How Small are We?

Dear Friend,

Most everyone has had the experience of being outside at night and looking up to the stars and thinking "Compared to everything out there, I am so, so small." Perhaps this experience made you feel insignificant. Maybe when you learn that the Earth can fit into the sun about 1.3 million times, and the Sun can fit into a larger star Antares about 152 million times, and Antares is smaller than a quarter of a pixel when compared to VV Cephei (the largest star known) on the computer, you start to feel really small. Maybe you start to think that all your problems are so insignificant because you just saw the photo NASA released of "The Pale Blue Dot", or you realized that you're one of 107,602,707,791 people who have ever been born on planet Earth, you might begin to get settled into the mindset that your tiny, insignificant life and tiny problems and worries don't actually make any difference in the big scheme of things.

But this is just one way to think.

The way we think about the size of us compared to the size of the universe isn't actually comparative at all. Instead of feeling small and unimportant, try to settle into the mindset that you, dear friend, are part of the biggest and most amazing thing ever created. Van Gogh once said "I don't know anything with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." Instead of feeling like you're helplessly clinging to a ball of rock and soil hurtling through space with no method or reason, try to remember that you are here for a reason. You are the universe, and the universe is you. Another amazing tid-bit is that the entirety of space can fit inside the human eye and in relation head.

Person A: Can you fit the entire universe inside an egg?

Person B: Do you see that tree? And the moon? And all those stars and sky?

Person A: Yes...?

Person B: Then what makes you doubt for even a second that that universe cannot fit inside an egg if you can fit it all inside your little eyeball?

Sure, the literal universe and all it's bits and pieces cannot fit inside of the human eye, but the fact that our tiny heads can even begin to comprehend just how huge the universe is, is pretty amazing.

Many people who are in the first mindset, or the "Why do I matter?" mindset, actually create a paradox. Simply by thinking that you're so small and insignificant is actually pretty selfish. YOU are an amazing individual and everything you say or do matters, just as the person sitting next you matters, or that stranger with the nice smile matters. You are an individual, but you're also part of something much, much bigger than yourself. The universe. And if you think that you can just remove yourself from that and compare your life to the biggest thing in existence, you're a little nutty.

"Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all." -Van Gogh

Yours truly,

Kylie and Catherine

Blessings of Summer

Dear Friend,

Each season has its own myriad of blessings. Fall brings scarves and caramel apple spice drinks, winter brings boots and snowflakes, and with spring comes flowers and the anticipation for summer. Seeing as we are in the middle of our own summer bliss, we just wanted to share in depth what we thought makes summer such an enjoyable season.

Sunshine 
"And it sure feels fine, when the sunshine shines..." This line is from one of our favorite songs, "And the Birds Sing" by Tyrone Wells. If you haven't heard this song, we highly recommend that you go listen to it. Not only does this it lift up your spirits, but it also speaks of one of summer's most valued blessings: the sun. When the sun is out, everyone seems to be in a happier mood. In a way, the sun is sort of magical- as it brightens up the world, people tend to shine with happiness and radiate warmth.

Longer days 
As we said before, the sun is quite magical. Because of the sun rising earlier and setting later, our days are longer during the summer. This means more activities while the sun is still out, and more activities means more fun! Also, for those in school, the days start to blend with each other. When you start asking yourself, "What day is it?," then summer has definitely got to you!

The Beach 
The beach is a popular destination during the summer. It's the perfect spot for meeting up with friends, working on your tan, and cooling off in the water. If you live near a beach, we suggest you make the most of it and hang out there as much as possible!

Picnics
During the summer, you can easily organize a picnic. Just gather your family or call up some friends, pack a couple sandwiches, fruit, and cool drinks, and drive to the nearest park or lake- and voila! You've arranged a nice summer picnic.

Ice Cream and Shaved Ice 
These are the best treats to have during the summer. Completely full of sugar and pure happiness, ice cream and shaved ice seem to be extra tasty on those summer days and cool you down instantly.

Rolled down windows 
Summer is not summer unless you've rolled down your windows and blast country songs while driving. Having the windows down is guaranteed to make driving much more tolerable when it's hot out and gives you the chance to sing your little heart out to your favorite songs. To put it simply, rolled down windows equals carefree spirit.

Vacation time
Last, but not least, we love summer because it gives us the opportunity to go on vacation. Whether it's a small road trip to the cabin or visiting Disneyland, time off your daily schedule is much needed. Vacations give you the chance to relax and reboot yourself.

What do you enjoy about summer? Keep in mind these are just a couple of our favorite things, summer is too awesome to be limited to these seven blessings!

"Happy as the sun, lighter than a feather..." - Tyrone Wells, "Happy As the Sun"

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Important Updates

Dear Friend,

Once again, we apologize for not writing for a while. We just wanted you to know that yes, we're still here. in fact, we have some really exciting news regarding this blog to share with you!

1. TRAVEL BLOG

We are happy to announce that we have created a sub-blog of sorts. The two of us have done a fair amount of traveling, and we with have caught the wanderlust. dearadventurer.blogspot.com is our very new travel blog (so new, in fact, that it still has the original template and theme, and no posts.) We'll let you know when we post there, but for now just keep in mind that that's our little side project.

2. MUSICAL ARTIST INTERVIEWS

As you probably know by now, we are absolute connoisseurs of new music. We love surfing around on iTunes, youtube, 8tracks, pandora...pretty much any music site that will introduce us to new, amazing music. Anyways, some of our new favorites include Peter Hollens, Nora Jane Struthers, and Pegasus Bridge (which we also learned broke up in 2011). So where are we going with this? We are SO thrilled to tell you that we have interviews lined up with Peter, Nora, and Tommy (the drummer from Pegasus Bridge who recently debuted his EP 'Riots' on iTunes). These three are some of the nicest, most talented people we have been lucky enough to contact and we can't wait to introduce you all. Over the next few weeks we will be posting music reviews of these three artists, along with bits from the conversations we're having with each of them. We are literally so excited.

3. TOP SECRET

We have another super top secret project that we can't tell you about yet, but keep checking back with us, because we'll post it within the next month! Pinky promise.

Thank you for sticking with us through our hiatus. It's nearly over! Also, Catherine is getting her wisdom teeth out on FRIDAY so send her good vibes and energy.

Patience is a virtue.

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine