Little Moments

I watched this video the other day and I really enjoyed it. There is a quote in it that I really like at the very beginning by Neal A. Maxwell that says "Moments are the molecules that make up eternity." What a beautiful thought that this is, we have been given one of the greatest gifts by God to be alive, and we have the opportunity to experience so much in this life. We are meant to live it and actually act there is so much beauty and wonder to experience outside. It's amazing that God has given us such a beautiful world to live and and there is so much to learn about and to explore. I know he loves us because he has given us so much. In the scriptures God tells us that we exist so that we can have joy. and if we take the time to look for it and do things that we find fun we will have joy in this life. Our lives are made up of the memories of our pasts and the dreams of the future. It's such a amazing way of looking at the world and I know for a fact that this world is one that if we seek for happiness in the right places and moments we will not have any regrets.

I Am Possible

I found this wonderfull little quote on Facebook today and true to my word with my previous post I thought I would share this with y'all. This is a cute quote and it's quite inspirational to me. I have hit several road blocks in my life and there are times that I feel like giving up. I tell myself that it's impossible and I give up trying, but that is not the case nothing in this life is truly impossible if you work hard enough at it and have the right tools. I have learned that more and more as I have worked my way through life. What we often call impossible is just hard, but here is my word of advice to you; the things that are truly worth it in this life are rarely going to be easy. Those things that push us and try us in the end are going to be of the greatest worth to us when we reach the end of our lives. I know for a fact that the impossible is achievable especially when we seek the help of the Savior.

Hole in my soul

I have posted several times that I love life and I am truly grateful to be living and experiencing things here on earth, but I have a story to tell y’all that applies to finding that happiness and feeling at peace with myself. As some of you may know I am a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day saints and I have posted about it before in one of my first Blog posts since getting home in from my mission almost three years ago. I can hardly believe that it has been that long. Time really is like sand that sifts through fingers.

When I go back from my mission I made a promise to myself that I would never go back to the way that I was before the mission years. Before I left on my mission I had very little interest in all things spiritual, but while I was on my mission I repented and made a huge effort to get closer to God and feel his spirit in my life. It was an amazingly life changing experience that I wouldn't exchange for anything in the world. It is one of the major experiences in my life that I attribute to who I am today.

The thing is that while you are on a mission you live by strict guidelines that helped me to live life in a more spiritual way. They help you to learn how to get closer to the Heavenly father all while teaching the gospel to others. For me it was a wonderful experience that helped to change a lot, but returning from the mission is a completely different adventure. You have to learn how to adapt to regular life again which is a trial in itself.

I am sorry to say that I did not adapt very well, as time went on I got farther and farther away from my heavenly father, and one day it just hit me, that I was missing something in my life. I had hit a point where I was knew I was missing it in my life. I could feel a hole where I had felt peace and happiness beforehand.  I wanted to feel that happiness so bad I was longing for it and I knew that the reason that I didn’t feel it was because I had gotten away from making an effort to be closer to him, and as I pondered upon the last three years I began to realize that I couldn’t blame anyone else but myself for where I currently stood. I had walked there myself away from light and I had to walk back towards the light.

The reason I share this is because I want to at least help someone realize the important of the light of Christ in our lives. There is a current trend to ignore everything spiritual in this world and just focusing on the spiritual pleasure that we can get out of this life. I am here to tell you that I have lived on both sides and just living for physical pleasure does not bring happiness. It’s kind of hard to explain, but as I experienced it I began to feel like I was being hollowed out.  It was almost as if someone or something was slowly piece by piece scooping out the quiet happy serenity that I had begun to enjoy while I was on my mission and living my life in a very spiritual way. I knew it was my fault but as I moved farther and farther away from the light I began to see that it was only through my stupidity that I began to lose my sense of security and life. I had fallen to one of the greatest lies that has been told throughout history, I was victim of spiritual negligence.

When I hit this epiphany I could feel a huge hole inside me. I felt horrible and I knew that I was missing something. I know for a fact that I need god in my life and that without him I can’t have the same kind of happiness that comes with being spiritual. There is a distinct difference between the two types of happiness and I wanted the quiet serenity and Identity that came with spirituality. So for the past few weeks I have been making a big effort to look at life through a more spiritual mind set, and it has helped so much, I have been so edified and I have gotten to feel the spirit in my life and try as I did I was not able to fill it up any other way.

