A couple I know recently got engaged just before Christmas.  It happened under a tree covered in hundreds of tiny twinkle lights.  They have this gorgeous picture of them hugging under what appears to be a dark sky filled with nothing but light.  It’s beautiful…it’s romantic…it’s the start of an amazing life for them.

What I love most about this photograph though – this snapshot of their story – is that it’s a reflection, not just of that moment, but of an entire life.  An essence of who they really are.

Essentially, they live under that tree of twinkle lights.  Of course, there may be a burnt bulb from time to time that needs replacing…or a tangle in the cords, but it never occurs to them to worry about it too much because they are too busy being lost in the magic…lost in how beautiful everything is around them.  And I just love it!

The more I witness it…and the more people I meet who see the world this way…the more I begin to truly understand what an incredible life it can lead us to.  The happiness.  The joy.  The peace.  Yes, there is sadness and despair in the world.  But there are so many more twinkle lights and hugs to be had beneath them.  What separates us all, is the choice to go there…to stand beneath the tree and truly be a part of the beauty instead of just choosing to see it from a distance.

I’m starting to believe that this is something that we should all aspire to do…to be…to embrace.  But I can’t control what we all choose to do.  I can only control what I choose to do…who I choose to be…

So, as I sit here, on the last day of the year, my mind can’t help but wonder about the choices lying before me.  What I want to do.  Who I want to be.  What will 2013 look like as a result?

The biggest lesson that I learned this year {and am still learning} is that intention and selfishness are not the same thing.  I have spent a long time feeling hesitant about making certain choices because I feared that it meant I was being selfish…when really, it means that I’m just learning how to be more intentional.  With my needs…my life…my happiness.  It means that – for possibly the first time – my own life matters too.

For certain though, even in the name of intention…those choices aren’t always easy to make.  Those ties aren’t always easy to break.  Those breaths aren’t always easy to take.

But here’s the thing…with mere hours left before we flip to a new calendar…I also know for certain one thing to be true…

I intend to stand under that tree.  I intend to be part of that beauty.  I intend to look up at a dark sky…filled with nothing but light…

Happy New Year!

Thank you to the ridiculously beautiful, Richelle Hunter, for letting me borrow her amazing image!  And be sure to click here to read the rest of her epic proposal!