Porter and I had an opportunity to have a little one-on-one date over the weekend. When looking at our movie options, it was down to 2 choices: Gnomeo & Juliet (neither one of us was really interested) or Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
Justin who?
Okay, I’m kidding. I mean, I’ve heard of Justin Bieber. But that’s about it. A) There are no pre-teens in our home and B) I am so not up on current music lately. I hardly listen to the radio or watch tv in this phase of my life. It is what it is.
So … we saw Justin Bieber.
And guess what? Within the first two minutes, I was pretty happy about those 3D glasses on my face because my eyes welled up with tears. I kid you not. And that was the first of several times that my emotions got the best of me.
What the heck? What is this about, right? (No. I’m not pregnant.)
It wasn’t about Justin’s music, although no one can deny the 16-year-old is crazy talented. It wasn’t about about how cute he is, although for sure he is adorable. And this is certainly not about movie reviews because I am so not a movie critic.
I’ll tell you what it was about for me. This kid is in the middle of an incredible journey of ups & downs like the rest of us (just on a much more public level) … and the way they connected his past with where he is today, was remarkable. His mother & grandparents not only dedicated their best efforts in raising him but they recognized his natural talents and interests and they cultivated that growth.
It was about appreciating the fact that they had home video along the way, even back to when he was 2 and 3 years old, hitting wooden spoons to a kitchen chair and there was actual rhythm. They were documenting life. They were able to tell a great story in this movie because they put all those little pieces (pictures + home video) together.
It was about generosity. The way his manager & team went out amongst the people and passed out concert tickets to unsuspecting fans. The way he connected with his little girl fans. (Although if Claire ever acts like these screeching, squealing girls … over ANY pop star … EVER … oh, we will be having a serious talk.)
It was about entrepreneurship. It was about believing in yourself and knowing that anyone — ANYone — can take that little seed of a dream and foster growth if you put forth the effort and are willing to face bumps in the road.
In the end, I think my connection with this movie was my already-firm belief that everyone should cultivate a good life and record it. That does not have to have anything to do with becoming “rich & famous”. It’s about each of us taking what we believe is a good life — it’s different for everyone — and going for it.
And … along the way, make the effort to document and record the journey. The good, the bad, the ugly. Because when we do this, we are honoring our past, our progression, and our passion.
…..
I created Project Life because I wanted to simplify the process of keeping memories so that more and more people will enjoy the satisfaction of doing something with their pictures and documenting their stories. I deeply care about helping people bring all their “pieces” together to tell their story.
So this week, thanks to the added inspiration I found in a teen-bopper movie on a date with my 8-year-old … I am giving away a Project Life kit every day this week! In the comments, please share what “cultivating a good life” means to you personally, in a sentence or two. Or share one of your dreams or passions or something you’re working toward right now. Or nominate a friend. And mention where you live.
Tags: dreams, entrepreneurship, generosity, goals, Project Life
To me, cultivating the good life means living life with no regrets. I’m so thankful that I can honestly say I do not regret anything. Are there things I would do differently? Sure. But there is nothing I regret. Everything I’ve ever done has made me who I am today, and I like that.
well i’ve already bought myself the kit but i this reminded me of my mom. she was scrapbooking way back in the day when no one called it that. as a child i loved looking through her books (there are at least 20) from when my parents were first married, to when each child joined the family and the few years we spent in germany. her photographs ARE my memories. when i got married in 1993 she and I both learned about the ‘new’ way of scrapbooking and about all the acid that was eating her photos. she was on a mission to rid her scrapbooks of acid and while i casually created a few scrapbooks over the next few years she blitzed through all her old albums, saving what ephemera she could while updating and ALSO keeping a current scrapbook of life in our family. now she’s ‘caught up’ and scrapbooks about her piano students, serving in the temple, her 7 children and their families, the beautiful mountains and anything else. she called me to ask me how she could accomplish more with it in less time. i tried to describe the kit! i would love for her to be able to have this fresh idea because she truly has created a family history that is irreplacable. and i live in california but my wonderful mom lives in orem, utah.
I am cultivating a good life by going back to college and finishing my degree. I want to dedicate an album to my niece who has also decided to get her life back on the right track…and this would give her a “new” habit to cultivate a “new” life for herself. I already have an album and she would love one too…
Cultivating a good life to me means enjoying each and every moment with my husband and daughter from the super special to the utterly mundane (and yet also so special!).
~ Cara in Berkeley
Cultivating a good life to me means learning and progressing. As a single working mother of three daughters I have spent much of my time “surviving” life. Head down, barrel through, tough it out, SURVIVE. The phrase in my head (unbeknownst to me) was “The purpose of the task is to get it done.” So I pushed, and prodded, and nagged, and got it done, but not without our share of tears. Reading your blog about “The purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship” has CHANGED MY LIFE. Now every time I am in a hurry (which seems to be always) or impatient, or just surviving I stop and repeat, “The purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship” and it changes my focus, it changes my attitude, it changes the WAY I TREAT MY CHILDREN. I am patient, I am kind, I am focused on the LIVING, not just surving. Project Life helps me refocus on what is good in my life. I am reminded each day how amazing my kids are, what we have accomplished, and what we have to be grateful for. FINALLY a receipe for LIVING and not just SURVIVING. I wish I had known this years ago!!
