i just needed to stop for a moment & take it all in.

it’s like the hands on the clock are just spinning around, and the days on the calendar are just being torn down one right after another. things are moving fast. days. weeks. months. it’s september already! and that means that i’ve been in asheville for a month and a half. and that blows my freaking mind. it is unbelievably crazy how fast one can change his or her life. it doesn’t require a move or a lot of money or anything… just a dedication to something. all it takes is making a decision. or in some cases, not having a choice in the matter. sometimes life just changes anyway. anyway, life can change drastically (for better or for worse) pretty dang fast.

a lot has happened since i arrived in asheville. most of it has been for the better. and my life in sweden seems a world away already. on the hand, the memories and smells and sights of my life there are so vivid in my mind. the feelings so deep in my heart. but, i can’t dwell on all of that (the past) for very long because time is moving on. life is flying past me.

as i said, it’s pretty much all good. but, i just need to stop and breathe for a moment.

i was stuck all day today, knowing that i wanted to blog, but not knowing what i wanted (or needed) to say. so, i sat down in front of my computer screen, cursor blinking in front of me, and waited. not long passed, and i started clicking the keyboard. soon, as i typed the first paragraph above, i knew that this is what i needed. that typing and writing is what clears my head. focuses me. and helps to connect everything that’s happening in my life, so i can see the “red thread” running through everything.

and, for me today, that red thread is time. and change. and knowing that all is as it should be. time is moving fast. lots is changing. and i am certain that it is all right.

here’s what i mean.

coffee: i still have no job, but i have a project. and that feels good. really good. and i have some news regarding that project:

if you look in the left side bar (to the left of the post), then you will see a photo with 2 cups of coffee and a title that says: 40 cups. 40 cafes. 40 days… if you click on that, then you will go to my second blog, a new project i began basically for the heck of it. but, mostly because i love coffee, asheville, and blogging. i wanted to share my love for all 3 with all of you! so, far, it’s going great and i’ve got amazing readers who comment and support me like crazy!

40 days of fika is now being published on the asheville blog!!

this weekend, i found out that a fellow blogger who has a website all about asheville would like for me to post all of my forty days of fika posts on her website. this is huge i think!! while i am not getting paid for it, i am hoping that it will generate some interest and networking… and lead to a paid gig somewhere. but, for now, it’s more exposure, which is a step and a beginning. 

so, time is passing, and things are falling into place. of course i am still stressed, but more than ever, i am trusting the process, knowing that the way of the soul is the way of inner peace. and the way of inner peace, is the way to make a difference in this world.

people: the other thing i’ve been doing quite a bit of is meeting up with people. old friends. family. new friends.

i’ve had time to catch up with some dear friends that i missed greatly while i was in sweden.  i have also met a friend of a friend, who also introduced me to another friend. follow? new friends are always fun and exciting! and so far, so good. one of my lunches with a new friend was totally inspiring. she and i have a lot in common (which is why our mutual friend introduced us), and she really helped me to process a lot of questions i’ve had for many years, which made me realize how well i actually know myself and who i am called to be.

plus, i had my first blog buddy meet-up this weekend! a fellow blogger and i have been reading each others’ blogs for a while, and she & her girlfriend were up this way over the weekend, so we met for a beer in asheville on saturday. it was so much fun to have my first blog/social media meet-up, to take something from the internet and put it into real life! i’m looking forward to many more of those in the future (paige, heather, laura… ).

and i’m also making some professional connections (hopefully) too. having a coffee here and there. sharing my vision & my story with poeple, hoping that soon, someone will realize that their paper/company/office/organization cannot function without me. it could happen.

and then there is my family. i have had a chance to really reconnect with them. especially my brother. i could not ask for anything more than the chance to get to be with my brother like i can now. we have each other close-by for support and love. and i know, as does he i believe, that there is no other person in the world who can take his place, or be what he is to me.

there is a lot of turmoil and some difficult situations with quite a few friends and some family right now. to be close by, to be able to be an ear, or a shoulder, or just present means so much to me. i feel as if i haven’t been able to “take care” of any of my american friends/family for a while, so i cannot express what it means to just sit with these people that i love and hold their hands – literally & figuratively.

my mom & i were joking the other day about the fact that i am not “working” in the traditional sense right now. but it’s good that i’m not, because i don’t have time. between writing, blogging, sipping coffee, meeting people, helping lina adjust to her new study life some, and holding the hands of those who need me, my days are filled. so, as i said. time is moving fast. days are flying by, and i am right where i am supposed to be.

so here it is, another sunday evening, with another week just beginning. the first week in september, a month that i love. not only because it is my birthday month (YAY!), but because it is the beginning of the year – i still work in academic years in my brain. it is the ending of summer, of time off and lazy days. but, it is replaces with days of work with new commitments, new goals, and new adventures. and, of course, let’s not forget the amazing changing of the seasons. here in north carolina, it stays warm for a while, but the mountain air begins to get a little nip and chill in it in the evenings. you can still eat outside, but you may wanna have a cozy sweater nearby as well. it’s the perfect blend of temperatures. and the leaves begin their beautiful parade of colors.

tonight it’s raining, which makes it all the more cozy as i sit here and type, pausing every now and then to stare out the window. i’m smiling and content because i have had a blessed and restful weekend, filled with a very good balance of social time and quiet time, time with friends & time with only my love.

sometimes i panic when i realize how quickly times passes, but then i remember to breathe. and the lesson of this post is to remind me to be present. to enjoy the moment i am in, to find the beauty in it, because it is fleeting.

so, i breathe deep. i close my eyes. i put my right hand on my hear. and i inhale all the love and peace and beauty around me, and then i exhale it all back out, hoping to send it all to you, wherever you are. namaste.