So here goes it….the first start of February. I love starts….any start, they are all exciting. I’m ready to implement our love-fest February mentality, and bring joy to myself and everyone else around me. If you involuntarily felt a little nausea at that statement, don’t worry, it’s because it sounds candy sweet and I want to barf a little re-reading it. Really, I just mean it as a way to pull ourselves out of the drudge of the “grind” and to counter the daily pummeling we get if we turn on the news or any other social media outlet. I’m just trying to stay sane people. I just want to find the beauty in the day, in my kids, in the moments in-between.
So today is compliment a stranger day. Sounds easy enough right? Who doesn’t love a compliment? How many times have I THOUGHT something positive or nice about someone but didn’t say it? I was thinking about why that is. I realize that I have this inner dialogue that often stops me. It goes something like this…."if I say something they will think I have an agenda or I’m trying to sell something, they will think I’m hitting on them, that I’m weird, that it will be un-welcomed or creepy somehow". How is it possible that your brain calculates that many irrational fears in a millisecond….it does though, and the result (for me at least) is that I often don’t impart a compliment that I think in my head. So today is about throwing caution to the wind, and just sending your kindness out to strangers in the form of any good old fashioned compliment you might think.
I spent yesterday brainstorming my “joy directives” with a girlfriend while hiking, and it made me stop and think how much joy I get from having relationships that are open and honest and completely raw. My time is so precious now that I make a concerted effort to only hang out with people that I can truly be totally honest with, and really share with because otherwise, it’s a big old fat waste of time. I have never regretted taking the leap of faith it requires to trust that your particular brand of weird is in fact not totally weirder than the other person's. Or maybe I have just been around long enough to know that at the end of the day, we are all weird. But I digress, the point was that besides taking a moment to revel in the joy of just simple, honest human connection, my smart friend also told me about the Kid President videos that I vaguely recall hearing about...emphasis on vague. So in case you didn’t know about them either (and have been living under a rock like me), it’s pretty inspiring overall. A good reminder of priorities, joy spreading, and how good kids (and adults) can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0arq7UWRghU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5yCOSHeYn4
I feel ungrateful for not being more mindful of my fortunes, and bemoaning that I don’t take time to find “joy” enough….clearly, first world problems. Yet, I have to believe that talking about it has some purpose, and me trying to be purposeful in tiny ways will contribute at least a tiny grain of good sand (the chance of me being able to magically produce buckets of good sand in the immediate sense probably is limited). There is so much need in the world, so much that a person can do to help, it’s huge in its possibilities and responsibilities. Cripplingly so. It’s not that I don’t care, but I get sucked into the vortex and bubble of my world, and sometimes simply trying to keep milk in the fridge and clean underwear in the kids’ drawers seems ridiculously hard...then I add the weight of the world on top and I shut down. I don’t want that to be my excuse though (it's been used throughout time). Truthfully, I’m not sure what that means in a concrete sense in terms of what I am going to do bigger in scope, but I do know that I’m starting with the most simple things right now and pondering growth--keeping it at the forefront of my mind. I get overwhelmed easily and then do nothing, so at least this is some start, albeit a small one.
So, I look forward to spreading some compliments today….I’m going to rain some happy compliments on people and maybe even make their day (because I’m telling you, if some stranger walked up to me and said my skinned glowed and I looked fantastic I’m pretty sure I’d be floating on air for at least a week)!
In honor of always trying to tie my ramblings to something at least loosely clothing related, I will note that these new Amadi pieces make me HAPPY. First off, LOVE the two dresses in that amazing sienna color that
in person is so warm and delicious….it’s like a beautiful baked red rock. It makes me so excited for the warmth of the sun again. The company is fantastic too….LA designed and constructed--they are new to a showroom that I love that only takes on the best of the best in terms of people, companies, goodness, and design (they are also the home of Prairie Underground, which shouldn’t surprise you). We get more Adami on Thursday, stay tuned; it’s ALL adorable and happy-making.
Signed, ME {lv}
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