#18 Dancing in the rain.

I never really understood why some people are so scared of rain and getting wet and hide beneath their huge umbrellas instead, moaning about the weather and wishing it was summer.
No. Just no.

Rain is beautiful. Feeling it is a sign that you're alive and healthy. Turn your face towards the sky and feel the raindrops splatter on your face, realizing that they're in the true sense of the word a gift from heaven. Do you even realize that these drops of water have travelled the seas, flew above the countryside and started their final trip by raining down on you? Those drops are pieces of the infinite circle that is life, just like you, me or any other living or dead being on this planet. Appreciate them.

Dancing in the rain is a beautiful metaphor for how you should live your life. We all live to face ups and downs and it's not about enjoying the sunbeams and the endless pleasures of summer, but to stand in the rain as it pours down on you with all its power and actually enjoy it. Spread your arms and embrace it. Dance.

Make sure you can deal with the rain. Make sure you're the one to stand tall when life gets rough, to stand up when it's all crashing down on you and face the pain and the fears with all your willpower.

After all, it's not going to rain forever. So you might aswell enjoy it while it lasts.

Stay strong.

#17 Watching the reflections of water in the leaves of the tree above you.

Whenever you feel lost and as though life doesn't makes sense, you'll find shelter in nature. Its beauty and stillness will make you feel at peace with the world and yourself. Our generation spends way too much time in front of our computer screens instead of getting out of our dark rooms and making memories.

I can only repeat what I've always said before: spend an entire day outside, at a lake, in the woods or even in a park and you will feel better. Let go of your problems and worries and focus on the only things that matters, which is the moment, and enjoy it to the fullest.

#16 Falling for someone. Hard.

When everything reminds you of them.
When you can't escape them, even in your dreams.
When all you can think about is what it would feel like to be lying in their arms right now and kiss them and not say a word, just be together in the silent agreement that everything is alright and that the universe won't collide and nothing bad can happen as long as you're together.

This is love. And as long as love exists in this cold, unfair universe, there will still be hope. And as long as there is hope, there will always be a reason to live.

Come to think of it. Someone out there in this big, intimidating world is waiting for someone just like you to walk into their lives and stay forever. To change it for the better. Help them through the ups and downs that life holds in store for them and build a future together. And to do the same for you. Maybe they're already in your life. Maybe you haven't met them yet. Who knows?
All I know is that love is the most magnificent feeling on earth, it makes you feel invincible, as though you could do anything you want as long as they are on your side. So you think you're not worthy of love? You think you're not good enough? You hate yourself so much that you wonder how someone could possibly ever fall in love with a person like you? Because no one in your life ever loved you and if they did, they never really stayed?
Well, let me tell you something. You're wrong. You're so worthy of love. You're just as worthy of love as any other human being and animal on this planet. You live for a reason, your heart is pumping blood through your veins, dozens of times per minute, you are breathing and right in this very moment your brain is creating pictures of incomparable, unique beauty. Now, even though the reason you live may not be for love, trust me: falling in love with someone will take the burden off of your shoulders and make life a lot simpler. Just be on the outlook for the right person.

Who knows, maybe they're right in front of you and you're too blinded by your search to actually notice them. Open your eyes.

Love is everything and everywhere.



This is why we do it, this is worth the pain,
This is why we fall down and get back up again,
We do it for love.

#15 Dreams.

"All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together." - Jack Kerouac

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.." - Edgar Allan Poe

"I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night." - Bill Watterson

Aren't dreams just wonderful? We take them for granted because they're always waiting for us at the end of a long day, but isn't it just magnificent that we have them?
I guess dreams are there to remind human beings that reality is not all there is. There is something more, an invisible barrier that we cross, a kingdom of stardust, purple skies and endless possibilities that we enter at the beginning of every night. Dreams are there to make reality a little more bearable. They're supposed to relax us and offer us an escape from the things we have to face each day and take us off to the beautiful depths of our own minds.

Take a moment to realize how much incredible stuff your brain has come up with until now. All those dreams, the dreams of flying, of running, of swimming, of meeting people you know from your real life in a place that seems so much calmer and better. At the end of the day, being caught up in dreams is as close to heaven as we can get.

This is why depressed people tend to sleep so much. They can't cope with their own reality and find a better world in their dreams.
But aren't we actually living while we dream?
Don't we all have some sort of double life?

Truth is that every living thing on this planet has dreams; the trees outside your window dream of summer and all the breezes and joys that come along with it, your dog dreams of chasing after squirrels and a child is lying in bed right now on the other side of the globe dreaming dreams so innocent and careless that no one would even dare to wake him up.

