Allow yourself to be a beginner. No one starts off being excellent.

 

The last few days I've gotten sidetracked, with (well) LIFE.  Ever felt like a ping pong ball bouncing all over the place?  That is how the past week has been, for me.  I’m not complaining.  It’s just that time of year when everyone comes out of winter hibernation and there are more activities and events going on.   And so it begins, my busy time of year, and it's only just begun.

This blog has taken a back seat to the additional happenings going on, in my world.  Naturally I was concerned that I had begun a project that I wouldn’t be able to maintain.  Boy how I wish I could be one of those people who finds time to do it all.  There are so many bloggers out there, why can’t I be as disciplined as them and make time?

Today, I saw a saying and suddenly decided to write.  “Allow yourself to be a beginner.  No one starts off being excellent.”  Any guilt or doubt I had about not being able to post recently, seemed to subside and all my ideas came back into view.

I’m so hard on myself sometimes, a character flaw, I suppose.   I need to step back and realize, I’m a beginner at this.   I started this blog a week ago, to challenge myself and see if I still knew how to write.  I want to learn the ins and outs of blogging and how to incorporate my blog, into social media.  It is strictly a personal challenge, nothing else.   Who knows where it will take me?  

If this is my best right now, it’s ok.  If life happens again and it will, I won’t get down on myself and give up.  I will wait until I have a moment to write my next kick ass post.  It will just have to be good enough; I’m a beginner after all.  I’ve got plenty of time to be excellent and believe me, I will be, just give it time.

"The things you take for granted someone else is praying for." - Unknown

If I came across a blog on positivity, I would assume the blogger is someone who smiles constantly, never has a bad day or is one of those flawless people who, always looks at the glass, as half full.  However that is not the case here.  I am not an optimist by nature.  Nor am I a pessimist.  I think some days, I’m one and other days, I am the latter.   I think of myself as a realist, or maybe that is just a lazy way to excuse my attitude?  Why can’t I be someone who looks at everything in a positive light?  I have so much to be grateful for.

Day to day we all take for granted the blessings we have in our lives, because we are indeed human, and we are flawed.   I can tell you that I get so sick of people using the line, “I just wasn’t happy.”  You’ve heard someone say this.   Was there a meeting I missed where they handed out promises for happiness?  

People throw around the word happy so flippantly, that I’m not sure most of us know the true meaning.  Webster defines happy as, enjoying or characterized by well-being and contentment.  No wonder we can’t find happiness.  Who among us doesn’t want more; more money, more things, and more time? We WANT MORE of everything.  How can we be in a place of contentment, when society is always telling us we should want more?

Take some time today and think of the things you have in your life.  I promised, if you make an effort to do this, you will find the happiness that was already inside you.  Filter out the negative and really appreciate what you have.  I challenge anyone reading this to jot down 10 things that you are grateful for.  It will be hard to say,” I’m not happy,” when you look at all the amazing blessing we all have.

Next time you are having a glass half empty kind of day, remember this saying, “The things you take for granted someone else is praying for.”

"The expert in anything was once a beginner." - Unknown

 

It’s the time of year, when kids are excited to get outside, run around, get grass stained knees and play baseball.   Tonight we had our first practice, of the season.  My husband and I are doing it yet again, COACHING our daughter’s minor league baseball team.  Only one practice under our belts, and I find myself asking the same question I did last year, what have we gotten ourselves into?  

We have taken on the role of COACH, teaching the fundamentals of baseball.  If only it was that simple.  I can’t count the hats we will wear this season.   We have taken on, the job of parent, of each kid, tying shoes and wiping noses.  We act as a disciplinarian when the kids are sword fighting, with the bats.  We smile in the part of listener, when each kid has a story that never ends, and they must tell you at that very moment.  We act goofy just to keep their attention and do our best to be a comedian.    We are their nurse, placing band aids on boo-boos.   We wear a black and white referee hat when a kid wrestles with his own teammate, for the ball.  Oh, the hats coaches wear.

It is my opinion that coaching and dealing with other people’s children might be one of the most challenging and rewarding things a parent can do.   I suppose that is why we do it.  Coaching little kids sometimes feels like herding cats.  The reward comes when you see that kid hit the ball for the first time and run to first base with a huge smile across their face.  It’s the moments of innocence when a kid doesn’t know how to put on their glove or how to stand in the batter’s box. 

Coaches mold kids into who they will be, in the future.  This season, when I wonder what we have gotten ourselves into, I will remind myself of a saying I read.  “The expert in anything was once a beginner. “  So I’ll continue to have my patience pushed to its limits and be the most positive influence I know how to be.  I hope to have an outstanding baseball season as mom, disciplinarian, listener, comedian, nurse, referee and COACH.  A job with that many hats must be important.  

How far that little candle throws his beam! So shines a good deed in a weary world. – Shakespeare

In the past week, the world has not been able to escape the media whirlwind that has surrounded the recent Boston Marathon tragedy.   Those negative images of the explosion, smoke and blood over and over.  My heart goes out to all those individuals that have been affected.  Thank god, these horrible acts on humanity are over. 

I will be spending some time thinking about the people that made this incident, a little better for others.  Take time to look past the devastation and seek out the encouraging stories that surround it.   Try not to wonder WHY these acts were carried out.  Is there really an answer that is acceptable? No. 

The great William Shakespeare was quoted saying, “How far that little candle throws his beam!  So shines a good deed in a weary world.”  There are numerous examples of people who, on that dark day, shed light on humanity, and made it a little less weary. 

Focus on the good.  Focus on the men seen carrying individuals away from the explosion, the first responders, medics, EMTs, the man who passed out orange juice, the people who offered their homes to strangers, runners who crossed the finish line and kept on running directly to give blood, the communities around the country organizing fundraisers, and the countless civilians who did whatever they had to do to get through, one of the darkest days, in Boston’s history.

Remember these heroes and know that because of them, Boston will positively be a stronger community.    Let’s continue to shed light and make the world a little less dark. 

"I can't change the world but I can change the world in me." - Bono

The world we live in is an amazingly positive place or is it?  Recently I have caught myself saying, “What is the world coming to?”   Just turn on the news, we are bombarded with images and stories of all the problems of the world.  It seems like the world might be coming to an end; from major natural disasters to unstable individuals with guns and bombs.  The worst of the worst, and I am left wondering why? 

I’m sure this is nothing new and humans have asked themselves this question since time began.   The difference today is the 24 hour news cycle that seems to promote all things horrible.  With the abundance of news channels , the internet, social media and smartphones bringing information to us instantly, we know every negative story going on the second it’s happening, no matter if it’s down the street or around the globe.    No wonder people go out and commit heinous acts.  Our society seems to value infamy over positivity and I’m not sure I accept this.  Enough is enough.   Aren’t there any positive things happening in our world or should I just look someplace else?

As Bono said, “I can't change the world but I can change the world in me."  And that is what I aspire to do.  I hope to find all the positivity in MY LIFE and my community, no matter how small.   I will find the good again in the world and I want to INSPRIRE THE POSITIVE in people.  Good stories are out there and they are happening every minute of every day in every part of the world.  I recognize that for every negative story, there are numerous positive ones that go unnoticed and that will restore my hope in the human race and make me believe that our world is an amazing place.