What Kind of Wild Are You?

“What kind of wild are you?” This question whirled in my head earlier tonight as I gazed at a poster in a coffee shop that was meant to market a new latte flavor. “What kind of wild am I?” I thought to myself. And then I realized that in order to accurately answer that question, I would need to understand the meaning of the word “wild.” After perusing through twenty two different meanings on dictionary.com, I landed on the following:

WILD - Informal. Intensely eager or enthusiastic.

One of my strengths is my ability to remain positive. You could probably describe me as “wildly giddy.” I love to laugh, love to smile, love to see others’ smile. Sunny days are far better than cloudy ones and I thrive off of positive energy. I’m always eager for a new challenge, eager to learn something new about someone, eager to make a new friend. I’m enthusiastic by nature, chomping at the bit to start the project at hand. While I pride myself on my professional, formal mannerisms, I love to get informal with people and cut through the fluff to dig deeper into someone’s soul, what makes them who they are. Isn’t that what true friendships are based on anyway?

What kind of wild is Mandy Anderson? I’m wild about life, really. Wild about my dreams. Wild about the lessons I am learning and wild about sharing those lessons with the people that are in my life.

So, what kind of wild are you? Let’s have a wild conversation and dig a little deeper!

As always, be blessed, be healthy, and be inspired!

Musical Memories

Tonight I spent some time with my inner child. I pulled out old cd’s from some of my favorite musicals and danced around my living room singing along at the top of my lungs as if I was Annie, Sandra D, and Selena. I just let myself get lost in the musical . . . in the illusion of it all; like I did when I was a kid. It was fun; I laughed at myself and old memories and danced with my dog (who started hyperventilating from all of the excitement – oops, sorry Ajah).

And then I put in a few of my favorite CD’s from 1994 and I was amazed. After almost 10 years of not listening to any of the songs on these CD’s, I still remembered every single word of all my favorite songs. It struck me as odd that I would remember this so vividly. My memory didn’t stop with just the music; I remembered intricate details of the location that I first heard these songs and the events that were taking place in my life at that point in my history. Memories so vivid that I could actually close my eyes and feel as though I was there, experiencing it all again.

Music has a magical ability to weave together the past and the present. It doesn’t stay static like a photograph, but changes as life moves on. It wraps around your heart and warms your soul, allowing you to smile at the past while moving forward in the present moments of your life. It’s a rare gift to be treasured.

“Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory.” ~Oscar Wilde

May you be blessed, be healthy, and be inspired!

Passion & Purpose

“It is my heart’s desire to Inspire Hope through singing and writing so that others can overcome their obstacles and live a life of freedom and joy.” – Mandy Anderson

It is both satisfying and confusing to finally discover your passion and purpose in life. Satisfying because in the blink of an eye the clouds disperse and a bright ray of sunshine begins to glimmer upon your heart; confusing because now what do you do with it? There seems to be loads of insurmountable responsibility that comes along with finding your passion and purpose. To ignore it would be to fail and miss out on everything your life was designed for; to go after it would be to begin the process of eventually succeeding should you continually muster up the courage to never give up.

So often the easy road is to simply acknowledge the discovery and forget the “doing.” To live a life of apathy and ultimately die wondering what could have been had you just taken that first step. The first step surely is the hardest. Don’t be fooled though, the journey is paved with gravel, potholes, smog filled valleys, and sometimes deafening silence. And then . . . sunlight; pure, radiant sunlight.

I don’t believe there are enough words in any language to adequately express the feeling of embarking on the journey of fulfilling your life’s passion and purpose. Joy, Exhilaration, Contentment, and even Thrilling encompass some of it, but they don’t do it justice. To know that you are a contributing piece to the giant puzzle that is this world, and to find the placement, in which your piece fits, is the most satisfying feeling one can ever experience.

I don’t have my exact placement in this puzzle figured out yet; but I’m beginning to discover the angles that make up my borders and who my aligning pieces might be. Believe my transparency when I say this is not an easy mission, nor is it exactly pretty all the time. Never in my life have I been in such inner turmoil, constantly aware of my thoughts, feelings, and attitudes. Never in my life have I had more questions without answers. Never in my life have I had the patience to enjoy the process and rest while the pieces come into focus . . . until now. I’m learning how to take this all in and breathe through the process of living out my passion and purpose.

Let me ask you . . . do you know your life’s passion and purpose? Are you willing to take the first step and continue on the bumpy path to make it happen and live it out?

As always, be blessed! Be healthy! Be Inspired!

