5 Mantras to Live By

I found this list, 5 Decorating Mantras to Live By, in Fresh Home magazine.  I liked the list so much because not only does it apply to decorating, but it applies to life in general as well. 

1. The closer something is to your body, the better it should be. 
I don't have many friends.  I could probably count the number of true friends that I have on both hands.  In middle school and high school this number was a bit depressing.  Now, however, I realize it's because the closer a person is to me, the better they need to be.  I don't want to be bothered with "friends" who are nice to my face, but have no problem turning around and stabbing me in the back.  I dealt with those "friends" in high school and college and now that I'm getting up in the years, I realize I deserve better than that.  I deserve to surround myself with people who truly care about me.

2. Surround yourself with quality, not clutter.
This one also fits in with number one.  To take it a bit further though, I don't do a lot.  I know some people prefer to fill every moment of their lives with work and people and activities.  And I'm not judging because I understand that's what works for them.  For me though, I prefer to just take on the things that mean the most to me.  Spending time with my family and my handful of friends, reading, blogging, working on my marriage, those are the things that make me happy.  I would like to volunteer or do more crafty type things, but while I appreciate those activities at times, they're not what makes me truly happy.

3. Every room needs something living.
Even for those of us who don't surround ourselves with dozens of friends and hundreds of acquaintances, it's nice to look over and see something real that I love sitting there.  Whether that is a friend or a spouse or a child or even a pet, it's good to know I'm never alone.  There is always someone to laugh or cry with or someone who will just be there with me.

4. Honor the acts of daily living.  If it's a habit, make it beautiful.
Life should be lived in the most beautiful way possible.  I have my bad days and on those days I strongly dislike everything.  However, most days I try to take notice of how lucky I am to be living this life.  Even the most ugly things or the most dreaded activities can be beautiful if I choose to look at them in a different light.

5. Life should sparkle.
It absolutely should.  I like to take this statement literally with my favorite jewelry and newly washed and waxed car.  I also like to take it figuratively.  Life should be about finding the joy, the sparkle, in everything.  I told Lil Mootz, before he was born when Stonewall deployed, that our world can be a terrible place.  However, it can also be a wonderful place.  I know some people might say that means living in a bubble, but I think it means finding the sparkle in life.  Our military deploying means there are bad people in the world who want to do bad things, but it also means there are amazing people in our world who would fight to make someone else's life better.  And that is the sparkle I want to teach my son to always find.

Do you have any mantras that you live by?

I also posted this list over at Design*Decorate*Dream, but I applied it to actual decorating.  Unless you want to miss the chandelier of the century, you need to check it out.