#14 Inspiration through art.

Art describes feelings that words can't. It brings us closer to understanding the true meaning of life. Art captures something more than our society's problems: it makes us see life in all its shining, beautiful facets.
This is why everyone should surround themselves with pieces of art and stay inspired. You don't need to rush through life to make it special, sometimes it's enough to just sit down at your desk with a few magazines and a piece of paper and get lost in the process of creating. Whatever thoughts occupy your mind and whatever burdens you carry around with you: art will make the whole world feel lighter. I'd choose being an artist over all the money in the world because it gives you something that money can't buy: fulfilment and a tiny spark of eternal wisdom.
And art definitely makes life worth living.
Whenever you have problems, feel lost or as though life has lost its meaning and you want to escape reality, art will welcome you with open arms. And make you realize that life is so much more than what we perceive.

Beautiful art inspiration can be found on pinterest.com.

#13 Finally finding your way in life.

We're here for a reason and this reason is most definitely not to chase fame, prosperity and success, but to reach a higher level of wisdom. As much as I hate categorizing my mind and soul, I'd love to commit to buddhism and certain strains of spiritualism for the rest of my life. I just think that this is impossible to do in the Western world, where everyone is constantly under the influence of media and the streets are full of people who are blinded by false truths because they have chosen the wrong way.
It's true that money is just our society's mean of organizing our capitalist world and holding stuff together. It's just paper, metal and plastic and still it causes us so much unnecessary pain. But to be an individualist and leave this shiny, money-hungry society behind for the sake of happiness means that you have to make sacrifices. I know what would make me happy and I also know that it sure isn't living in this kind of society.

This is what treatment taught me. The little lasting joys matter so much more than the huge temporary ones. If you live your life that way, you'll have things to celebrate every single day, starting off with the fact that you're alive.
If you choose to live the way society wants you to and behave the way everyone else does, you'll lose yourself along the way sooner or later.

I would be perfectly happy if I lived in a run-down hut in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature, the people I love, two meals a day and books. I want my future self to remember this.

Remember how happy a lack of abundance can make you.
Remember how incredibly true and pure it feels to focus on your inner world and the things that really matter to you in life.
To live free of worries and expectations.
And just let go of the pressure to compete and make your own way in life.
At the end of the day you're alone and all the struggle you face, you face for yourself. Make the best of it.

#12 Making a list of things that you look forward to in life.

I know what it's like to feel hopeless, to think that the whole world would be better off without you. But you know what? That's not true. Your heart is beating and you are breathing and you are in this world for a reason. So grab a pen and a piece of paper and make a list of things you've always wanted to do in life, save it and look at it every couple of months and try to make these things come true.

Here's my list:

#1 Watch breakfast at Tiffany's for the 100th time. Know all the dialogues by heart.

#2 Choose the perfect wedding dress. Have a really crazy, unconventional wedding on the beach full of surprises and absurdities and polaroid pictures because that's the way I like it.

#3 Travel to Peru someday.

#4 Stay an atheist for the rest of my life.

#5 Go to lots of Renaissance exhibitions and fill my apartment with these beautiful paintings.

#6 And also with fairy lights.

#7 Collect books throughout my life so I can have my own private library when I'm older.

#8 Buy a typewriter.

#9 Write a book.

#10 Buy an apartment in Paris. 

#11 Plant roses in my garden.

#12 Keep looking forward to that first refreshing glass of ice cold water in summer.

#13 Make pancakes for my love on a rainy Sunday morning while listening to Sunday Morning by Maroon 5 / Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson.

#14 Learn a new language.

#15 Get a new tattoo.

#16 Overcome my depression.

#17 Go to festivals.

#18 Go to San Francisco.

#19 Dye my hair an absurd color.

#20 Make this my regular breakfast.

#21 Buy a polaroid camera. Take lots of pictures.

#22 Watch my scars heal.

#23 Lose a lot of weight just to know what it feels like to be superskinny. Then gain it all back.

#24 Try drugs at some point in my life. Not try them again.

#25 Buy a really old copy of a book I love.

#26 Teach my children how to bake cookies.

#27 Visit the clinic I've been to. Tell the patients that it gets better. 

#28 Buy a rabbit for my children and name it Snow White. (Yeah, I'm not making any compromises on that. :-))

#29 Paint something. Hang it on my wall.

#30 Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.

And always, always remember this: