I love that I have such a good time with my friends that we’re the people that get stared at in public. That used to bother me but I’ve made more of an effort to just enjoy things and not let other peoples problems become mine. That’s not to say I’ve perfected this concept yet by any means.
Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them. -Benjamin Franklin
The trouble I’m finding with having made more of an effort to be a positive energy is that it seems to exacerbate the energy others give off. It’s great if the other person has a general tendency towards positivity . I also feel like it makes a lot of conversations that much more enjoyable, even if they’re about really boring topics (i.e. process models, or what the other person had for breakfast…) It also seems like being open and friendly can bring out very negative things in others. I feel like maybe there’s a resentment or a ‘misery loves company’ issue that comes into play that seems to make some people set their lasers to kill. I know I have to learn how to tease apart the difference between legitimate issues with me and personal issues that need to be resolved on the other side. All I can do is try to remember to be nice to people and let them deal with the rest themselves.
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I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.
I watched an interview with world traveler Wendy Booker. Wendy has run 26 marathons, climbed several mountains, and is currently training to take a dog sled team to the north pole (which she plans to follow up with a trip to the south pole). Oh yeah, she also has multiple sclerosis. Makes you feel like a complete slacker, right? It should.
This woman has in some ways been given the gift of a true appreciation for life that many of us will never really have until it’s too late. I listened to her talk about her bucket list and how at 18,000 feet up Mt. Everest she started to panic because she thought to herself, “I have MS and I’m 18,000 feet up the side of a mountain!” She ended up going home because she was scared, but it didn’t phase her. She was disappointed, but she regrouped and has plans to try again in a few years (she’s like 50 btw). All of this should have made me feel like a loser for letting my knee keep me from running any half-marathons but she was just such a positive energy that instead it made me put on my running gear as soon as the interview was over. Did I actually go for a run? Nope. (It’s cold today!) But my point is that if you can’t climb the obstacle in front of you, it’s probably just an excuse.
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