good things grow

Every now and again, I read words that speak to my heart and inspire my way of living. Emerson’s conviction that, “the more experiments you make the better” guided my college years (& inspired many adventures), Thoreau’s mandate that we “simplify, simplify, simplify” saw me through graduate school, and the wisdom of Goerthe colored my post-grad years, “Never let the things that matter most be at the mercy of the things that matter least.”

Recently, I’ve been living by my own motto to embrace the future and remember how much time I still have: enough time to try new things, meet new people, discover new places, and become the person I’ve always wanted to be.

I’ve always looked forward to the future, but it seems even more important to ‘dream forward‘ as I grow older.  The past is important, yes, but it doesn’t need to determine what comes next.  I remind myself that ambitious projects might take a while, but the time will pass anyway – might as well pursue things I’m passionate about.

I’ve gone and done it again — shared many more thoughts than necessary to simply tell you that a Rainbow Rowell quote inspired me so much that I made a graphic and corresponding PDF (download here :goodthingsgrow).  The other thing I meant to tell you about?  The urban flower garden that recently popped up in St. Paul.

The garden uses painted rocks instead of flowers, and a two-story mural provides a fun backdrop for the space.  We had fun exploring the area, and there just so happened to be *free* BBQ during our visit. Fast fact: BBQ is my favorite food.

Do you have any guiding philosophies?  Favorite food?  Have you ever been to an urban flower farm?  Check out The Ink Nest for drawings like the flowers in my graphic.