If the way it works is that what we appreciate the most, or think about the most, expands in our lives, then it makes sense to me that we could start by appreciating and thinking about the good we already have in our lives, no matter how small that may be. If we think about the good that's already in our lives and then it gets bigger and we end up with more good then, over time, our lives would be really full of good stuff. But, honestly, it's not my natural tendency to do that. I will admit that I sometimes don't appreciate what I already have.
One area where I have REALLY not appreciated what I already have is my home. I've lived in this little two room apartment for about 18 months and had done nothing but bitch about it ever since I moved in. I bitched about how small it is. I bitched about the noise from the traffic outside. I bitched about the school buses waking me up at 5 am. I bitched and complained for 18 months and all I could think about was wanting to move back out to the country.
But in my effort to look for the good in my life, I have FINALLY come to appreciate this apartment. It's funny, once I stopped bitching, I noticed a whole lot of potential the apartment had that I couldn't see before when I was looking through discontented eyes. A negative mindset can really make you blind to the good stuff you already have in your life.
I've gained 25 pounds since I moved into this place and I've been saying it was because I didn't have room to exercise. That was one excuse anyway. And the way I had things arranged, I really DIDN'T have room to exercise inside. And the traffic noise made it unpleasant to walk outside. So I just quit exercising. But last week I started trying to find a way to make room to exercise and all it took was to turn my bed around in a different direction! That opened up a nice area to do my workout videos in. And I also found a weight bench that can be folded up and stored under the bed! So, after 18 months of stressing and straining and bitching and moaning and feeling sorry for myself, I now see that I could have made room for exercise all along. I was just too busy complaining and being negative to be able to see it. A simple turn of the bed!
Another thing I missed about my old place was my office. I had a big executive desk and I loved sitting at my desk looking out over the rest of the house. But when I moved here, I had to get rid of my big desk and I ended up with a small students desk I picked up at the Goodwill Store. I had it crammed in a corner facing the wall. When I sat at my computer, I felt couped up and boxed in. Again, all it took was to turn it around the other way and now when I sit here at my computer, I look out over the rest of the room, not at the wall. I no longer feel boxed in or crowded. I feel like I have an office again.
So, with a change of attitude, I was able to convert a cramped bedroom into a bedroom/workout room/office all in one! And it took maybe 30 minutes to move the furniture around!!! So simple! And I could have done it 18 months ago and had a much better life than I've had as far as this apartment goes. So from now on, I WILL look for the good that I already have. And then maybe I'll have more and more good to appreciate. And that's a good thing! Look for the good!!! :)Click "comments" below if you've got anything to say! :)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Live and Let Live
Today is the first day of a brand new year! We have a whole new calendar to fill up with wonderful activities and experiences! I personally plan to make this the best year of my life. I intend to have more fun and more new experiences this year than ever. And I plan to laugh more and have more fun and get into just as much trouble as possible. (Fun trouble, of course!) So today I decided to get started right away. I decided that me and Bossy would go hiking since the weather was nice.
I love hiking in the woods because I love nature and I love getting away from the city and from people. But once in a while, there are humans on my hiking trail! I don't like it when they're there but it is, after all, a public trail. So I have to let them stay. Today Bossy and I were enjoying the beauty and the peacefulness of the woods and the lake when suddenly I started hearing loud talking and laughing. I knew we weren't alone any more. The closer the big mouths got to us, the more annoying their loud talking became. Do those people have a hearing problem or something? Why are they talking so damn loud? I wanted to shoosh them but I didn't. Soon enough they were gone and me and Bossy had the woods to ourselves again.
Sometimes when I'm out hiking, I see people jogging throught the woods or I see people walking with headphones on or talking on their cell phone. And I can't help but think to myself that those people are missing so much. The woods are so beautiful. That lake is breathtaking, the wildlife, the whole environment is something I really want to absorb and become one with when I'm out there. I go hiking to get away from cell phones and noise and loud music and being in a hurry. I sometimes even feel sorry for those people who, to me, seem totally oblivious to the beauty they're missing out on because they're not fully present.
But today I thought of a different perspective. When I hike with my dog, I am having a wonderful, wonderful experience. But those people who were talking so loud and laughing as they hiked probably were too!!! They're just having a different experience than what I'm having. They're having the experience THEY came there to have. They're enjoying each other's company. They're laughing with each other and connecting with each other. And they're getting exericse as well. That's what THEY came to the trail for. And I realized....that's OK. And I thought to myself how wonderful it is that the planet we live on is so accommodating to all of us and all our different desires and needs. And it also occurred to me that even I have a different experience every time I go hiking, even though I often hike the very same trail.