I know that there is a trend these days that diminishes the importance of being spiritual but I testify to you that it is absolutely is. God loves us and he wants us to be happy, but the only way that we can have a fullness of joy is if we seek him out. He loves us greatly and as we make an effort to get closer to him we will be able to feel happier it has been the case with me.

I am going to try and share with you over the next couple days some of the religious stuff that I have been listening to and watching over the last couple of days. I feel like people everywhere need a little bit of a pick me up during the day and I want to share with y’all what I has touched me and helped me to feel a little bit happier and a little bit closer to God.

I am

                          I am a creator of adventures and a collector of memories. I have an undying love affair with the new and unknown and a passion for the stories that can and could be. They call me, beckoning me to heed the call of of the promise of excitement and and wonder. Pondering the possibilities before me excites me and prepares me even more for the adventure that is ahead of me. It is a call I must answer and an itch that I must scratch. I want to know, no, I have to know what is out there. The world outside my front door is teeming with life. Thousands of possible scenarios spread out before me and billions of lives being lived folding out in front of me. All these stories unfolding before me, interweaving, mingling and crisscrossing through one another. Each one is uniquely beautiful in it’s own way, Narrating the story of the human spirit, teaching me what it means to be alive. It inspires me to  look beyond my secure world and venture forth into the unknown and mingle with the memories that are blooming before me, creating my own as I explore the webs of information that is strung throughout the world. I love these stories, they inspire me and make me a better person than I was before. As I gain more knowledge I share it with the world, communicating to them the information that I learned. Because that what we are meant to do with stories, they are meant to  be shared. They are an expression of who we are and illustrate to others our hopes dreams and beliefs are woven into the fabrics of their being. In the end we all leave stories behind, I want mine to be one worth listening to. A story that I would like to read and share with others, our lives are our legacy. They are the only thing that is left of us after  our spirits leave our bodies. My story is one about a man who is a collects experiences and creates memories, it’s is who I am

RIP Sheila

Today has been kind of  hard for me, I lost one of my best friends after about six years the best friendships I have ever had. My dog Sheila died today after getting hit by a car just on the main road from our house. I wasn't there to  witness the death because I am  at college, but I am really sad that I lost her. She was my best friend and absolutely amazing, she was always there for me and such a wonderful companion and little bugger.

I loved he from the day that I met her, I was the one that brought her home from when I worked as a landscaper back in Georgia. She was just a little puppy then and absolutely adorable, I have always had a soft spot for animals, and she just stole my  heart away the instant that I laid eyes on her. I got her for free from this family whose dog had just given birth to a litter of puppies and the couldn't keep them all. I knew that my  parents weren't animal people, but I figured that it was better to  ask for forgiveness rather than permission at that point. I had always wanted a dog and I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to actually get a dog.

I brought her home with me after work and my mom was furious, I can still remember her face contorted into an angry brow and all she could say was “No” over and over again. I really wanted my dog and convinced my parents to let her stay until I could find her a decent home. My  mother’s heart was eventually softened when the poor little puppy walked around my foyer and just collapsed on the tile flooring. She was so cute and my mom agreed that she could stay, if only temporarily. I was so ecstatic because I  had managed to  get a dog into my home for the first time in a long time.

We kept her for a few days and my parents kept telling me that I couldn't name the dog because we were not going to keep her, I really wanted to  keep and eventually I broke my parents down and we finally got to name the little Australian Shepard. I don’t remember the exact circumstances as to why we decided that we were going out to eat, but that night we went to Outback Steak House. We were celebrating something as a family and the main thing on my sibling’s and my mind was what to name the dog. Picking out a name, even for a dog can be a tricky business, so we heatedly debated about what it was that we wanted to name her.  Our answer came when I went to  the bathroom. For those of you who don’t know the bathrooms of Outback Steak  House have slang terms written on them from Australia. Blokes for guys and Sheila for girls, when I saw that I knew instantly that I had a name for my  dog. She was going to  be called Sheila.

She turned out to  be an amazing dog and I  have so many  memories of her. She loved to play catch and she was a little stinker. She would often times do something that she knew was wrong and in the end feel really bad about it. So she would punish herself by sitting by the garage door until we would open it so she could go into timeout in her kennel. She was awesome, and I am truly going to miss her. It’s quite sad that I  won’t be seeing her again, but I know that I will see her in heaven.

Playing the Date Doctor

I love Valentine’s Day, I am a romantic and I love the idea of spoiling a girl, it’s fantastic. I love coming up with cool ideas and surprising girls. It’s one of my hobbies, I love to plan exciting new activities and adventures when I am in a relationship. This year was different, I am single and there aren’t any girls that I am trying to date. All the girls that I have been interested in are either in a relationship or very close to getting married. It’s just my luck. So instead of feeling bad for myself I counted my  blessings and decided to play  the date doctor instead.

                One of my favorite romantic comedies is Hitch with Will Smith. I think it’s one of his best movies by far and I  love the story behind it. The main character is a guy who helps other men be the best that they can be so that they  can get the girl of their dreams. That’s pretty much what I did this year, since I am  single I decided to try something different than feeling sorry for myself.

 I decided that I was going to give as many girls that I know a great Valentine’s day. Many of the girls that I know are single and I realized that they needed to have a special day, even when they don’t have a boyfriend. So I set out to making Valentine’s Day cards out of the some canvas and red fabric I had left over from some other art projects that I have been engaged In. I have also made them some delicious chocolate chip cookies, because no  girl can resist chocolate or cookies, especially when they  are combined together. It was a huge success, and I know for a fact that my  friends loved them.

                That didn’t end my escapade of setting people up I also helped several of my other friends who are either in a relationship or married. They all had one thing in common, they were all drawing a blank as far as what to  do for this special day. One of my friends in my spinning class had no idea what to give her boyfriend so  I told her that she could buy him a pocket watch and inscribe their names in the inside of it.  I also helped another friend of mine pick out fabric for a blanket that she was making her boyfriend. The last thing that I helped with was my friend from work who  had completely forgotten about Valentine’s Day and had signed up  to work extra hours. It would have been late to actually do an elaborate date, so instead I suggested that he set up a bubble bath by candlelight and have some drinks together in the apartment.

                Each one of my friends was very happy with the results of the their dates and activities too. I think I did a pretty good job at helping these people out, and I got to be a date doctor for a day. I should really start charging people money for this service and start living off of this talent.

Fashionably Fasionable

Life is a very interesting experience; you never know what is going to happen or where an adventure might take you and who you might meet. It is specifically why I try to always be ready for whatever comes my way. I love spontaneity, and I never know exactly what a day will bring me. I like it that way it keeps life interesting and always a fresh experience.

                A while back, my mother asked me why I was dressed in a tie on Christmas morning when I am usually in my pajamas. I never really got to explain this to her, but my reason that I do it is because I like to look classy at all times. Image is important to me, and I feel like I need to always be ready for whatever comes along my way. I don’t know what is going to  happen or who I am going to meet so I feel like if I at least care about how I dress then I will always be ready for whatever comes my way.

                I know several people who don’t do that they don’t care about how they look, and I wonder how they can do that. I feel like it would be very hard to get anywhere in life without dressing nicely. How you present yourself says a lot about who you are and what you aspire to. I want to people to  look at me and my style and want to  get to know me and what I do.  I aim to stand out. There is a saying that goes why blend in, when you were born to stand out. I don’t like being like everyone else, I am Joshua D. Zuluaga, and I am uniquely me! My style is a way of expressing that to the world and it is constantly evolving into something that I hope will help me get noticed.

                I love fashion anyways and being able to play around with all the unique clothing that is out there. Most of the guys that I know dress so plainly usually with a tee shirt and jeans, which can be nice and can create a nice look every once in a while, but there are so many things to try together in endless possibilities.  I started shopping about two years ago and I love finding great clothes for reasonable prices. Usually by the end of it I find some sort of great finds. It’s one of my favorite adventures.

                Little adventures like that make me happy, life is so full of them, I invite all people out there to have fun with  life and dress uniquely. Life is so much better that way and you get so many  compliments too.  I get told a lot that I look a lot like Neal Caffrey from white collar, and you know what, I have no problem with that.

Waffle day

                I just finished another wonderful International Waffle Day celebration. I love this holiday, I have been celebrating it for years and it gets better and better each time.  For those of you who are unaware what International Waffle Day is it’s a personal family holiday that was created back when I was 14 years old and we have been celebrating it ever since. 

                There is a story behind it too and for those who are unfamiliar with it; it all started when I was 14 years old I was really craving waffles and so on the way home I told my mom that it was waffle day. That of course was a lie, but I was really hungry and waffles sounded so delicious. My mother was pretty gullible about it and believed every word; she agreed to make us the best waffles ever in celebration. They were amazing and we even had ice cream with them!

                The story continues on a couple years later when I finally told my mother that waffle day was a lie, and that I had made the whole thing up. I thought she would be upset, but my mom just laughed about it and we have continued it ever since. 

                It’s just one of those fun family traditions that have continued almost a decade now. It has evolved into a huge celebration actually where we gorge ourselves on waffles, ice cream and a whole bunch of wonderful toppings. I love it, and I have a little claim to fame by creating a very random holiday. If you ask me its things like that which make life truly livable, life is too short to take it seriously. Sometime you have to be willing to celebrate the fun in life. For me things like waffle day are an absolute necessity.

A Case of The 3 AM Thinks

"Well" I thought to myself lying in my top bunk in my apartment, "this has been unsuccessful. I have been lying here for over a half an hour now and I still can't fall back to sleep. Sometimes I don't understand you brain, Here I went to bed at ten because you told me you were done with thinking for the day and that you just wanted to go to bed and catch up on sleep then you wake me up at 2:45 in the morning for a glass of water and then decide that it will be more fun to keep the rest of me awake for the rest of the morning."

 I sat there arguing with my brain trying to  tell it that I needed to  sleep so  that I could function today, but it was to  no avail; my brain won the argument and it told me that I needed to  write this instead, Sleep can wait apparently. It’s peculiar how you think you need one thing but you get told otherwise. I am learning to deal with it and I am dealing with it because sometimes you need to post something on a blog that you haven’t written in in over a year. This is a horrible case of the 3 AM thinks.

It’s strange, I am not that I worried about anything or stressing about homework or my job with The Home Depot, these thoughts aren’t worrisome at all; in fact they are far from it. These thinks that plagued my mind this morning were one of philosophy and hope. It’s about how I have been living my life for the past month with my new year’s resolution. I guess it comes with any new change but I have made several changes for the better.

For those of you who don’t know me very well might think it’s strange that say this, but I love life. Despite all the evil and malice in the world there is so much wonder contained in this world that it is very hard for me to  become disillusioned with it. I love life and I am truly grateful to be alive. To me life is one very big adventure.  I can truly say that I am happy about who I am, and what I am becoming.

 For years I lived under a very simple illusion. Life was simple, I was one of those guys that would spend most of his days inside the four walls of his house playing video games and watching TV. I was so engrossed in that simplistic way of life that I missed so much more that I could have been doing.  It wasn’t until I learned to step outside my front door that I have truly begun to realize what it really means to be alive.

I know, scientifically if I am breathing I am technically alive, but I would like to submit to you otherwise. I believe that there is a huge difference between living and actually being alive.  I believe that we are on this world for a reason and we have only a few short years on this Earth. Most men and women live and die and only see a fraction of it. I know several people who have lived in the same town all their lives and have not ventured forth to explore much beyond their front door. What is it that draws men into their home so much, that they neglect the beauty and the wonder that is spread forth before them all over this world? Is there that we can take in that is beyond our front door?

Deep down I have this burning desire to see so much of it, it’s like this beautiful present that has been set out before me and I have only begun to pick at the wrapping paper. I want to see what I have in front of me, but I know that I must be patient in order to receive the whole gift. Then there are the people who don’t even touch that gift, the let it sit on the table left to collect dust with all its wrapping paper intact.

This, my friends is what I would like to submit to you between living and being alive. Who in their right mind would leave such a gift unopened? We have such a great present before us, and it takes us to open it and access its potential. If we lock ourselves in our room all day then we miss out on a world of opportunities that are before us. I love to  seek these opportunities and that is why  I am up in the early morning hours to  write this blog,  I personally believe that there is so much that we are capable of achieving in a day and we can have so many  wonderful stories to tell if we just go outside our front door.

So, here is my proposition to all of you who read this, make every day an adventure. Don’t be afraid of living. We were meant to be alive and to gain experience, which is why we are here on this earth. My plea to all who read this case of the 3 AM thinks is that they live life in a way that each day is an adventure. Step out beyond your front door and do vary from the beaten path that each person chooses to follow each day. There is so much more to  see just beyond our personal horizon lines, all we need to do  is take a few minutes to  actually do something different and break down those walls that we have so diligently built up for ourselves.

I would like to ask all of you who read this blog to love with me, I am going to live my life in a way that every day is an adventure and in the end when all is said and done it is something worth reading about. I implore you to do the same and post some comments on the internet about what you did to expand your life beyond the walls of our current realms. I will be increasing the upkeep that I have on this blog and I will post more as I venture forth into the unknown.

I love life and I invite everyone who reads this as well to discover the beauty that is out there.  Remember; adventure is waiting for you, it is up to you to seize it. Carpe diem.