and it meant something…

The sun sets on another day…

As I walked through the woods at sunset the snow sparkled like diamonds and made the landscape look like molten a cascading series of Christmas lights. Though the sunset hid behind falling snow and clouds, it was a pretty eve.

Yesterday I wrote with a little bit of passion about time and the essence of 29000 sunsets. We all need to focus as we can to make certain we see the little things and how we should approach it all. Well, how I would approach it.

My level of strangeness has created a very unique approach to just about everything. I do not compartmentalize or plan to the NTH degree but instead have a continually modifying vision that I strive for and along the way try to take as many people with me as I can that are interested at all. When I started writing 29,000 sunsets it was for my children and me and it became much more over time. I wasn’t looking for it to become more but when the users went to the thousands and then the ten thousands and the hits passed millions I thought somebody might be enjoying it.

That being said I wish it translated to book sales and if you didn’t know I wrote books check out andrewallensmith.com and maybe try a few. Wouldn’t it be nice to find that 100,000 books suddenly sold. Well, not that many people log on each day.

Still, I’ve had many people reach out to me and just let me know something that I said meant something. With that in mind I hope that each day you read 29,000 sunsets there is something little that makes you smile. Otherwise, I’ll have to tell you the bear and the rabbit joke.

So as the sun sets on another day, take advantage of the little things and enjoy your moments every day. After all it’s the little things that make a difference. I hope you know how important you are every day, I hope you find time to dance, no matter what.

sleep sweet, love life, and who is that guy…

Prompted…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was almost clear, if you consider covered with clouds as clear. Lake effect snow is funny. Lake effect clouds, meh. It seems that the other side of the state is clear, and that would be nice!

I get asked from time to time where I get my ideas. Each day I am prompted by some event or some strange prompt that asks me to write. We all get prompts if we just pay attention and listen to them. There are prompts for us to do things and prompts for us to not do things. There are things that we are told to do and things that we have to listen closely to understand what it is we should be doing.

I’m sitting here today writing after a gloomy sunset thinking about all of the writing prompts I could have finished in just a moment. As a whole I have used my time wisely but occasionally I have to think about how time flows and what I should be focusing on.

I’ve made a decision this year to focus more and what is important in my time. I hope you can find a way to do this too. Some things may be set aside but others may become a huge focus of my life. My writing is something that will be at the center of it. With that I strongly suggest you consider setting down the phone and walking away from the computer and living life. If we all realized how short life really was and did 29,000 will never be enough perhaps we would be more cautious with our time.

So as the sun sets on another day consider well your time and your prompts. Don’t be afraid to question your prompts as you realize what’s really important in your life and who is really important in your life. Find your way to people who care about you as much as you care about them, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and keep living…

Monday Monday…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was on its way to be magnificent until the clouds closed in and took away the light once again. In Michigan this happens and during the winter we are lost in a perpetual fog for some time.

Once Upon a time it was Monday. Monday is a fantastic day as it starts a work week and can open your mind to new positivities and possibilities. so many people avoid Mondays because they are not happy with their position or their normal day-to-day. I’m reminded of a song, actually I’m reminded of several songs, that perhaps we should look here before we change the world. Instead perhaps we should change our mind and our approach to understanding everything around us. After all our perceptions of the world change each and every day and we constantly believe what we did yesterday we will never see you better tomorrow from the foundations of today.

Sounds easy doesn’t it?

It’s not easy. We need to constantly evolve and anything we are adamant about needs to be reconsidered. Whether it is the depth of our hate for something or another or the depth of our love for something or another doesn’t matter. The magnificence of our love and the limitlessness of our hate can blind us to seeing beyond ourselves. And yes it really is that simple.

My suggestion for this magnificent Monday is to take a moment and evaluate something you love and something you hate. If you love something make sure that that love is able to grow and be more. If you hate something, figure out why and potentially let that go. It is the hate inside of us that often keeps us from growing. Now take a deep breath and smile for a while.

So as the sun sets on another day, today is Monday but let’s make it a good day and the best day that we can have today, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love with passion, and find your way…

Sweeping…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset might have been a surprise but I believed the weather and did not go to the beach. As sunset time approached I saw pinks and oranges in the sky, somewhere on the horizon the sky had opened if only for a moment.

In many stories I have read in the past the art of sweeping is a central act that the world revolves around. I was thinking about this tonight and it actually makes a lot of sense.

When you are sweeping with a broom you are focused on a large task and the minutia of that task. In the process of making things a better place you are part of it all, and in a very Zen way you are connected to the task deeply. Each grain of dust or each fiber swept up become s part of a greater task.

I have written about the story “The Way of the Sword” before, and it details that the way of the sword is not about swordsmanship, but instead about being aware of the world, and it can be attained as easily by sweeping as it can by limitless katas. With that I pause and consider how many do not see past their small world into a larger world, full of wonder and amazement.

Sweep, work, and get lost in the minutia of the world you are in and suddenly you will see a little more and it is there that we will find a gateway to more, and the passion to make it right.

So as the sun sets on another day, yes, I know this is a complex series of thoughts. Perhaps it is so simple it seems complex. In the world, take a moment and look around, be aware, see more as you find your way to a different vision, and enjoy all you do, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and find your way…

Steps in the snow…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere we go. Oops wrong season. I am finding the snow makes me smile.

