purpose & the power of a compliment.

i have been doing an insane amount of soul searching these past few weeks. i think the thought of turning thirty has done something to my psyche. for the first time in my life i feel like an actual adult. no joke, i am a grown woman with two kids and up until now have never really felt like an adult. maybe it's because i have never really taken myself too seriously {those who know me on a personal level will attest to my bonafide GOOFBALL status} but for some reason the thought of getting serious has been resonating with me. not becoming a serious person {impossible for someone like me!}, but getting serious about my ultimate purpose in life.
 finding it. knowing it. owning up to it. living in it.
i recently read this mark twain quote that struck a cord with me on my lil' purpose driven journey...

it made me think about how important and powerful words are. our words can be negative, destructive, slanderous, harsh, and critical or they can be thoughtful, uplifting and complimenting. compliments can encourage, strengthen & validate a person's self worth, reinforce & push a person in a positive direction, change lives and ultimately give life to ideas and to great people; people who may have never realized how great they were if it weren't for someone telling them they were. 

although nice{& appreciated!}, i am not referring to artificial compliments about someone's "killer shoes" or "nice house". those types of compliments don't hold any kind of transformative power. the compliments, i'm talking about are the ones that go deep into a person's heart, touching the very essence of their being. i love that! i love that i can do that to someone and that someone can do that to me. i believe complimenting people & lifting people up with kind words is a big part of my our ultimate purpose as a mothers, as wives, as friends, and as human beings.