By Paul Stansifer, 84user, NASA, Celestia, JPL/Caltech via Wikimedia Commons

When I was 14 years old, I saved up all summer to buy my first telescope. Much in the same fashion as I do today, when there is something I want, I research it to death and make sure I know exactly which model I want, why I want it and if it’s the best one for the amount I can afford. My telescope purchase was no different. I knew the day was drawing closer and closer and I still remember setting it up on my rooftop waiting to see what the night sky would surprise me with.

I wasn’t as amazed as I thought I would be because I expected to see the stars the size of gold balls but instead I was able to see more stars of the same pinhole size that we see with the naked eye. This wasn’t NASA, it was a teenage-level amateur telescope. What I did learn on those chilly rooftop astronomical nights was that beyond what we see is a whole sea of things we can’t see but are equally as amazing.

In this picture we see a comparison of all the planets in our solar system. If that doesn’t humble you, I don’t know what will. So in this extremely cold winter night I suggest we pack all our troubles, worries and thoughts and place them next to any one of these circular miracles and see how they measure up.

And it’s with great relief that I conclude that this life is not about me.

much stargazing love
~Adrian

P.S. If you know any­one that may want to learn to play an instru­ment, please feel free to share my site with them. Thank you always for believ­ing in what I do and spend­ing a few moments from your day with me.

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, via Wikimedia Commons”]

By Jorge Barrios (Own work) [Public domain

Time is a strange thing to say the least. Baffling scientists and philosophers alike since as far back as we can see, time has proved to be that one uncapturable and indomitable part of life. Sure we’ve divided it neatly into manageable chunks to be more productive but that is hardly close to extending it.

And for all the impossibility of stretching time or making it slow down, I have found one method to maximizing the enjoyment of time and that is to use it for creating treasurable things and making moments that will outlive time ten fold. Beating time with time management is fruitless but beating time by creating eternal consequences, that is where I place all my chips.

Now is fleeting and most of us spend too much time investing in the fleeting when we could be saying to the clock, “you are useless to me because I don’t measure my life with you anymore.”

here’s to taking back the joy of sunrise to sunset
~Adrian

P.S. If you know anyone that may want to learn to play an instrument, please feel free to share my site with them. Thank you always for believing in what I do and spending a few moments from your day with me.

By Cephas (Own work) GFD or CC-BY-SA-3.0–2.5–2.0–1.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Ever since I started writing, I have always looked for appropriate pictures to reflect the thoughts I was trying to convey. I am realizing as of late that it is not always easy to match up an image to certain thoughts so I have come to the compromise of using images that I find interesting to add to my writing instead of merely trying to describe it. I hope this is acceptable to my readers.

The day has started off quite pleasant and we even had a bit of hail stroll through earlier. Fridays are interesting for me because I am usually running around like crazy the rest of the 6 days and Friday is the only day that seems to slow down, even if for a brief moment. I can feel the chill sweep through the room indicative of the falling temperature outside. I can’t help but feel grateful to have protection from the elements that so many don’t have access to.

I have found at the start of this year that to simply be grateful and aware of your presence, not in your own surroundings but in comparison to other time in history is tremendously beneficial. The mere fact that you, as you sit there reading this, are living better than most kings and queens in history should be enough to make your head spin.

And so with that thought, I leave you but for a bit to continue my day and see what comes of it. I pray your day will prove to be a memorable one.

~Adrian

P.S. In case some of you don’t know, the site that you are on right now is a new site I have developed. It is called TheMusicWorkshop.com and I am extremely proud of it. I love to teach music and as my schedule doesn’t allow for any more private students, I wanted to still be able to teach as many people as possible and so this idea was born. I hope you like it and I want to thank you all so much for your constant support and faith in my music, it means more than you know.

Enter to Win!

When? March 1st, 2012

What? FREE 6 Month Subscription to TheMusicWorkshop.com

Enjoy a free 6 month subscription to finally learn music the way you’ve always wanted to. Whether it’s brushing up on your musical skills, starting from scratch or picking up a new instrument, there has never been a better time or reason to play music. Listening to music is a great thing but creating music is something that will change your life.

All winners will be announced via email and via this contest page.
Winners are drawn at random and all participants will be automatically entered in future giveaways.

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By Sidney Paget (1860 — 1908) (Strand Magazine) via Wikimedia Commons

Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed mystery novels and movies. The simple act of joining clues together to try and figure out the big picture has always intrigued me as life seems to mirror this idea quite closely.

As of late, I have been watching Sherlock, a modern take on the classic sleuth and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised not only by the quality of acting in the series as well as the mysteries themselves, but also by the cinematography and style of the filming. A beautiful piece of work and it has been feeding my appetite for mysteries quite nicely.

I don’t know what style or genre of movies you may like but whatever it is, there’s something about getting caught up in a good story that is utterly wonderful. As humans, we always enjoy a good story when it is told well. And so I say to you on this fine night, “be sure to make the story of your life one worth telling.”

I wish you all a good and mysterious night
~Adrian

By TwoWings (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

As I continued to walk, I noticed a small outdoor, yes outdoor party with two BBQ’s fired up. That is what happens when it’s 60 degrees on a winter day. As I walked and enjoyed the smell that emanated from that small gathering, I thought to myself how out of the ordinary situations tend to create instant memories.

So it is with our own lives. There is nothing wrong with healthy routines in our lives, but remember that to create some of those special moments that will live on forever, it might be necessary to shake things up a bit. What’s the last memory that stands out in your mind? How did it get created?

And the big question—what can you do to create more of those moments?

a beautiful memory creating night to everyone
~Adrian

P.S. I am well aware that the picture is not of a BBQ in Brooklyn, but it was a really cool picture that I wanted to share with you.

By Original: Matthew Hadley (nickname diff_sky) derivative work: Ximonic (talk), Simo Räsänen (Azerbajiani_landscape.jpg) CC-BY-1.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Day 4 of this new year is half way through and I know there must be a lot of gyms that filled to capacity, health food stores making record profits and to-do lists being checked off. The great thing about any new commitment is that it renews our hope, our desire to be better, feel better and get more accomplished.

A few things to keep in mind when working on your new goals for this year:

1.  Slow and steady wins the race, always. Be consistent in all you do, that’s a worthy goal.
2. Stay realistic with progress, don’t expect big changes too fast.
3. True commitment is for those days when you don’t feel like doing it.
4. The ultimate goal is to be more balanced, more focused and enjoy life fuller, these are the building blocks to those character traits.
5. Reserve time and space on your list for helping others, no personal goal could benefit you more.

I’m sure there are a lot more that could be added to this list but long lists tend to get drowned with too many items. I hope you are well, enjoying what you are doing and ever present in the activities that surround your life. Your in the middle of it all and no one else sees life exactly the way you see it through your own eyes.

Your view is very special any only yours, enjoy it.

much day by day love
~Adrian

I will take this opportunity to reiterate what has been said a thousand times, yet needs to be mentioned at least a thousand more. The warmth and power that a simple gesture holds knows no limits and needs to be at the top of any list you may have this year. In a world of constant communication but very little undivided attention, showing someone an action that speaks the words, “I am thinking about you” goes a long way.

 
And so it is with great joy that I thank you again for not only taking the time to wish me a happy birthday but also for participating in the wonderful humanity that we all share, as we cross each others’ paths, if even for an instant. We all carry inside out hearts and minds moments that may have lasted but for the blink of an eye, yet changed us for the rest of our days. Don’t forget that you have changed someones life irrevocably in the best of ways as you have mine.

much love for this day and the beginning of your new year
~Adrian