10 Life Lessons - Lesson 1: This moment is your life.

Hello there out in the interwebs! I promise, I will not neglect you again... I promise!

So this blog will begin a series of 10 with important things... lessons.... that we all should remember when it comes to this crazy thing called Life. I think sometimes people take things either just too too seriously or not seriously at all. We all at times need a slap on the back of the head to get us to focus on the things that are important. So here is your slap, you are welcome LOL.

Lesson number 1 is that this moment is your life. Stop dwelling on the past and worrying about the future, YOU CAN NOT CONTROL WHAT HAS HAPPENED OR WHAT WILL. We can only control this moment, this experience, this second. I think we get so tied up in our past sometimes it really hinders us from truly finding the joys in our moment right now and that is just not going to work. You do this and someday, in that future you worry yourself sick about, you will be regretting the choice you made to not live for today.

Look, we don't know how long we have on this rock, it could be 30 years it could be 100, so just take the time and live. I used to be this way, worrying about things that may or may not happen... it prevented me from truly experiencing happiness and appreciating the people in my life. Then, my son died and it was like someone clicked a switch in my head. I could not be here tomorrow, do I really want to leave this world with regret?

It is a powerful thing to truly enjoy the moment, it is absolutely infectious too! So push away from the stress for this moment, take a deep breath and find 1 thing you are truly grateful for right now in this moment. Share it at the bottom of this blog entry I would LOVE to hear about it. I will start us off... I personally am truly thankful for first and foremost my amazing daughter Samantha, my beloved Kenneth, my best friend in life Brittany and the amazing circle of friends that until recently, I did not really recognize to their full awesomeness. Having the warm safety of people who love me truly gives me a reason to wake up and appreciate the life I have been given.

Enjoy your weekend poppets!
XOXO,
Brie

My Life's Philosophy

People Learn What They Live

By Dorothy Law Nolte

If people live with criticism,

They learn to condemn.

If people live with hostility,

They learn to fight.

If people live with ridicule,

They learn to be shy.

If people live with shame,

They learn to feel guilty.

If people live with encouragement,

They learn confidence.

If people live with tolerance,

They learn to be patient.

If people live with praise,

They learn to appreciate.

If people live with acceptance,

They learn to love.

If people live with approval,

They learn to like themselves.

If people live with honesty,

They learn truthfulness.

If people live with security,

They learn to have faith in themselves and others.

If people live with friendliness,

They learn the world is a beautiful place in which to live.

Imagine what a world we  could create if we all learned to live by these simple truths.

Berry's Monday Meme - Blog about one of your closest friends in Second Life.

  I have been very blessed to meet and make some amazing friends in my almost 6 years in second life. I met the love of my life here, I mean I can honestly say overall it is a huge positive in my life. Those people make logging on worthwhile, something I look forward to. I miss them when I am not there or they are taking real life time... it has been overall something good for me.
  Of all the people I have met (with the exception of Walter Kovacs, AKA Ken) the one truly amazing friend I have made would be Maddy Carissa. We met by the most happenstance of circumstances and from that moment on it was like we had always been friends. She has been a constant source of support and love in my life for going on 3 years now which for some in the virtual world, is a lifetime in itself.
  Last year she suffered a bad fall and for a few months she did not know not only who she was, but the people around her were. She even forgot her husband and children. It was a really very hard time in her life and I tried very hard to be there for her and her family, even though we had never really met. I was terrified that I was going to lose my friend, someone who had shared every day of my life for 2 years at that point. After a few months her memory started filtering back and eventually she remembered not only her husband and little boys, but me as well. It bonded us closer together as friends and made us family which was truly an amazing thing.
  We got the opportunity to meet this past summer when I flew to her home and spent a few weeks with her and her family. Sammi and I had an amazing time, it was a relaxed vacation just a chance to get to spend quality time with someone who has grown to be such an important part of my life. I thank God everyday I bumped into her in second life, that we were lucky enough to find eachother. I am even more grateful to have found the best friend I have ever had in my life. I know no matter where life takes me, she will be a supportive part. She is more than my friend now, she is my Sister and I love her with my whole heart.

Want to blog this meme? Read about it HERE.

Today's "Word Of The Day" - CLOSURE

clo·sure

[kloh-zher] 

noun

1.the act of closing; the state of being closed.

2.a bringing to an end; conclusion.

 

  I know I know, I fail I have not been chatty for some time now. I am going to do my best to change that. Just been dealing with the real world, adjusting to life as a parent of a Junior High parent. Times like this I sincerely wish my daughter was like in SL, forever a little one. She is my last born, my baby... slowly watching her grow into her own awesome little own person has been challenging and sad but also amazing and beautiful. She is going to do amazing things, you can just see it in her.
  I recently had the opportunity to let go of something that still is very painful to think about too long. I had a daughter in second life for most of 2 years of my life, I loved her as much as I love my own real life children and in the end, well it just did not work. She attempted to reach out and talk with me which brought on a knee-jerk reaction to be angry. But I did not feed into that, I thought long and hard about the entire situation and in the end, it was best to just let her go. I know that even if she grew and learned and was a different person, we as friends would not work. In the end, I believe I would be hurt again and through our friendship I had truly been hurt enough. I let her go with good wishes for life but explained that I can not survive my heart being hurt again and that this was the best.
  I truly believe the act of forgiving is something that feeds the soul so very much. It has the ability to heal your heart and though hurts in your life, even when the scars remain. Letting her go has given me much peace in my life. It has allowed me to enjoy and appreciate those who love me and given me a better capacity to love them in return. I dont have this pain in my heart holding me back from giving to those around me, which I think is always a good thing. I will not say that I do not miss them, that I do not wish things had played out different because that would be a lie. But that was a part in our life that hopefully taught us something and allowed us to grow as people. I wish her well, with much happiness and good things in life. I just can not be a part of it any longer.
  I urge you all to let go of things holding you back from being truly happy. Though I know I have a long way to go, getting this off my heart and letting go has allowed me to get a bit closer to the person I truly want to be. It has opened the door to meeting beautiful new people and making some amazing new friendships. I know this will be a positive for me as well as you.

Have an amazing Sunday,
XOXO,
Brie

 

Today's "Word Of The Day" - EXACERBATE

ex·ac·er·bate

ex·ac·er·bat·ed, ex·ac·er·bat·ing.

verb (used with object)

1.

to increase the severity, bitterness, or violence of (disease, ill feeling, etc.); aggravate.

2.

to embitter the feelings of (a person); irritate; exasperate.

Hello from House-sitting  I was having a nice enjoyable QUIET time when I was shown a plurk stream from a few days ago that set me on my heels. Apparently, the act of one using purchased models from online in SL (which we have visited again and again and yes, still sorry I made a idiotic mistake) is called "Tiny Spacing" in some circles. I am deeply offended that for 1, my mistake is being lumping in with people who use these files knowingly when they are not even the same thing. And 2, even after 6 months, people really just feel the need to drag up all this yet again. I had dreaded this exact thing happen and yet, am hurt and shocked that things are being put at my feet yet again.

I really do not know what is with these peoples life that they feel that they need to keep dredging things over and over again to feel better. I made a mistake, I am certain each and every one of us has made a mistake in life. I am an adult, I admitted it... I learned from it, I have put a lot of time and work into learning things so I can still create again. I have removed myself as much as possible from the Kid community as I feel I am not welcome there, I have worked hard to push forward and be a better person for this experience.

I have felt happier, more accepted and genuinely all around better for it, whoever you are you did me a favor in the end. But now it is really time to just put it aside. You want to play IP police, knock yourself out. I build in front of people, I have witnesses as proof of the things I have made. They are by no means extravagant or high end, they are simple but I take pride in them because they are mine and a piece of who I am that I choose to share with the world. I do not want to be the target of this any longer and really implore you to let it go. I really do not know how much more to make things clear, and I want to try. I am trying to be better to everyone, even those who do not make me feel fuzzy inside. I realize that in the end only I have control over the world and people around me. You hurt me and continue to do so but I will not leave and stop the world I enjoy so much because you want to do it, it makes me happy and gives me a purpose.

I sincerely hope this puts to rest this issue with me. For those who like to purchase things on the net, I sincerely hope that you take my story as a example that things will come out, that if it is wrong, it will come out. Learning is hard, its frustrating, i delete way more than I ever finish, I cuss at my computer and scream out of sheer frustration. But when someone tells me they really enjoy something I make, something I didnt think 6 months ago that I could do, I am proud of myself for pulling myself up by the bootstraps. If I can do it, I promise you can. And now I am going to go cuddle my daughter and sleep and try to enjoy the time I have in peace and quiet before life gets busy with school and volleyball and dramatic almost 11 year old girl problems. 

XOXO,

Brie 

Thank God for Second Chances

  I am a firm believer that everything in this world happens for a reason. No one person we meet is there "just because". They are either there to teach you something, to help you through something or for you to change their life in some way. I have struggled with the why's of life more than I think I probably should but lately, I have found peace in the life I have and the people who have come and gone in it in my 38 and 1/2 years on this earth. 

