Whatever You Are…

…Be a Good One.

My Mom sent me a check in the mail covering her half of the Disney trip we’re going on in June (with Matthew. But, yes, we’ve also gone by ourselves before too!). We’re really excited about this trip since we’ll get to pretend Matthew is “ours” for a whole week—and we’re staying in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which I think he’ll really dig. With the check my Mom sent, she included a page from a calendar….on one side was September, and on the other was this…

I have no idea how my Mom always sends me exactly the message I need at exactly the right moments (but maybe it makes sense–did I ever tell you about the time we had the exact same dream from different perspectives on the same night?). It’s not that I’m confused about what my purpose is in life—I have that down pretty well (lucky me, huh?!)—it’s just that sometimes I get too many things going on at once and I end up focusing on...nothing.

This calendar page was a great reminder for me. Instead of getting wrapped up in the logistics and details of putting all the parts of life together (and trying to make it pretty!), I just need to look at what my responsibilities are and do that well. Simple!

So, tonight, I’m keeping it simple with my double-level To Do List (Must-Do…and Do-Later-But-Soon).

What can you find in your life for which a shift in perspective might help you have better end results (whether it’s for work or mental health, or something else)?  Another example I can think of related to this has to do with a challenge one of my RIT friends is facing. She drives quite far to get to work everyday, and she’s been really wrapped up in dwelling on all the time she wastes in the car everyday.  She’s resentful, and by the time she gets home in the evening she’s feeling negative and tired. She’s annoyed that she doesn’t have time to work out, but just doesn’t have the energy. I suggested she go to the library and borrow books on cd (for pleasure listening)—if she can’t change the car ride, she can change the way she feels while she’s driving (and probably make the rest of her evening better if she feels happier when she gets home. I bet it would be a step toward increasing her capacity for fitting in working out too!).  She hesitated at first—she’d rather change the car ride (but she can’t). I think I have her convinced to try it though—we’ll see!  Will she just drive and feel blah, or will she turn the circumstance she can’t change into something that makes her feel (even a little) better?  I’ll keep you posted!

I decided to stay with my theme of being simple today (and not spending a lot of time on making food—I have that To-Do List, you know!). I was craving peanut butter and jelly…so I dumped some pecans and goji berries into a pretty red bowl and stirred them together (and ate them with a tiny spoon).  This was one of the best snacks I’ve had lately–totally unexpected!  I love when that happens.