It's been said that you can never step into the same river twice. That's because the river is always swirling and shifting and changing. My hiking trails are like that too. In fact, the whole planet, the whole universe is like that. OK, I'll say it, LIFE is like that! And so I finally am OK with those humans being on my trail. And I'm OK with them having a different experience on my trail than I'm having. And I appreciate how that we're all unique individuals having our own special unique life that only we can live. So I will live and let live, as the song goes. And that's good! Look for the good! :)
Here's a slide show of my hiking trip today. First of many for 2011. Your coments are welcome. Click the word comment below. I'd love to hear from ya!
I love hiking in the woods because I love nature and I love getting away from the city and from people. But once in a while, there are humans on my hiking trail! I don't like it when they're there but it is, after all, a public trail. So I have to let them stay. Today Bossy and I were enjoying the beauty and the peacefulness of the woods and the lake when suddenly I started hearing loud talking and laughing. I knew we weren't alone any more. The closer the big mouths got to us, the more annoying their loud talking became. Do those people have a hearing problem or something? Why are they talking so damn loud? I wanted to shoosh them but I didn't. Soon enough they were gone and me and Bossy had the woods to ourselves again.
Sometimes when I'm out hiking, I see people jogging throught the woods or I see people walking with headphones on or talking on their cell phone. And I can't help but think to myself that those people are missing so much. The woods are so beautiful. That lake is breathtaking, the wildlife, the whole environment is something I really want to absorb and become one with when I'm out there. I go hiking to get away from cell phones and noise and loud music and being in a hurry. I sometimes even feel sorry for those people who, to me, seem totally oblivious to the beauty they're missing out on because they're not fully present.
But today I thought of a different perspective. When I hike with my dog, I am having a wonderful, wonderful experience. But those people who were talking so loud and laughing as they hiked probably were too!!! They're just having a different experience than what I'm having. They're having the experience THEY came there to have. They're enjoying each other's company. They're laughing with each other and connecting with each other. And they're getting exericse as well. That's what THEY came to the trail for. And I realized....that's OK. And I thought to myself how wonderful it is that the planet we live on is so accommodating to all of us and all our different desires and needs. And it also occurred to me that even I have a different experience every time I go hiking, even though I often hike the very same trail.
It's been said that you can never step into the same river twice. That's because the river is always swirling and shifting and changing. My hiking trails are like that too. In fact, the whole planet, the whole universe is like that. OK, I'll say it, LIFE is like that! And so I finally am OK with those humans being on my trail. And I'm OK with them having a different experience on my trail than I'm having. And I appreciate how that we're all unique individuals having our own special unique life that only we can live. So I will live and let live, as the song goes. And that's good! Look for the good! :)
Here's a slide show of my hiking trip today. First of many for 2011. Your coments are welcome. Click the word comment below. I'd love to hear from ya!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Growing Up
I think that part of growing up is reassessing how we feel about things ever so often. But I have to admit that I don't want to do that! I worked hard forming the opinions I have and I don't want to have to work that hard again. Besides, what if I realized that I feel differently now? Would that mean I was wrong to feel the way I felt before or to hold the opinions I held before? Who wants to be wrong? Not me. So I have tended to be lazy and just keep going through life with the same old preconceived notions I've had for decades. Just don't want to upset the old apple cart.
The problem with that is that you miss out on a lot of good! One example I can think of right now, because of a very wonderful experience I had today, is my comfort level with small children. I have for decades said that I am allergic to kids! Sometimes people laugh. Sometimes people look at me like I'm some sort of demon. I've even had people want to argue with me about it. I've been asked how I could possibly hate children. I never said I hated them. I just said I'm not comfortable around them. We all have preferences. Some people aren't comfortable around dogs but I love them. I don't accuse them of being dog haters. It's just what you're comfortable with.
But in thinking about the whole issue of being uncomfortable with something, like small children or dogs or whatever example you want to plug in here, I find that I'm actually now able to find joy and find good in things that I used to want no part of. But that came with a change of perspective and I guess with just becoming more comfortable in my skin and more at ease with the world around me.
Finding that new perspective wasn't nearly as hard a job as finding the old one was. The old perspectives were labor intensive. I had to do a lot of thinking and stewing and analyzing to get to them. I find that my perspectives on life and on the world around me are changing drastically and in very wonderful positive ways because I am letting go and I am accepting. I am letting go of old anger and negative thoughts about things. And I'm accepting a new normal. That was then and this is now and I'm no longer willing to let yesterday screw up my today. And no more stewing and analyzing. Too much work! I'm going to focus on the good stuff and let the rest go, just in case it IS true that what you focus your attention on is what expands in your life. I want the good stuff to expand and the "bad" stuff to shrink. Girls just wanna have fun, ya know??? Life should be fun! Look for the fun!
