 |
| Source |
1. I didn't get the placement I wanted for a particular program I'm invested in.
2. My car decided to morph into a dinosaur. We all know what happened to them.
3. My enthusiasm for my new WiP has really dipped and I'm not sure I'm going to go back to it.
The thing is, even as I'm writing this I feel a little ridiculous. My dad used to say (and still does), "If you still have all your fingers and toes, and no one has died, then it is a good day." I think I'm realizing today how true that is. I am so blessed to be able to not only work towards accomplishing one dream, but two. I live in a country where I am free to do what I want to do. I have food. I have clean water. I have shelter. Today is a good day.
I think a lot of the time we get so focused on our own lives that we forget there's another world out there. A world that could have a lot more good in it if we would stop looking at ourselves and start looking at what we can do to make it a better place.
I don't want this to be a rant. I want it to be a reminder that even if your day isn't going so well, it doesn't mean that you have to drown yourself in chocolate, lay about on the couch, or even escape into a book so that you can avoid reality. Turn your emotions into something productive--something positive.
Write that chapter you've been meaning to finish. When it's published, it could save someone's life.
Go plant a flower garden, just because you can.
Donate to a fund you've been meaning to support.
Volunteer....ANYWHERE.
Say something kind to someone.
But most of all. Stop looking at yourself and start looking towards others. Today is a good day, let's not waste it.
8 comments:
I'm always threatening to send my 9 yo to a third world country so he can so how good he has it everytime he complains about something.
Great suggestions. This is my way of thinking too. There are better ways to spend our energy when things don't go the way we planned. It's okay to have a pity party (sometimes it's more than warranted), as long as it lasts only a brief moment.
Excellent reminder and some days we need it. I think it's especially easy for writers to get into these self-absorbed funks because the majority of our time is spent living in our heads and then the results of that (publication, sales, reviews, etc) are so much out of our control. You're right - looking beyond ourselves can pull us right out. Thanks for sharing.
Aw!!! <3 Love this post Bethany! What great advice! I totally agree.
GREAT post! Your dad had wise words for sure! Thanks for the reminder. :-)
I took my daughter to school today in a 1964 Studebaker. It is not restored... I park on the other side of the parking lot so fewer people see her get out of the car... When I used to take her in the farm pickup and it rained I would leave a shiny trail through the parking lot from all the spilled fuel and oil in the bed.
Just be thankful you don't have a farmer dad like me!
Such an awesome perspective! There are definitely days when I want to wallow in my own melodrama, but getting out into the world makes me realize how trivial my problems are.
LOVE this post! It's so easy to get wrapped up in our own worries and forget that we live as part of a bigger world. Thanks for the reminder today to look outside myself.
Good message :) I agree, we always need to see the silver lining...it's what keeps us going. :)
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Post a Comment