserve that absolute give-it-all attitude. Simplicity may end up making life a lot easier; for me, for anybody.

There are lots of things I'd love to accomplish. But if I separate out the important ones, there are only a few. Let's be real, I don't absolutely have to going-to-die-without-it-happening need to go skydiving. It's just something I want to do. In all honesty, the only thing I probably really really need is to find a way to mend things with my family, and stick with my religion.

Maybe it's that the most obvious things aren't noticed simply because they are so obvious. Perhaps it's that we take them for granted. Perhaps, we just aren't looking. When people have a number of troubling relationships in a row, they may say they're 'looking for love in all the wrong places.' Maybe they are. And by the wrong places, I mean, they're looking for people on Earth.

I don't mean to sound like a missionary, because I am not. I'm no prophet, no priest, and not even any sort of religious leader. But as this Christmas season and Advent season has progressed, I've gotten to thinking. And perhaps if we're searching for love so much in this fleshly world that we forget about the unconditional love that we receive from the heavens every day; the same unconditional love that will never stop coming, no matter what happens.

Does this seem obvious? To some, maybe. I've been struggling lately with a few things, and as hard as it is to keep going back and saying 'I'm sorry' and 'I promise I'll do better' it is nice to know that no matter how many times I fail and disappoint myself, that that love will be there for me to go back to with open arms. Maybe people think you need to "enlightened" in order to enjoy this sort of thing, whatever that means.

But, I think the whole point I have in this, whether it's talking about love or religion or whatever, is to just stop for a moment and take things at a slower pace. I am notorious for speeding around to do things, because I don't like wasting time and I don't like being late. Ask anyone I spent the semester with; I walk SUPER fast, all the time. I've been trying to slow myself down so I can just enjoy it more (and maybe not destroy my shoes in the process...). I'm hoping that the obvious things will present themselves to me as I meander through the days, and that my life as a whole becomes more enriched as a result.