The problem with that is that you miss out on a lot of good! One example I can think of right now, because of a very wonderful experience I had today, is my comfort level with small children. I have for decades said that I am allergic to kids! Sometimes people laugh. Sometimes people look at me like I'm some sort of demon. I've even had people want to argue with me about it. I've been asked how I could possibly hate children. I never said I hated them. I just said I'm not comfortable around them. We all have preferences. Some people aren't comfortable around dogs but I love them. I don't accuse them of being dog haters. It's just what you're comfortable with.
But in thinking about the whole issue of being uncomfortable with something, like small children or dogs or whatever example you want to plug in here, I find that I'm actually now able to find joy and find good in things that I used to want no part of. But that came with a change of perspective and I guess with just becoming more comfortable in my skin and more at ease with the world around me.
Finding that new perspective wasn't nearly as hard a job as finding the old one was. The old perspectives were labor intensive. I had to do a lot of thinking and stewing and analyzing to get to them. I find that my perspectives on life and on the world around me are changing drastically and in very wonderful positive ways because I am letting go and I am accepting. I am letting go of old anger and negative thoughts about things. And I'm accepting a new normal. That was then and this is now and I'm no longer willing to let yesterday screw up my today. And no more stewing and analyzing. Too much work! I'm going to focus on the good stuff and let the rest go, just in case it IS true that what you focus your attention on is what expands in your life. I want the good stuff to expand and the "bad" stuff to shrink. Girls just wanna have fun, ya know??? Life should be fun! Look for the fun!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Finding Good in Winter Weather
OK, here's another area where I have, for years, been very much a grouch! I've hated snow!!!! It messes up traffic, keeps me from getting to work, keeps me from getting outside or to the store when I need to. Such a nuisance! Whenever I would wake up and see snow outside, I would just groan and go back to bed, then lay around depressed until it was gone! Just like I did with the holidays, I threw away precious days of my life because I couldn't see any good. Now that I'm trying a new perspective, I'm looking for good in snow. And today I definitely have the opportunity to do that! :)
The snow we have right now is beautiful fluffy snow. It's the kind that makes everything look like a Christmas card. It's actually really breathtaking. This morning I took Bossy outside to do his business and everything that I see every day has an entirely different look and feel! It's like a whole different, magical kind of world just right outside my door right where the noisy traffic usually is. If I can't find anything else good about snow, that's enough right by itself! The traffic goes away for a while! LOL!
Using my new digital camera, I took some pictures of the view of my yard as it looks now. It's interesting, it's the very same yard, and yet it's so different. I think life is like that. It's the very same life, it just looks different sometimes. I think life is always changing and we can either bitch about the changes or we can look for good in them and enjoy the hell out of 'em. I think I'll choose the latter. So right now, I'm going to bundle up and take my new camera up to the river and take some more pics. Here's what I've taken of my yard so far! More to come!
Note: I've added some more pics to the slideshow. I had an awesome time walking up to the river and taking pictures of the beauty I saw along the way. Hope you enjoy them!
The snow we have right now is beautiful fluffy snow. It's the kind that makes everything look like a Christmas card. It's actually really breathtaking. This morning I took Bossy outside to do his business and everything that I see every day has an entirely different look and feel! It's like a whole different, magical kind of world just right outside my door right where the noisy traffic usually is. If I can't find anything else good about snow, that's enough right by itself! The traffic goes away for a while! LOL!
Using my new digital camera, I took some pictures of the view of my yard as it looks now. It's interesting, it's the very same yard, and yet it's so different. I think life is like that. It's the very same life, it just looks different sometimes. I think life is always changing and we can either bitch about the changes or we can look for good in them and enjoy the hell out of 'em. I think I'll choose the latter. So right now, I'm going to bundle up and take my new camera up to the river and take some more pics. Here's what I've taken of my yard so far! More to come!
Note: I've added some more pics to the slideshow. I had an awesome time walking up to the river and taking pictures of the beauty I saw along the way. Hope you enjoy them!
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Looking for good through the eyes of a camera
I recently was given a digital camera and have been having a blast taking pictures with it. The wonderful person who gave me the camera told me she had read my blog and we talked about it some. Then I thought about maybe it would be cool to use my new camera to look for good. And today I figured out that I can post pictures in my blog! I didn't know that! LOL! It takes me a while to figure things out sometimes.
I've attached with this post a slideshow of photos I took with my old film camera last summer. It was a handmade puppet parade. It was awesome and taking the pics that day peaked my interest in photography. I really think little things like this parade are the things that put life in your life. Without them, we just exist. And the great thing was that the parade was free!!! Even I can afford that. See there, something else good!
I've attached with this post a slideshow of photos I took with my old film camera last summer. It was a handmade puppet parade. It was awesome and taking the pics that day peaked my interest in photography. I really think little things like this parade are the things that put life in your life. Without them, we just exist. And the great thing was that the parade was free!!! Even I can afford that. See there, something else good!