Hidden Within

Over the past month I have been focusing on the life area of Curiosity & Learning. As the dawn of the last day of this focus approaches, I am finding that there are many sides to this soul that God has made in me. It truly is exhilerating to open myself up and discover the multi-faceted dimensions that are the layers of Mandy Lynn Anderson. I have discovered many treasures that have been hidden within myself for far too long, tucked away in the dusty corners of my heart. I'm so glad that I am taking this season to unpack them all and finally find a home for them.

FAITH - My faith is something that fuels me day in and day out. It is one of the biggest parts of my puzzle. I enjoy reading about God, and lately I am finding that I am drawn to Bibles in a bookstore. I am also drawn to really great devotionals that challenge me to dig deeper into my faith.

FUN - This part of me has been hiding for a really long time, and I have allowed it. Well no more! I love listening to great music and I love bursting into song for no specific reason other than I just want to be silly and sing. I love to laugh! Not just small giggles, but big belly laughs that bring tears to your eyes and cause your entire body to laugh. I love the layers of being a girl and having the ability to experiment with makeup and fashion.

ARCHITECTURE - I love contemporary designs that are full of clean lines, amazing color, sleek materials and classy detail. I also love French inspired homes and big cities. Yes, I love big cities! I love to get lost in the details of downtown architecture; it inspires me to be myself and challenges me to aspire to be the person I have locked away deep down inside myself for too many years.

ART - I love to gaze into amazing art pieces. There is something so soothing about getting lost in a great painting and really studying the detail of each stroke, the vibrance of each color, and the story hidden within each canvas.

ALONE - I am no longer afraid to have an adventure by myself. There was a time where sitting alone in a restaurant waiting for my guest would intimidate me and make me feel apprehensive. Not any more. I relish in the moments when I can sit and observe my surroundings in a restaurant - I even go early just so I can take it all in by myself! I frequently go into Barnes and Noble and spend 45 minutes just getting lost in the books and stories that fill the shelves. And I am anxiously awaiting my next trip to California when I can have the pleasure of an airplane adventure completely by myself!

Recently there are moments through out my days where I stop and wonder who this person inside of me is and how long she has been waiting to get out. I have settled for mediocrity for far too long. I am dreaming again and let me reassure you that the possibilities truly are endless when you set your mind to it. I leave you today with a quote. May you always aim high! Be blessed. Be healthy. Be inspired!

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo

"The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be, but because of who I may become, I will close my eyes and JUMP!" - Kelle Centineo, NMD

I completely agree with the above quote, and I am feeling it! So much has changed over the last month and a half. I recently joined a life coaching group where I will be peeling away the layers that are within me over a 12 month period. This month, I am focusing on becoming aware of my thoughts, reactions, what I'm curious about and what I enjoy learning about. All I can say is WOW - I'm learning a lot about myself! I would like to take this time to share what I have discovered so far. Over the last two weeks I have been acutely aware of my thoughts . . . in a stronger capacity than I have ever experienced. I have surprised myself with how many thoughts go through my head that are more negative than positive and more limiting instead of empowering.

I have often heard that awareness is the first step to being open about change. I am so COMPLETELY AWARE of my thoughts/reactions lately that I feel as though a floodgate has been opened and freedom has been released and found. I have more fears than I ever realized – fears that seem just plain silly (fear of success) and fears that I have secretly been aware of for years (fear of losing friends). Through all of this awareness, I have also discovered that the ability to overcome these fears is fiercely approaching the surface, and that not only am I capable of overcoming them, I WILL overcome them!

Sunday was the first day where I tasted this ability. It was a turning point in my life. Through a mundane task as simple as flying, I found that I can rise above and knock down a fear wall with a tenacious gusto! I tackled a milestone head on that arrived in the form of traveling in an airport completely alone. I knew no one and it forced me to grow. Not only was I alone, but I found within myself the ability to reach deep down and grab hold of courage, determination, and a savvy sense of traveling that I always knew existed but couldn’t act on.

I took the opportunity to get bumped on my flight back home, resulting in 7.5 hours in an airport alone (something that would’ve bored me before, thus making me extremely frightened because I absolutely loathe forced boredom). This single decision was instantly rewarded with a travel voucher worth $300, $20 in food coupons since I was going to be at the airport all day, and a spot in first class all the way home to Fargo. I was completely ecstatic because I saw God’s hand in every aspect of it! It was as if God himself was rewarding this new found independence and travel wisdom simply for the fact of cheering me on and encouraging me to stay the course of jumping outside of my comfort nest.