My family and I took a major detour this past year. After 12 years of living a very average life in Gilbert, Arizona, we found ourselves living a very surreal life in Makati, Philippines. As expats in the Philippines we experience a very privileged lifestyle, while all around us most live in extreme poverty. Most Filipinos work long 12 hour shifts to take home the equivalent of $10 for a day’s work – and that money must go far to support large families. Children skip school to spend their day picking through trash at the dump to earn money to feed their family. Shanty homes are constructed from scraps of wood, discarded tarpaulin, Styrofoam, and other scavenged materials from the garbage dumpsite. Others live on the street, in the cemeteries or at the dump. Daily I am conflicted by the inequality of my life to theirs. To me, cultivating a good life means that I will do as much as I possibly can for my new neighbors. I will feed a hungry family. I will spend many a day volunteering at an orphanage, the dump site, a local school. I will bring awareness to my friends, family and expat community of the need for food, clothes, shoes, and medicine for the poor here in the Philippines.
Cultivating a good life at our house means diving into the hearts of my husband and children. It is so easy to get caught up in the race that we all run that we forget about each other. We worry about getting things done: lalundry put away, floors mopped, house organized, scrapbooks filled, volunteering for this that and the other….on and on and on. It is so easy to forget to really and truly have fun with our family instead of always checking off another item on our to-do list. Cultivating a good life means slowing down and asking the Lord to help you see your family through His eyes.
Wow, I think it is about living life. My hubby is military and when he is gone he misses out on the simple everyday things. The cookies we baked last night or the left over volleyball sitting in the corner when my sweet daughter diid not make final cuts to be on the team. It is the emotions that we record back home when his submarine is in a collision and we are waiting to find out if he is okay and the preparations as we wait for his homecoming. It is taking dinner to a sick wife while hubby is gone and helping a new mom catch up on laundry. It is listening to a dad read bedtime stories to his kids, even though he is somewhere under the ocean and he had to record the stories months ago. It is snuggling up to watch a movie after a long week or both working on different things and it just being enough to be in the same room together. It is opening a cookbook given to me years ago and recognizing my Grandmother’s handwriting in the margins even though she has been in heaven for 13 years. It is about life.
Cultivating a good life means JOY – Jesus first, others second and yourself last. It means being thankful and gracious and making your home a haven of rest and relaxation. Enjoying the little and not so little ones before they grow up and are off to college, career, etc.
I am just trying to enjoy life with my family. Not to worry about the end product all the time, but to enjoy the journey. I am trying to be grateful and teach my kids to be grateful. Remember that life goes by way too fast!
This year I am trying to chill a bit – just enjoy and go with the flow instead of getting caught up in the rushing tide. …. does it really matter if we eat dinner at 7.15 instead of 6.30….etc etc? I’m also saying no to adding more “stuff” in our life that is unnecessary and just adds stress and saying yes to building relationships – like spontaneous games with my kids on dinner hour, and play dates with kids friends when I may feel like peace and quiet in my life. I’m looking forward – at how I can “do” life better – not back thinking of what I could have done better.
Cultivating a good life…
To me that is doing my best to help my children understand that whatever I expect out of them they are able to expect out of me. I’m already living the good life by not holding back letting myself live without fear.. Spending money at the worse times on the things I need less because they make me happy. I spend the rest of my time helping my children understand that and teaching them right from wrong as well as proper manners. To actively cultivate a good life you have to help your planted seeds grow so that they may one day teach others because who can enjoy the good life they’ve created without being surrounded by the positive of others who also have created good lives.
[...] Jane. Who would have thought!? Again, thank you to everyone who commented on what it means to cultivate a good life. What an uplifting week it has been to read about so much goodness in you … and in the [...]
Cultivating a good life….. I’ve dwelled on how busy my life is. blah, blah, blah – nothing new right?? And lately it feels like my life watches me rather than me enjoying my life with my family genuinely. I plan to genuinely enjoy quality time with my family – and eliminate the things that does not give my life a purpose…
Cultivating a good life? Wow. That’s an emotional question for me.
Three weeks ago my husband and I separated. He stayed in Washington and I moved back to California where I was born and raised. Our soon to be 5 year old daughter came with me. She will going to school here in California so next month she will begin her Spring/Summer stay with him.
I am an aspiring photographer and plan on going back to school to get my BFA in photography. I am 32 years old and have told myself it was okay to put myself on the back burner. I made up a lot of excuses as to why I didn’t push the photography business, why I didn’t advertise, etc. I would call myself a realistic dreamer – it was okay to want, but responsibilities came first. I know now that I can do both.
I am going to love myself more so that I can be a role model – a top notch role model – for my little girl. I want her to learn that cultivating a good life involves love for oneself as much as love and caring for others.
Be dedicated. Be honest. Be true.
My family is the most important thing in the world to me, especially my son Orion. Orion is 6 and Autistic and has one of the sunniest dispositions in the world. He is my role model more than I am his as he never gives up and tries harder than anyone I know. I am cultivating the good life by cultivating the best for my family. I want them all to be healthy and happy so I try my best to let them know how much I love and adore them and never let a day go by without hugs and kisses. I also cultivate the good life by looking at the world through my son’s eyes. He has helped me to find what is important in life and just how beautiful life and our world can be.
I’m cultivating a good life by spending more quality time with each of my three children and by capturing not only special events but trying to be more aware of the moments that happen in our daily life. Bringing out the camera to capture simple things like baking cookies or playing legos. The kind of things that the kids might not necessarily remember but will definately appreciate later.
To me a good life is one filled with peace of mind and friendship. I do not need a big house or lots of money! All I need is a continued desire for things to get better and a love for others.
lexigurl_17 (at) hotmail (dot) com
This contest has ended, but I wanted to share with you that I took my 7 year old son to see Never Say Never a few weeks ago (against my will), but I, like you, fell in love with his story and got the Bieber Fever. We went out and bought all his CDs and have been listening to his music since then. I too love how they had home video dated back to his earlier days and tied it in to his documentary. Justin is such a good role model for kids. He has compassion and a firm “belieber” in giving back. He’s using his fame to do good.
[...] for real. Julie enjoyed my blog post about seeing the “Never Say Never” film back in February. She felt like she wanted to [...]