This, That and The Other....

I'm not going to lie....it's been a very trying time lately.  Life has a way of throwing you curves when you least expect it.  It's like that newspaper editorial that got turned into a Baz Lurhmann song:

Mary Schmich

June 1, 1997

Inside every adult lurks a graduation speaker dying to get out, some world-weary pundit eager to pontificate on life to young people who'd rather be Rollerblading. Most of us, alas, will never be invited to sow our words of wisdom among an audience of caps and gowns, but there's no reason we can't entertain ourselves by composing a Guide to Life for Graduates.

I encourage anyone over 26 to try this and thank you for indulging my attempt.Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.



 That highlighted part up there.  It's the totally unexpected thing that kind of creeps up on you or goes:  WHAM!  Uh, guess I wasn't quite paying attention like I should have been.

So, I have recently had some of that going on.  It's been damn rough.  Rough enough that I needed help figuring it all out so I went back to seeing a counselor again.  Sometimes you just can't figure everything out on your own.  Sometimes you need a totally unbiased opinion...ya know?

I've fallen in a trap of self-inflicted mediocrity.  Or as my therapist likes to call it:  "Ground Hog Day Syndrome."  You wake up every day and do what you did yesterday.  There might be slight variations depending on your basic schedule but really it's just the same old, same old.  Some may call it a RUT.

I call it OVER!  I need to learn where my BLISS is again.  Or, what my new BLISS is.  Is it jewelry, social media, drinking heavily? (Just kidding ;o)  What makes me happy and when did I lose that happiness?  How do I get it back?  Why does my mind feel young but my body feel so old? (That's another entry.)

So my goals for myself are:  (and oooooooh, I just thought of another one!)  Putting myself out there and meeting new people.  Underneath all of my goofy extrovertedness is really a kind of introvert lurking shyly in a corner.  I need to show myself that I can risk being hurt in friendships again.  I have really been hurt in this area of my life and tend to keep really good friends from long ago...but those people are spread far and wide and I only have a couple here in AZ.  So I am doing some scary stuff lately. 

I signed up for Meetup.com and have joined a few groups.  Ha, now I just need to attend a gathering....baby steps!  I've friended a few people on facebook who look interesting to me.  I've even friend requested some people who kind of intimidated me just to see if they'd accept!  (They did!)  Oh, I UNFRENDED a few too!  Empowering!  If there are "Negative Nellies" then I choose not to hang around them. 

I'm taking my daughter to a friend's house who's Mom I talk to at school tomorrow.  Who knows?  Maybe the Mom's will bond like the kids have!  The point is:  I'm trying to make friends because connections matter.

I am going to get serious about some of my hobbies.  I am going to make jewelry again.  It is relaxing for me and I might just make a few bucks!  I have thought about helping out some business owners with their social media....some people are born to have a restaurant and don't have the time or patience to put out funny and or exciting fb posts!  But I live on fb and that might be fun! (May work for food!)

I've put my mind to actually sitting down and writing the Children's Books from the stories which I told McKenna long ago!  Or, maybe I'll write some other stuff.  Who knows?  Creativity is boundless!  I may just start writing and see what I end up with (besides my blogs!)

I am continuing my quest to change my eating.  I've been soda free for 2.5 years, gluten free for 17 months and red meat free for 2.5 months.  The soda was by choice, the gluten was by disease and the meat was by both choice and disease!  (Did you know it takes a normal body 4.5 DAYS to get red meat all the way through your plumbing?  And I am not "normal" so it took me way longer.)  EWWWWW........I know!

What's next?  Well, I have found out I am allergic to beats (I itch, etc.)   I have a sensitivity to brocolli and spinach.  It wasn't until after going gluten free that I could figure these things out.  Before I was so messed up I probably couldn't distinguish it all.  I hope that's where my in tolerances end, but I know it's not where my eating changes end.  Now I'm on a health mission!  Anti-inflammatory items will be added.  I'm going to address the acids vs. alkaline idea.  There really is no end in sight to my changes!

So this all started out of left field.  That thing that just hits you............but I guess I'm glad for it.  It made me wake up and LIVE again. The rest of that speech I have taken to heart as well.  Have you?  Really, think about it.  Are you in a rut too?