Looking For the Good in the Holidays
I'm the first one to admit that I have, for many years now, been kind of a scrooge. The holiday season was just a nuisance to me. My schedule for my cleaning business became insane because everybody wanted their house cleaned right before Christmas. Traffic was insane. You couldn't even go to the store for anything because it was so crowded with Christmas shoppers. I hated having to deal with my family. I hated having to spend money I didn't have to buy presents for people I didn't see all year. It all was just overwhelming and I decided after my mother died that I wasn't going to participate in any of it any more. So every year when Christmas came around, I just tuned it out and waited for it to be over with and I was grouchy for the whole month of December. I said that January 2 was my favorite day of the year because then the holiday crap was over with for another year. I threw away all those holiday seasons because I couldn't make myself feel what you're "supposed" to feel.
But this year, I've started a new tradition. I decided that I was going to choose which parts of the holidays I do enjoy and participate in those and skip the others. I love the lights and the decorations. So I put up my tree and decorated it. And for the first time in decades, I actually felt a little creative and I ended up doing the tree in all blue and silver. It's beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I'm really enjoying it. I dressed my car up like a reindeer. It's gotten me a lot of laughs. I have given some intangible gifts to people that I hope will stay with them much longer than anything I could have wrapped up in a box. And I guess, in a way, this blog is my gift to whoever is out there reading it.
There is the saying that Jesus is the reason for the season, and I have thought about Jesus a lot this year, though probably not in the traditional sense. Keeping with my theme of looking for the good, I've thought about all the principles that Jesus taught that, if we'll just believe them and apply them in our lives, will bring lots and lots of good into our lives. He taught that what we ask for in prayer, which I interpret to mean what we focus our thoughts on, we will receive...if we believe we will receive it. In other words, we get what we expect to get.
So this year I have actually enjoyed the Christmas season because I haven't put any attention on the parts of it that are stressful for me. I haven't tried to force Christmas to be anything in particular. I haven't tried to force myself to feel anything in particular. I haven't let myself feel sad because of what I "don't" have. I haven't tried to re-create any feelings or re-live any experiences that I've had in the past. I've stayed in the now moment and I've only put my attention on the parts of Christmas that bring me joy and pleasure now. And as I've looked for good in the holidays, the most amazing thing has happened! I found it!!! Wow! I might be on to something here!!!
Happy Holidays to everyone! A little late I guess. Sorry!!! :D btw, that really is my Christmas tree! Blue balls and all! LOL!
But this year, I've started a new tradition. I decided that I was going to choose which parts of the holidays I do enjoy and participate in those and skip the others. I love the lights and the decorations. So I put up my tree and decorated it. And for the first time in decades, I actually felt a little creative and I ended up doing the tree in all blue and silver. It's beautiful, if I do say so myself, and I'm really enjoying it. I dressed my car up like a reindeer. It's gotten me a lot of laughs. I have given some intangible gifts to people that I hope will stay with them much longer than anything I could have wrapped up in a box. And I guess, in a way, this blog is my gift to whoever is out there reading it.
There is the saying that Jesus is the reason for the season, and I have thought about Jesus a lot this year, though probably not in the traditional sense. Keeping with my theme of looking for the good, I've thought about all the principles that Jesus taught that, if we'll just believe them and apply them in our lives, will bring lots and lots of good into our lives. He taught that what we ask for in prayer, which I interpret to mean what we focus our thoughts on, we will receive...if we believe we will receive it. In other words, we get what we expect to get.
So this year I have actually enjoyed the Christmas season because I haven't put any attention on the parts of it that are stressful for me. I haven't tried to force Christmas to be anything in particular. I haven't tried to force myself to feel anything in particular. I haven't let myself feel sad because of what I "don't" have. I haven't tried to re-create any feelings or re-live any experiences that I've had in the past. I've stayed in the now moment and I've only put my attention on the parts of Christmas that bring me joy and pleasure now. And as I've looked for good in the holidays, the most amazing thing has happened! I found it!!! Wow! I might be on to something here!!!
Happy Holidays to everyone! A little late I guess. Sorry!!! :D btw, that really is my Christmas tree! Blue balls and all! LOL!
Friday, September 10, 2010
A Story Someone Shared With Me
I haven't written in this blog for several months, partly because I had my internet service cut off because I was too addicted to it but also partly because, quite honestly, I haven't been looking for the good. I got lazy and didn't feel like doing the work of looking for something good. But I found some good anyway, even when I wasn't looking. When I was down and out, there were people there for me, mostly online people, who helped to find some good FOR me when I was too tired to look for it myself. The following story was just shared with me today by a new online friend and it was really meaningful to me so I decided to copy and paste it here....just in case I still have some readers.
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.The Moral:Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.The Moral:Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
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