Happy Pig Appreciation Day 2012!

Early December 2008 - the beginning.

March 1, 2012 - the holiday.

Right Now - wearing the sexiest pajamas EVER.
Eat your little hearts out, Angels.

COMING NATIONAL PIG DAY 2013:
Flying Pig Fashion Show
>
Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Yes?

No NegaPIGity Allowed!

This morning, my toast fell on my way from my apartment to the parking garage. The fallen toast was still cloaked by the paper towel I had chosen to protect my breakfast. Ever the optimist, I hoped that it was not butter-side-down, and that the two/five/whatever-second rule would apply. I crossed my fingers and awaited the verdict: heads or tails. My roommate picked up my fallen soldier to reveal his fate. He had met his untimely end: butter in the gutter!

My head was spinning. And then came the questions...

"Was that green speck in your butter before?"
"Was that hair there?"

We both knew the answers...."No," and "No."

I had serious plans for that toast. But sometimes things don't pan out the way we want them to.

Could I have spent my entire commute crying, wondering how different life would be if I had chosen a less casual outfit for my toast, wishing I had armored him in aluminum foil instead of the paper towel? Sure! But worse things could have happened. For instance, I could have dropped my friend's giant birthday cupcake instead.

The wise Dalai Lama said, "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions."

Therefore, happiness is always a choice. It's not always an easy choice to make, but it's a choice nonetheless. It's the difference between an unaffected "Zen Drive", and a Relentless Uncensored Road (all caps) RAGE session. It's crying in defeat versus try,try,try-ing and then ultimately celebrating a triumph. It's turning the loss of your would-be breakfast into positive creative inspiration, and an excuse to get jalapeno kettle chips from the office vending machine at 8am.

Negativity debilitates dreams, while a force of positivity propels them forward. Knowing that happiness is a choice makes all the difference in our lives, both present and future.

So, if there is ever an angry, negative pig inside of you threatening to break your piggy bank with its chainsaw (per the photo above), promptly put it in the trash. Meditate on its demise, and perhaps envision destroying it with the help of some familiar birds on a smart phone near you.

No negaPIGity - no doubt.

A New Blog Where Pigs CAN Fly

Pigs can fly. Oh, yes - they can! Fueled by the power of our imaginations, pigs can do anything.
If I say "piggy bank", what comes to mind? A cute little round thing with a slot for your loose change? Nay, people!!! That would be all too ordinary.

There's a piggy bank that lives in my imagination: a limitless vessel for our biggest dreams, he grows fatter as time passes, filling with positivity and possibility. And if we believe in him, he can fly (even when full...especially when full). Beyond the ordinary, this highly evolved pig is about positive change. So hold on to your coins, and whatever you do, don't break this bank. Fill him. Fuel him. Grow his wings.

Dare to defy perceptions of what you can do and who you can become. Sometimes people will look at you and say, "You can't do that..." or "You've always been like this, so what makes you think you can be anything different?" Don't let them tell you what you're built for. Only you can do that for yourself. And I know for a fact that you're worth more than a fist full of pennies.

I recently read The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, an article featured on The Guardian, which was shared with me by my brother. A palliative care nurse had researched and recorded the regretful reflections of dying patients. My brother is currently in nursing school himself, pursuing his dreams to provide quality, compassion-driven health care.

Of these top regrets, I was touched by the first: "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."

A huge part of my identity that I've neglected in recent years is writing to propel others in re-discovering their own passion, potential, and positive outlook.

So, what do you say? Join my movement. Follow my new blog.

Believe with me that pigs can fly.