I have never felt more empowered and free! This experience was not scary at all, contrary to the thoughts that swam around in my head previously. In fact, it was more exhilarating than I could’ve imagined. I’m coming out of my shell and it’s only a matter of time before my fears are but a tiny token of who I used to be. I’m learning how to LIVE OUT LOUD and I truly can’t wait to meet myself even six months from now as I board the plane to Long Beach, CA for my next conference – bought with the travel voucher from today, yet another provision from my Heavenly Father!

Inspired . . . to run!

I am overflowing with so much joy and excitement right now because today I ran further and longer than I ever have before without stopping! I ran 1.5 miles this afternoon and for someone with Cystic Fibrosis, that is a major milestone. Never in a million years did I think that I could run that far and not die; I never imagined that I would enjoy it either!

When I was in 7th grade I participated in track. I hated it. My dad was a track star in his high school days and I know that he was hoping the dream would've been passed down to me. It was not. I hated running, practice was boring, the bus rides to track meets were too long and noisy, and the only thing I enjoyed about track meets was the fact that it was one GIANT PICNIC in between each race! I was not an athlete; I was there for the socializing and the eating.

I don't consider myself an athlete today either, but I am becoming very passionate about wellness. I have been working out with a personal trainer for 1.5 years and I've been diving into the world of nutrition. Through numerous Juice Plus conferences I have learned valuable information about nutrition that has made a tremendous impact in my lifestyle and my health. I give God all praise and glory for my health and I am thankful that he has provided me with tangible solutions to establishing better health. I credit my great achievement of running to Juice Plus and to the fact that I exercise on a daily basis. I am seeing amazing results in my health and I am determining to forge ahead mightily! I'm sure my doctor is going to flip tomorrow when I tell him this exciting news!

If I can accomplish something like this, I know without a doubt that you can accomplish whatever you set your heart on. As always, be blessed, be healthy, and be inspired!!

Once Again

I am a person that strongly believes in baring my soul to others in order to inspire them. With that in mind, I share the following piece of my history - how one of the first songs I wrote came to light and how the lessons revealed in that song continue to surface throughout my journey on earth.

In 1999, after being suddenly dumped by someone that I really loved, I broke down. It may not have been apparent to everyone around me, or even to this other person, but inside I was devestated and broken. Instead of burying these feelings to the depth of my being, I let myself feel it all to it's fullest. I dug deep within myself and allowed the full measure of pain, betrayel, and regret to be experienced, and then I curled up under God's arms and allowed him to sew my broken heart back together again. The result was one of the first songs I ever wrote, entitled "Once Again."

Several months after writing it, when the wounds were starting to scab over, I was asked by one of my teachers to submit it for my Honors English class as a special project. I was excited and willing to do so, until she informed me that she wanted me to record myself singing it so the entire class could hear it. This was a scary thought for me because my ex was in this class and I wasn't sure that I was ready for my feelings to be put out there for everyone to see, especially him. I decided that if I truly wanted to become an artist in the future, I needed to get used to the idea of letting people into my inner most thoughts, so I went forward with it. (It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.) Little did I know that only two years later this song would end up on my first recorded album. I have decided to share the words of this song with you:

Once Again

copyright 1999 and 2001 Mandy Brakel and Lonely Moose Records

Broken hearted, lost beyond control

Tears have started and I can't seem to let go

Of the pain that's dwelling deep inside

But Lord, I know what's happened is right

chorus

Once again, I'm coming before you

Once again, please make my heart brand new

I'm always trying to do things my own way

Once again, I'm down on my knees, Lord I pray

Once again

I know you're fed up with the way I've come to act

Taking my whole life into my own hands

But every time I've come to find

That Lord, your way is always right

Lord, I know you hear me

I know you know my every move

Now I'm giving it all back to you

Fast forward to 2008. I have recently discovered that the words of this song still ring true to my heart. Situations may have changed, but many times I find myself feeling the same way. I keep trying to take my life into my own hands, manipulating situations to fit my idea of perfection. Whenever I do that, I find that I only screw things up. I make them worse and I lose sight of where I am going because I let my selfishness take over.

As a woman of God, I am devoting myself to living his perfect will for my life and sometimes this is not an easy thing to do. Recklessly abandoning my agenda and diving into God's exciting adventure is not always the story book life that I envisioned. More often than not, it's easier, and less painful, to regress or stay in one spot than to move forward. I know that there will always be times in life where, once again, I have to come before God and let him make my heart brand new. There will always be times when I am broken hearted or feel lost beyond control. The exciting thing is that this only happens when growth is taking place and I am so thankful that God is always there, ready and waiting to pick me up, strengthen me, and encourage me on his desired path for my life.

Thank you for letting me share a piece of my heart. I hope this testimony is refreshing for you. Be healthy, be blessed, and be inspired!