  When I met Walter, he showed me that not all men in my life were there to hurt me, that not all people love with expectation, they love from their whole heart. I still struggle 5 years later with this but I have been learning to be accepting of his love and know that I am truly blessed to have someone in my life who loves me unconditionally. 

  I have also been learning lately that for every 1 bad experience I have in Second Life, there is many many more that feed my soul and make me grateful I discovered this virtual place. One of the first child avatars I ever met, so very long ago was Mirabelle. She was this tiny adorable blonde child person and the first to friend me where I didn't feel weirded out by the fact that a grown person WANTED to be a child in here and not for some weird reason. She used to come and visit the little piece of land Walter and I called home. It was winter, so we had a frozen pond and it was all set up for Ice Skating. We would spend hours together just chatting and building a really good friendship. And though time and life's moments have let us drift apart from each other, we always seem to find our way back, with a little something new to bring to our friendship. She is someone who has taught me not to take things too too serious and to just enjoy a place where truly ANYTHING is possible.

  After the loss of Naraelina and Carter, I had really second guessed myself not only as a friend but as a parent and had completely shied away from the thought of adding to my tiny family outside my amazing Kendall. But lately I have been missing a little distraction and the companionship that I can not explain right to get the idea out there, so I hope you can just imagine. I work a lot in SL, its pretty much all I do, and I love it dearly. But I miss having someone who is just goofy and cares not about making a living but maybe about painting walls or flooding the bathroom. All the silly things I would never let Sammi do and get away with... I miss having that childlike air in my life. And so, after weeks of really thinking about it and many trips to Heritage that ended in me leaving before I had a panic attack... I bit the bullet and submitted an application. I sat looking at the wall of beautiful little faces and one stood out, I didn't know why. When I clicked her photo there was my Mirabelle... these days going by Everest. It was just meant to be, things happen for a reason and so do people. 

  The best thing about this choice for both of us is there is no real fear the other is going to be put off by something in our personality. After nearly 5 years we know each other's quirks... our good and bad points, and yet we accept this all and know that the other is going to put as much faith in the friendship that has taken years to build. I am proud to be this tiny persons SL Mother. I really am very excited for this new adventure... and hopefully she doesn't burn my house down.

XOXO,

Brie

Berry's Intriguing Questions Meme - Brie Kovacs (Brie Pinazzo)

Meme instructions: Copy and paste the following questions and answers into your post. Delete my answers and input your own. Don’t forget to leave a comment in this post!

1. How do you deal with criticism?I don't normally deal with criticism too well though I am getting better. I take it as a little PTSD from a bad marriage of 9 years. I have a tendency to view it as someone is telling me I am less than a person or wrong or bad... when they are just saying "hey, this is a better way to do that." Like I said though, am getting better, I used to really take it hard, now I am still miffed but get over it pretty fast.
2. What’s the most infuriating thing other SL residents do? I would have to say it is that the vast majority (not all, but enough that it is just irritating) lie about the most mundane things and use the internet as a vehicle to bully others and make them feel bad. As I have been really honest about, I have had this happen a lot more than I like personally. I just wish we all could remember that we are all adults (well I hope we are anyway) and we should behave as such. If you wouldn't do it to the people around you in the real world, chances are its just as wrong to do it on the internet.
3. Which SL resident would you most like to have lunch with and why? I would have to say Cory Edo. She seems like hands down one of the nicest people on my plurk. She is ridiculously talented and has not for one moment let it go to her head like we all have seen too too many times. Her ability to be so creative and kind I really would love to have the chance to get to know her better. 
4. Who would you say is your “anti” role model? Someone who serves as a warning rather than an inspiration? That is an incredibly long list so I think I best not have to go there. I would have to say the people who fit in #2's category would be in there.
5. What was something you used to enjoy, but was ruined for you? Making kids furniture, I enjoyed the creativity I could have in doing so. I mean what adult wants a dollhouse bed? I like building in general but the hateful things that people did because of it... yeah kinda is more work than love these days.
6. What’s something you want to do that you’d be embarrassed to tell other people about? Well I already do it, and still not going to tell you all about it!
7. What’s the oddest term of endearment you’ve ever used or that someone’s used for you? One of my friends from High School calls me Cheddar (as Brie is my real name and it is a cheese) and I call her Pygmy because, well... she's short
8. Have you ever fallen in love with another SL resident? Sure have, he is sleeping behind me right now :)
9. Describe a time/event in your slife that you’re nostalgic for. I miss working for ICON magazine, I loved the opportunity to go all around SL and see new places and photograph them, I just dont seem to have the time... or maybe excuse to do that anymore.
10. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? Id like to make some more friends INSIDE Second Life and socialize more.