It's not that I don't like November. It's not that I am not grateful or that Thanksgiving is a wasted holiday in my mind or anything like that. In fact, it's my BIRTHDAY MONTH, so I'm actually a giant fan. It's that... how do I put this... I am kind of a contrarian. I know it's so silly and so childish, but I can't bring myself to do the days of gratitude on fb because... well, because everyone else is. There. I said it. I did my month of love back in February and it kind of served the same purpose. :) I know, I should be so embarrassed to admit it, but... here we are. I also won't read the books everyone is reading (still haven't read Purpose Driven Life, though I did cave months after the fact and read Hunger Games) while they are reading them, or listen to the music everyone else is listening to. Even if I desperately had wanted to run or consider running, there's no way I would have started when our church had a massive movement (no pun intended) toward running. I would have waited until the bandwagon had some other riders and was headed in another direction before I did it. (Although, at least in regard to running-- the ENTIRE WORLD COULD STOP RUNNING AND I WOULDN'T START.) (Should I get in shape in some way? YES. Will I? I just don't know. My lack of self-control is appalling when it comes to exercise.) (And grading.) Anyway, back to the point...
I'm sure I'll do a Thanksgiving post later. But I wanted to share something on here that I have decided to try to put into practice in my life and there MIGHT be some (non-contrarian) readers out there who want to do it as well. I have decided to do something nice for someone else every time I'm feeling... not nice. :) I have given it a test run and I'm here to tell you that it works.
I had a terrrrrrrrible morning about a month ago, so I went to Hardees before school. I decided to pay for the elderly man in the car behind me and it completely changed my approach to the day. Feeling really down about something? Send an encouraging text to another person. Is that "green-eyed monster sitting on your shoulder" (as Emma says)? Make it a point to compliment someone who you frequently feel inferior to or intimidated by. When you're angry at a situation or person, make it a point to speak gently and softly to the next person you see. Feeling inconvenienced and tired? Go out of your way to make things easier for someone else. The week before fall break, I was feeling everything slipping away a little every day... I knew if I didn't get a break soon, I was going to break. So, I sent little gifts to Emma and Kelsey's teachers, figuring they probably felt pretty similar to the way I was feeling.
It's not 30 days of gratitude... and it's not life-changing or Pulitzer-worthy... but imagine the impact on our little worlds if we practiced this. I'm not sure what to call it since it's not exactly paying it forward. It's almost repackaging any negativity we have and doling it out as positive. Whatever you call it, it's making a conscious decision to change our mood and circumstances by improving someone else's. And I think it's gonna work.
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