6 Words that Changed My Life

“Does It Make Your Heart Sing?”

That’s one of my mother’s favorite sayings.  As an interior designer, she helps people create spaces that not only look nice, but that her client loves and feels fulfilled in.

She tells them to fill their spaces with things that they love, that “sing to their heart”.  If you see it and love it, then get it and put it in your space.  Surround yourself with things that make you happy.

Don’t worry what it LOOKS like, focus on how it makes you feel.  If it makes you feel good than keep it.  That’s how I like to decorate my house.  Fill it with things I love.

As I have grown and listened to my mother’s wisdom, I have learned to extend this idea into so many parts of my life.

I surround myself with people that fulfill my life, not clutter it up.

I listen to music that touches my soul.  Music that makes me sing, dance, and cry.

I read books that speak straight to my heart.

I spend my time focusing on doing things I love, not just getting through the hours.

I keep quotes around me that inspire me.

What’s amazing is that often times I don’t go out looking for things that sing to my heart.

Small little trinkets and inspiring reminders seem to show up right at the perfect time.  Usually right when I really need them.

I believe it’s a bit of fate that life hands us these gifts when we need them, it’s one way that I know that there’s a higher power at work.

I have had a really stressful year and it’s about to culminate into a road trip of epic proportions for my family. We are packing up our life and driving across the US and Canada to our new home in Alaska.

It’s big, exciting, and stressful.  I’ve discovered through the planning and prep for our trip that I’ve been so distracted by life that I’m missing out on the journey.

A few weeks ago, I was given two small gifts by two different friends.  These small trinkets were like shining lights that busted through the clutter of my stressed out mind.

These bracelets were given to me within days of each other at a time when I really needed them.  I have worn them every single day since they were placed in my hand.

They remind me to focus on my family’s journey and not on the stress and details.

They make my heart sing.

Every day when I look down at my wrist, I get a small reminder of what’s really important, My Family.

They are little reminders that push all the stress and to do lists out of my mind and help me focus on the journey.

Enjoy the journey and do it Hands Free.

That’s my new goal.

I no longer want to just “get there” I want to enjoy the ride.

I yearn for cool, crisp mornings with my cup of coffee sitting next to my husband while watching our boys frolic and laugh in the woods.

I need days upon days without being tethered to my smartphone or internet, where I can read books, knit, and enjoy playing with my kids.

I’m looking forward to the evenings, after our kids are in bed, talking with my husband without staring at a TV or computer.

I want to soak up all the good in my life, embrace the hard times, and start keeping track of how amazing life can be.

I will live hands free.  I will enjoy the journey.

Living Hands Free

Being hands free does not mean from from devices.

Personally, I’d struggle without my smartphone. With friends and family being far away and not always having a local support network, I rely on my phone to keep me in touch with the people that matter to me.

Living hands free is about learning to focus on the things that matter.  It’s about Keeping Track of Life.  Real life.

It’s about focusing on the real things that make our heart sing.  Our family, our relationships.  It’s learning to fulfill our souls and to really ENJOY life.

That is what those bracelets mean to me.  They remind me to stop and take time to enjoy the journey.

One way I’ve started being more intentional with my life, is by asking myself these questions:

1. Am I happy with the way I’m living life?

2. Am I at peace with who I am?

3. Am I just managing life or really living life?

4. Does my heart sing every day?

These ideas come from the newest book by the Hands Free Mama herself, Hands Free Life: Nine Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better, and Loving More.
I have loved this book so much, and I know it can help anyone improve their life and really start LIVING life, not just managing it!

It’s inspiring and can really help anyone find fulfillment as a parent in a distracted world.

My challenge for you is to start keeping track of life and to surround yourself with things that make your heart sing, especially if those things are the people you love.