Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Sometimes, reconciling life—what it presents—can be a daunting task.  I’m a firm believer that all things happen for a reason.  That nothing is by chance.  There are valuable lessons to be gained by all of life’s experiences.  But sometimes….

I’ve been wrestling with the news I received yesterday about my girlfriend’s terrible accident that may claim her life.  I’m trying to come to terms with it.  Process it.  Understand what possible lesson life might be trying to present.  And yet…I come up with…nothing.

Perhaps it’s too soon.  I’m too close.  The agony of not knowing and having to wait on pins and needles, jumping every time my phone rings or notifies me that I have a new message or text.  All these things combined are clouding my ability to make sense of something that seems to utterly senseless.

But then, it could just be that I selfishly don’t want to lose my girlfriend.  That the world shines brighter because of her presence.  When I close my eyes, all I see is her brilliant smile and hear her contagious laughter—her enthusiasm for living/life itself. 

It’s through this “selfishness” that my mind refuses to reconcile what has happened, what is happening.  How it’s utterly out of my control.  And so, I’ll wait, hoping that eventually clarity will reveal the true meaning of this situation.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sometimes, we need to reach out….

I just received news that one of my girlfriends, a young mother of an infant and small toddler, has suffered a terrible accident and is in the ICU, fighting for her life.  I know you don’t know her or any more of her situation than what I’ve just shared. But I believe strongly in the power of positive thoughts and how they can help save a person.  So I implore you to take a moment to wish this mother back to her children and husband so theirs might be a happier existence.

Thank you!

Monday, February 27, 2012

People never cease to amaze me.  They can say or do the smallest thing that completely alters the outcome of how we think, reflect on a situation or make or break the way we feel.  I’m not referring to the negative things folks do and say, though those, too, have direct impact on us.  I’m talking about the positive things, even if at the time they might not appear favorable.

I believe this ties in with change.  How if we allow for the possibility, change can enlighten us to better outcomes even if the growing pains associated with that change are tough to take at the time.  What people do and say, even the smallest things, find ways to weave themselves into the innermost fibers of our thoughts.  If we allow ourselves to ponder those, especially the positive things folks do and say, then they can sink in at a deeper level, often bringing with them higher enlightenment.

I’m a thinker.  Always have been.  I don’t rush into things.  Even those that might appear that I jumped right in have had some level of thought placed in them.  And even if that thought is minimal, one thing’s for certain, I process the living daylights out of the experience to eek the most out of it.  The same holds true of things people say or do to me.  Like the intent people watcher I am, I adore scrutinizing the way folks conduct themselves through what they say and do, for in those observations, I learn so very much that often alters how I think, reflect on a situation or makes or breaks the way I feel. 

Sunday, February 27, 2012

I’ve blogged before about change.  How it’s better to acknowledge and embrace it rather than fight it.  But this isn’t always easy, for change can disrupt threaten the status quo and make a person feel insecure.  One way to overcome this is to view change with a more positive outlook.

Instead of seeing change as the enemy, something that should be feared and avoided at all costs, if one accepts change as a positive thing, one where discovery and self-growth can occur, then half the battle against change is won.  Conversely, if a person tightens up, clenches their jaw and resists change with all their might, then change will likely overwhelm, intimidate and possibly even paralyze a person from being able to productively function. 

In life, one thing’s for certain.  Change will occur. Whether we welcome it or not, are prepared or not, change will find ways to infuse itself into the innermost linings of our life structures.  Seeing as this is a given, doesn’t it make more sense to embrace rather than expend inordinate amounts of wasted energy fighting change?

Saturday, February 25, 2012

A couple of days back, I blogged about how I stockpile sleep.  Responding to a comment made on that blog, got me to thinking.  So I thought I’d share….

When I was little, I adored preschool.  I couldn’t get enough of free play indoor time and being able to run around outside, burning off all my stored energy.  But there was one part of preschool I absolutely loathed—nap time.  Even today, I can vividly recall how frustrating it was and how desperate I was to avoid it.

Not sure about how other preschools handled nap time, but at mine, every child was given a mat to lay down on and there they had to remain for a full twenty minutes not moving—at all.  If they squirmed or fidgeted, they were reprimanded.  For me, lying still for even a few minutes was a challenge.  But a whole twenty minutes?  I would have preferred a slow painful death.  In fact, that’s what it felt like, each…and…every day.

I’d see the mats come out after lunch and begin to cringe.  To me, it made absolutely no sense to make us kids sleep or lay still right after having eaten.  Even to this day, I can’t abide by naps.  They still make me squirm.

The way I saw it, my body would tell me when it was sleepy.  And naptime at preschool just wasn’t it for me.  In fact, at home, I couldn’t stand having an early bedtime that caused me to lay in bed for hours each night, unable to fall asleep as I watched the second hand, minutes and then hours crawl by.  Usually this frustration would end with me being reduced to tears from my overwhelming frustration.  Most nights, that’s how I finally fell asleep. 

To this day, I refuse to go to bed until my body tells me it’s had enough and needs to sleep.  My thinking is, what’s the point of just laying in bed, re-living those frustrating naps and early bedtimes of years-gone-by?