Peace

Peace.
So many individuals (dare I say ALL?) desire peace in their lives above and beyond all other things. I notice that people cannot seem to find comfort in the natural ebb and flow of life.
When things are good people are happy. When things are not so good people become unhappy. You can not have good without the bad. You cannot have true peace without chaos.
Chaos will always inevitably find it's way into your life; therefore, peace must come from within.
Undisturbed by circumstances going on around you.
People need to stop thinking things like:
"Why can't everything just be peaceful."
And change their thoughts to:
"I am at peace with everything."

I could compare peace to a river.
A river ever flowing in the same serene scene.
Although it always looks smooth and tranquil from the surface, the water below is constantly having to valiantly push it's way through the earth to get to where it's going. It has to run over boulders and bushes and deal with animals that traipse through it.
And yet, it remains determined. Uninterrupted in it's flow.
Peaceful.

Ten signs and symptoms of Inner Peace:

• A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences
• An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
• A loss of interest in judging other people
• A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
• A loss of interest in conflict
• A loss of the ability to worry
• Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation
• Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature
• Frequent attacks of smiling
• An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it

~ Peace Pilgrim

Gay Puree

Happiness

The following is an excerpt from the book "Eat Pray Love" :

"I keep remembering one of my Guru's teachings about happiness. She says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you're fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and some times even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it. If you don't, you will leak away your innate contentment. It's easy enough to pray when you're in distress but continuing to pray even when your crisis has passed is like a sealing process, helping your soul hold tight to its good attainments."

I think this is a very important lesson for each and every individual to learn. So many of us question why happiness and contentment can't be permanent. Nothing about this life is easy. We must work for everything. Love, happiness, contentment, it all comes from our striving to achieve it, and our diligence to keep it.

I highly recommend reading "Eat Pray Love," even if you've seen the movie. The book is full of insightful passages, enlightening quotations, and spiritual lessons.

~Namaste~

Life is backwards

"The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. Life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get in the end of it? A death. What's that, a bonus? The life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, you know, start out dead, get it out of the way. You wake up in an old age home, feeling better every day. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You drink like a fish, party your ass off, and screw anything that moves - you've only got a few years left, so why not?!? Then you get ready for High School. You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a baby, then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa, room
service on tap, larger quarters everyday, and then you finish off as an orgasm!"

To Cali or not to Cali...

...that IS the question.

The idea of moving to California has been plaguing me for quite a long time now. In between my California-bound interest, I have also gone through other interests of relocation such as Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii; but I have always come back to the idea of California. The desire to live in lower elevation, a steady climate, and near the ocean (oh dear god, THE OCEAN), is at this point undeniable and basically inescapable.

Up until now, my venture to move further towards the West Coast has been a venture all on my own. I was the one who had to make the decision. I was the one who had to find the place. I was the one who had to find a new job. I was the one who had to find the money. [$$$$$]
But alas, this year the universe provided me with help; a partner named Vic. A partner who not only suits me in all the ways I've always wanted a partner too, but also one who has the same deeply devoted desire to move towards the ocean as I have. (& he comes with ambition no less!)

SO in the midst of this newly developing relationship, me and Vic have been heavily toying with the idea of moving to California. We even took a trip out there for my birthday so he could show me the area's he's interested in living in. I've always been more of a North Cali lover, but since I hadn't actually been further south then LA, I couldn't efficiently judge. Vic has always been a South Cali lover, but since he hasn't ever been further north then San Fran, he can't efficiently judge either.
However, the trip we took for my birthday was southbound. As soon as we drove into the Huntington Beach area, I was in love. The moist salty air was tangible with waves of relaxation. It was as if I could FEEL how everyone around me was feeling. Happy. Laid back. Warm. Relaxed. Excited. Completely content beyond all measures of the word. This place was just screaming, "Why don't you pull up some sand and take a load off?"
So we did. We stayed in a hotel in Sunset Beach. We lounged on the beach, tripped to the ocean, grooved to the sun, cruised on the boardwalk, indulged in lots of deliciously fresh fish entrees, and smiled till our faces hurt.


When the week was over, we begrudgingly came back to Utah. Still riding the high from the majestic ocean waves. It took less than one day to miss California crave to go back. So this is when the debate of moving out there got heavier.
We started looking for places to rent. To which we discovered what everyone has been saying is ultimately true... California is EXPENSIVE!! The cheapest places that we could find (that we would actually live in), were in apartment complex's. Two bedroom, one bathroom starting around $1700/mo NOT including utilities. Distraught by the harsh reality of the costs we would be indebted in, (not just by the price of living there, but also with moving expenses included....) we started questioning whether moving to California is really the wisest decision for us.

Here's the brief breakdown of our conclusion:

-For the price we would spend to move to and live in California, we can stay here and use that money to travel all over the world, including visiting California SEVERAL times!
-If we're going to have such high living expenses, we would probably both need to be working as full time as possible. Which means 2+ jobs for each of us. With that kind of schedule, would we even be able to enjoy California?? Would we even find enough time off to go to the beach?
-For the price we are going to be spending in Cali, we could stay here and treat ourselves to a whole private house! With a nice backyard, a garage, and --fingers crossed--a hot tub!!
-We already have good jobs here with an already expanded network for upgrading in our fields. Why not stay here until we are more successful (a.k.a making the big bucks!), THEN relocate to somewhere cooler.

and last but CERTAINLY not least:
-Is it really a wise decision to move to CALIFORNIA before 2012?!?!? Now hear me out: Even IF nothing happens in a planet-based/universal/end-of-the-world sense, people are going to go nuckin futs!!!! It is a perfect time for all the crazies to get even crazier! And where do you suppose the craziest shit is gonna go down? =California, New York, and Florida, without question.

Ultimately, we decided that as long as we are together, it doesn't matter where we live.

Therefore, for the time being, Vic and I are going to stay in Utah. [At least until 2013]
That is our final decision. Doesn't mean that it won't change... Just that it's the plan for now.

So you still have Crystal. . . . .
You ALLLLLL still have Crystal!!!!

(You'll laugh at that statement if you are a Futurama fan, and replace 'crystal' w/ 'zoidberg')

ME DOT COM

For my birthday, my boyfriend bought me one of the most personal and beneficial presents I could ever possibly think of. In fact, it's something I would have never even thought of...

www.crystalcuskelly.com

I now own my own website.
Of course no one else had taken crystalcuskelly.com. My name is spectacularly unique!

I haven't had a chance to work on it yet... but you bet your tushies I'll be getting to it asap. I'm still not sure if I should make it similar to this blog, filled with random junk I like to blab about, or if I should make it more focused to massage/health. Either way, there there it is... at my disposal.

:) I'm all smiles. :)

Dream home