Friday, January 26, 2018

Be Excellent to Each Other

Has someone ever said something about you that changed the way you think about yourself? I actually saw this as a prompt for a thirty-day writing challenge, and thought it was an intriguing question.

All my life I've had most people I meet comment on my eyes. If they were adults, they'd talk about how big and pretty they are. However, I think they are a little unsettling for children. On more than one occasion, when I worked at the elementary school, the youngest children would ask me what was wrong with me, why my eyes were so large. Even my own children at one point commented about how large my eyes can get when I'm surprised.

via GIPHY

In any case, my eyes have been a defining feature for me, and for the longest time I defined myself by my physical appearance in general. I wasn't terribly nice to myself about my physical features, either. It didn't matter how others might see me, I wasn't ever "good enough." It wasn't due to my family. I have the best family, but school was never a supportive place for me. I always felt different and/or ignored and then after four years of bullying in high-school, I didn't have a very good self-esteem.

When I was in my twenties, I stayed with my paternal grandmother for a bit. I don't remember exactly why I was there by myself with her and my great aunt, but I think I was there to help care for them both while my Grandma was sick.  With parents who had immigrated from Italy, my grandmother and great aunt were one hundred percent Italian--small women with sharp noses and white cotton-ball hair they shaped into waves with pin-curls on special occasions. My grandmother always saw the best in everyone and always had a hint of  mischievousness in her eyes.

I was cleaning in what my grandmother called the front room (but which is the living room to any one else.) This particular day Grandma was resting in a chair in the front room and I was finishing up whatever it was I was cleaning. All of a sudden she began talking about her sister, Mary. Mary had died before I'd been born. She was one of the oldest siblings of the large Catholic family, and my grandmother was the youngest. Mary was one of my grandmother's favorite sisters because she always was laughing. Not in a bad way, but apparently Mary just had a light heart and found humor in life. And she was a hard worker.

And that's when my grandma said "You remind me of Mary. You always laugh, too. And you work hard."

And I was like:

via GIPHY

In just a few words my grandmother helped me to understand who I am. Internally I thought, "I do?" and then I thought, "I do!" I'd never really thought about it, but I love to laugh. I love to make people laugh. I love not taking myself too seriously. I love laughing with other people and sharing those moments of lightheartedness. And I liked being similar to Great-Aunt Mary. I was unique, but in a familiar way, family way.

And I was proud of this comparison. It didn't matter what I looked like. I was good enough! In fact, I was like someone's favorite sister. I was a hard worker. I was likable. It's like that line in The Help where Abileen says "You is kind. You is smart. You is important." I guess it's hard for me to explain, but the comparison enabled me to start moving away from having my identity rooted in what I looked like and move into who I am inside.

It's thinking about moments like this that always reinforce to me how important just one person and their words can be. What we say to each other truly can save or destroy people. Every single person is important and we all have the power to change our own worlds and the worlds of the people around us. I wish more people understood at this time in history how important what they say truly is.


via GIPHY

So, that's my story, but I want to know what your story is. Have you ever had something someone say to you change how you view yourself?

Have a wonderful week!


Sunday, January 07, 2018

That Which Makes You Happy

Would you say you're generally happy?


via GIPHY

Or do you feel that you have to wait for something to happen before you can be really happy. Some people do feel that way, right? They may be happy, but they won't be really happy until such and such happens.


via GIPHY

I remember being in high school and thinking I wouldn't be really happy until I met my soul mate. Very typical romanticism for the age, I suppose. I didn't meet the man who eventually became my husband until I was twenty-six, and even then we didn't get married until I was thirty-one. Between the years of sixteen and thirty-one, several circumstances clued me in to the fact I could be content with my life as it was. I didn't need to wait for something or someone to make me happy.

Reading the Sacrament of the Present Moment by Jean Pierre de Caussade helped me understand I have the power to be happy myself. While I can't honestly say I remember any specifics, I do remember being impressed overall about not wishing for the future, but rather appreciating the present. It probably was the beginning of my journey in regards to mindfulness.

Also, my sister died when I was twenty-nine (a year or so before I was married.) Although she was sick with Multiple Sclerosis, it was a huge shock when she died. It probably sounds trite, but her death at thirty-two made me realize my mortality. I still am very aware that no one of us is guaranteed another year, another day or even another breath. If we don't enjoy each moment we have, then we are potentially missing out on having the best last day of our lives.

When thinking about what makes me happy, I could just list "family" or "children" and that would be true. But there's so much more in each moment, so many specific things that make me happy, that I would remiss to make such a sloppy list of generalities. So, forgive me if the list is a little weird...

My non-exhaustive list of things that make me happy (in no particular order):

Warm, squishy hugs
Listening to Boy 2 laugh with delight
Being around trees
The way my hand fits inside my husband's
Holding my husband's hand when we go on trips
Boy 1's smile
Being outside in general
When nature looks like a Bob Ross painting
When I'm writing and am hit with inspiration
Listening to beautiful music (Right now I love David Nevue)
Listening to my children play music on the piano and cello
Listening to Tom Hiddleston read poetry (haven't done that in a while, but it does make me happy.)
Being helpful
Watching Troll Hunters, Doctor Who, Murdoch Mysteries, Murder She Wrote, Monk with my family
Going for walks with my family
Playing Tennis and riding my bicycle
The feel of the breeze on my face and pushing back my hair
When my dogs grunt with happiness when I rub their ears and/or tails
Picking out books from the library

I could go on, but I really need to go to bed. I kind of forgot I was blogging again until 8:30 on Sunday night, and so am writing this rather quickly!

What specifically makes you happy?


LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...