Attitude: More Lessons From My Son

“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." ~~Antonio Smith~~

Do you remember when something as simple as getting to use an electric mixer was sure to be the start of an awesome day? How about when eating pancakes for breakfast was the Best. Thing. Ever. Or, when waiting a WHOLE WEEK until your birthday seemed like an eternity, and you couldn’t think of anything more important than who was coming to your party? Was life simpler then? I don’t think so. 5 year olds struggle enormously with peer pressure (yes, even at that age!), fears, uncertainty, and setting boundaries… That sounds a lot like what most adults suffer from too… so, what’s changed? Personally, I think it’s nothing more than attitude. Sure, the pressure is about more significant things, as are the fears and uncertainty, but you would think that since our power of deduction is also more significant, and our experiences are certainly much more vast, we would be able to handle the pressure as well as the little ones do…

I want to go back to getting excited about the “small stuff”. (And, I’d go as far as arguing that these things really are NOT the “small stuff”!) So, here’s my Attitude Adjustment for today: I will rejoice in what’s REALLY important in my life! I know my day will be awesome because I made pancakes with my son this morning, and we had fun! I’m celebrating the fact that there’s a smile on my face, and one on his too.

Motivation: Synchronicity

“Life just seems so full of connections. Most of the time we don't even pay attention to the depth of life; we only see flat surfaces.” ~~Author Unknown~~

Coincidence -

NOUN

1. chance happening: something that happens by chance in a surprising or remarkable way
2. happening without planning: the fact of happening by chance
3. having identical features: the fact or condition of happening at the same time or place or being identical

Or, as someone pointed out to me recently, co - prefix.

1. Together; joint; jointly; mutually

AND, Incident

NOUN

1. event: something that happens, especially a single event
2. violent occurrence: a public occurrence, especially a violent one
2. "an incident outside a nightclub"
3. event with potentially serious consequences:

ADJECTIVE

1. related to something: accompanying something or occurring as a consequence of it ( formal )
2. touching or striking: coming into contact with a surface

In other words – coincidence – an event with consequences that happens together with another event with consequences…

Synchronicity

NOUN

1. coincidence of events that seem related: the coincidence of events that seem related, but are not obviously caused one by the other.

OK. I may be over-thinking this, but since I’m committed to being over-committed, why not over-think?

There have so many incidents of coincidence, so many oddly related, yet totally unrelated events showing up for me over the last two weeks or so… I’m really beginning to pay attention to them more closely. It started with something coming up in various completely separate conversations with people who didn’t even know one another. I’ve even written about a few of them here. It’s grown to things that have been so bizarre that they’re intriguing… And, oddly motivating…

I am fascinated by the lessons I don’t even yet know I need to learn… I am driven to find out what’s out there for me. And, I’m committed to paying more attention.


Content above provided by
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

Attitude

“But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.” ~~Benjamin Disraeli~~

A little time off is good for the body and the soul, not to mention the attitude!** Sometimes “taking a break from all your worries” really does help a lot. (Credit: “Cheers “theme song). Sometimes, even just walking away from the computer for 20 minutes, or going to the gym really can help you change your attitude and ultimately get back on track.

Sometimes it feels like there is just so much to do and accomplishment feels so far away that it seems irresponsible to take time off. So, in case you need it, here’s your permission slip. If the time you’re taking off is to take care of yourself such that when you return you are rejuvenated and can accomplish even more, then I say, GO FOR IT! It will all still be here tomorrow, so enjoy the moment!

“Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can't buy more hours. Scientists can't invent new minutes. And you can't save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you've wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.” ~Denis Waitely

**A note of special thanks to my friends and family who made my recent mini-vacation possible!

Motivation

“I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.” ~~Frances Willard~~

Momentum: an interesting word. Dictionary.com defines it as “force or speed of movement; impetus, as of a physical object or course of events”. Linguistically, and I am NOT a linguist, so if you are, cut me some slack, please; I think “momentum” is moments building on moments. Days are made up of moments. Moments are truly momentous…

Here is an excerpt from “Moments in the Woods” from the musical Into the Woods:

"Just a moment,
One peculiar passing moment...
Must it all be either less or more,
Either plain or grand?
Is it always "or"?
Is it never "and"?
That's what woods are for:
For those moments in the woods...

Oh. if life were made of moments,
Even now and then a bad one-!
But if life were only moments,
Then you'd never know you had one.

Let the moment go...
Don't forget it for a moment, though.
Just remembering you've had and "and",
When you're back to "or",
Makes the "or" mean more
Than it did before.
Now I understand-

And it's time to leave the woods."

So, go make your moments!