Look Outside Of Yourself

It can be so easy to fall into the trap of getting lost in your own worries in your own story that you are living out, every single day. Lately I've felt a lot of worry on my shoulders, and when I get caught up in my own world, it can be a dangerous place where I lose my perspective too much. I don't like it. Honestly, is there anyone that does?

I feel like at the ripe old age of 31 (well alright, 32 next week!) I'm coming to a place where I recognize you can be grateful and you can still have obstacles that wear on you. It isn't an either or type of thing. Is this a revolutionary notion? Not exactly, but when you give yourself permission to feel all of your feelings, even the ones that conflict with each other? That is where big changes start to brew and real growth has the chance to come to fruition.

A few nights ago I could feel every single emotion of the past few weeks bubbling to the surface. It was around 6 p.m. and my to do list was still a million miles long while my house really did resemble the middle of a Jumanji game I was not winning. (Loved that meme, by the way.) There were other things weighing me down and I felt like it was all simply too much.

I stopped. I put on the John Mellencamp song, Save Some Time To Dream. I took some deep breaths. I stood in the middle of my life and I said thank you. I kneeled down to my daughter's level; my darling daughter full of mischief and wonder. I played with her. (She is pretending to be asleep in the photo above.) We went through baby clothes to send to a dear friend with Cystinosis who is expecting twins in the fall (!!!) I helped another friend with Cystiosis create a page on Facebook to further assist her search for a new kidney. She is in desperate need of a third transplant. The thing is, you always have something to offer someone else, even when you're feeling a complete mess yourself. And it isn't about doing things for others because it makes YOU feel better, it is so much more than that. Take some time to sit outside of your own mess and give where you can. You will be amazed at how a light inside of you will spark with the magic of doing something for someone else. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture either. Simple things to let someone else know, hey, I see you. You matter. You are enough. I have found that it often sheds a new perspective on my current obstacles, and when I come back to them all, I am reenergized and armed with a fresh approach.