We are happy.

" one day happiness will find you "

unknown

Perhaps it's early in the morning on a Tuesday. The birds have started their day with a song. The sun shines through the gaps of the trees and slightly begins to illuminate the bedroom in which you share with someone you love. Let it be a pet, a person, or both for that matter. No one is awake but you. Your mind wonders before you take a deep breathe and smile widely. You're content. You're safe. You're happy. 

Or maybe you're in the old beaten up car that you can no longer tell if it was once red or if it was pink all along. The radio blares music played by the local radio station. The windows are rolled down and the crisp mountain air fills the car. You've taken a wrong turn but continued on anyway as towns passed by and you find yourself in a new place. You don't mind because you have all that you need in the car with you. You're content. You're safe. You're happy. 

It could even be a sudden moment in the middle of a concert crowd. You're listening to a band you've never heard of but they're pretty gosh-darn good. You're jumping around to the beat. Smiling and laughing. It was in that moment that you knew you were happy.

Happiness will find you. It will find you over and over and over again. Happiness was never a foreign concept for any of us. We will always have moments of defeat and failure, sadness and grief. Emotions are just a part of human life and it's okay to feel them but know that while we won't be happy forever we will have moments of pure euphoria we never want to end. We will also have moments of overwhelming sadness that it seems like everything good in the world is gone. Mother Earth has so much to offer to us its mind boggling. You just have to get out there to experience it. 

Go forth and adventure. 

Until We Perish, Shads

Until We Fear No More

" fear of failure is one attitude that will keep you at the same point in your life "

- Byron Pulsifer 

If fear continued to hold onto me then I would of never of done the things I have accomplished. I am not completly free of fear. I don't think we'll ever be free from fear for it's a looming little gray cloud that stops us from accomplishing our goals. We're all victims of fear. 

We fear loving too much. 

We fear hating too strongly. 

We fear disappointment. 

We fear failure. 

We fear. 

I don't think we'll ever be completly free from fear. It has always been there scratching away at the layers I've buried it under but I won't let it take control of me completely every again. If I did then so many things I love would be lost to the void. Fear of the dark or fear of clowns hiding in our backyard are things that keep us on our toes but sometimes you just have to brush it aside and dive right into the unknown. How else are you going to watch IT, or any other horror flick, if you're too afraid? How will you be able to do anything if you're too afraid of the road to get there or even the outcome? 

If I feared the dark, then my demons would surely get me. 

If I feared falling, then I wouldn't trust anyone. 

If I feared fire, then I would be cold once more. 

If I feared the unknown, I would be forever ignorant to what I know now. 

Fear is normal, they say. It's a natural reaction to things that are not normal. So how do we not fear? How do we break out of the mold we have put ourselves into? How do we stop fearing things out of the norm?

We break the sense of normal. We chain fear to the floor. And only then can we be limitless.

Until We Perish, Shads

I dare you to try this recipe for a banana and berry fruit bowl! The food processor I used actually scared me at first. I had never used it  

What you'll need:

• 3 bananas
• 3 types of berries, I used Strawberry, Raspberry, and Blueberry 
• 1 tablespoon milk, I used 2% but it would be better if Vanilla Almond Milk was used  
• 2 teaspoons honey, I used local
• Food Processor, which is what I used but I'm sure a large blender would work as well 
• Optional Toppings: Oats, Chia Seeds, Granola, Additional Fruits

I used 1 banana for every 1 cup of berry I used. So 3 bananas because I used 3 cups of berries.

Plop the bananas and berries into the food processor with the milk and honey then pulse until mixed well. It should be soupy at this point. 

If you would like it thicker, use frozen fruits or add in an ice cube or two.

Serve in a bowl and add prefered toppings. 

Photo Credit to me
Add me on Instagram @ snburton_photography for more