Happy Tuesday! I don’t know why, but I like Tuesdays. Mondays are the icebreakers of the week, but Tuesday you still have a whole week of possibilities ahead of you without having to transition from the weekend.
Day 9:
Something I'm Thankful For: The rare opportunities to see an old friend. Living in Los Angeles means that I’m very removed from the friends I grew up with in NY, and am extra removed from friends living in the Eastern Hemisphere. Occasionally, I’ve been lucky enough to have a friend sent to Los Angeles for work. Right now, my pen pal/dear friend of 16 years is in town. This is the 6th time I’ve ever been able to see him, but the first time I got to introduce him to my hubby and kids. It was truly a special day that I’d been waiting for a long time, and the fact that it was a sudden and quite unexpected trip made it even more special.
Challenge O' The Day: A friend on Facebook posted as a status yesterday an encouragement to “do things from the heart without expecting anything back”. I too am guilty of just expecting to be treated the way I would treat someone else. Over time I’ve felt less inclined to help others than I had when I was young, wide-eyed and bushy-tailed. I prefer my state of being akin to that cute lil’ bushy-tailed animal. You can be positive without being naïve. So, today the goal is to treat people as nicely as possible and try to go out of the way to do good deeds without expecting anything in return. I will try to find at least one act of kindness to do to someone, and will not expect anything back. In general my attitude lately has been “zero expectations”, because when I do set something up I usually end up being disappointed. So today I will try to give, and not plan to receive, and hope to keep that attitude going.
Lesson Learned: The great thing about this blog is finding out so many people are in the same boat as you. Figuring what I want out of life has helped me notice others who are in similar situations, and it’s always a helpful thing to realize you’re not alone.
Daily Insight: I’ve been dwelling a lot lately on every mistake I’ve made and regret I’ve had throughout my life. It’s hard to move forward that way thinking about what “could have been”, mostly in regards to career opportunities and lost friendships. I’m trying to combat it by being complete aware of my emotions (why I’m reacting a certain way and what’s the REAL root of the emotion), releasing my expectations, and moving forward.