Today was full of contradictions as I went many directions and created new paths in the snow, at least figuratively. Quite often we don’t realize that wherever we go we leave tracks. These tracks allow us to backtrack if necessary or to know where we’ve been.

The problem is that tracks in the snow get lost in new snow. It shouldn’t be a problem, but a lot of times people are so interested in finding where they’ve been that they don’t realize that where they should be looking is towards where they’re going. It is with that in mind that I suggest that you just keep on trucking.

Where we were is not as important as where we are going, and where we are going is not as important as where we are. I mean, if you have been everywhere but need to go somewhere, you can’t get anywhere unless you keep moving forward. And worrying about either is not so good if you are in quicksand. (I always thought there would be more quicksand when I was a kid) So maybe we need to focus on where we are, and find our way.

So as the sun sets on another day, find your way, and lets make every day a series of steps forward. (and avoid that quicksand) Be your own guide and make the world yours each day, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and keep being you…

Frost…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was cold and wet yet again. This part of the state takes a beating in the winter with few days of sun, and the darkness falling on the land. Still, I know the sunset is high above and the day is good anyway.

I found sunset to be a challenge.

The day was cool and the cold pressed in upon us all. It was as if it was trying to freeze the light and life out of every living thing it could. After a time, I smiled. when you think about the cold you also consider ice and snow and frost. All of these are beautiful beyond belief if you only pay attention, and it takes that cold to make the crystals that sparkle in any light. It is with that in mind that I can look at everything and say, “the day is good” even when it doesn’t seem so.

today was a cold wet day but it was a good day because of the warmth in my heart and the fire of all the people I know and the fantastic things that they do. Take a moment and count the things should be thankful with number one on the list big you are still here, still kicking, and still making a difference. it is people like you that make the world a better place.

So as the sun sets on another day, sure on the outside things may seem difficult but, on the inside, remember that this is a great day. keep being you and making a difference every day, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and carry it forward…

Worth it…

The sun sets on another day…

In a dramatic shift from rain and cold it is now rainy cold and snowy. Somewhere high above sunset was fantastic but right now I’ll turn the heat up in the truck and enjoy feeling awesome as I drive home.

You know sometimes it’s just a moment that makes a day. It can be the smile of a child, the laugh of an adult, or a series of other items in between. Don’t take anything for granted and instead enjoy the moments and make every piece of your time worth it.

I have a lot of good memories and most of those memories came from living in the moment and not trying to plan out tomorrows. It is with that in mind that I refer to something I have written over and over and actually coined for the first time many years ago.

Do not whine about your past, nor pine about the future, and instead, define yourself every single day. Your past is behind you, and it has made you the fantastic individual that you are. Use your past as a foundation and whether good or bad it doesn’t matter; you are who you are because of that past. You built yourself on either the good or bad that you had. Do not pine about the future as the future is always in motion. From moment to moment you change what could be and what might be based on who you are. That gets us to who you are. Define yourself moment by moment because moments do matter and so do you. All of the little things that you may have thought unimportant have built you into who you are and will continue to do so each and every day.

This is something we shouldn’t have to think about. Every day is an adventure that we can explore and make our own if we simply realize this is our life.

So as the sun sets on another day, I hope you have defined the best day possible for yourself and along the way I hope you’re having fun and enjoying life, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and make today your day…

Weebles…

The sun sets on another day…

Wind and rain and storm battered the area and I knew Sunset was high above shedding Beauty across the skyline. Even though I was Far Below it all worked out just fine.

There used to be a toy called Weebles. I think world might be a better place if many people took a lesson from the Weebles. You see, Weebles wobble, but they don’t fall down. If you listened to the jingle you would say again that Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down! We should all occasionally wobble, but not fall down, and if we fall, or seem to fall, we should get back up.

Pretty easy.

So as the sun sets on another day, don’t let the world get you down, instead take a lesson from a weeble and bounce back up every time. You have the ability to stand strong always, no matter what!

Sleep sweet, love life, and wobble wobble…

All together…

The sun sets on another day…

Sunset was wet, cold, clammy, and why do clams get such a bad rap. Clams can be fun!

Each day is an adventure. What we do with that adventure is up to us!

Today was an amazing day simply because it was. It wasn’t like there were tons of things to do, a ridiculous amount of suddenly serious money flowing my way, or something else that other people see as fantastic. Instead, it was a very subtle and nice day that flowed from moment to moment without angst or heartache.

As I thought about this tonight and enjoyed the pitter-patter of the rain trickling down the eaves, I laughed a little at all of the things we could have done together and all of the moments we could have shared. Not just me and you or me and us or me and the bunch of you. I’m talking about all of us.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we could all just enjoy ourselves? Wouldn’t the world be filled with wonderful passion and excitement if we worried about our wonderful passion and excitement and paid attention to what made us happy? After all, isn’t the world a better place when we are all trying to lift each other up not by what we do but by appreciating what everyone does?

It is with that in mind that I ask you now to pay attention to yourself, and let’s all try to be better people each day. Don’t apply your bias to someone else, and instead let’s live every moment to be our absolute best. It’s a nice idea, isn’t it?

So as the sun sets on another day, remember that every day is a chance to be nice and instead of being apart, let’s try to be all together and make our days the most fantastic days that we can, no matter what.

Sleep sweet, love life, and carry on…