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Things change fast.
Our lives can take a dramatic turn in literally seconds.

A friend was messaging me today telling me of an accident he'd been in while driving his truck.  He struck a woman who was walking in the dark, and feared he'd killed her. Fortunately, she escaped unharmed, but my friend is still shaken.  It all happened in the blink of an eye.

On a much less dramatic note, I experienced a strange occurrence on Facebook the other day, which resulted in my being reminded of the lesson that we can not allow circumstances to determine our mood, attitude, worth, or even reality.

I am in the first exciting weeks of launching a new business that I adore.  As part of my promotional campaign, I am working to build a community and fan-base on my business Facebook page.  Slowly but surely this is happening, with some truly lovely and endearing interaction with those who have clicked the coveted 'like' button.

Though I know that the quantity of 'likes' doesn't substitute for quality, I admit it is heartening to see the numbers climb.  So when I refreshed my page the other day and saw in a flash that those numbers had dropped by about 10% in a single second, I was momentarily devastated.  My mind raced. 'Oh no!  What did I do wrong?  What did I post that offended so many people? What sort of damage control do I need to do? And how shall I go about it?'
Even as these noisome worries crowded my head, a quieter thought calmly suggested, 'Why don't you hit refresh again...'  
Huh?

So I did...

And not only did the numbers jump back up to where they were, but I actually gained a new somebody.  The drop had just been some strange, inexplicable tech glitch.

I sat for a moment.... amazed at all of the unnecessary concerns and plans that had been swirling in my thought just seconds before.

Certainly this inconsequential little occurrence pales in impact compared to the kind of accident my friend was embroiled in.  But its simple message encouraged me to apply the same attitude to bigger, scarier situations. I can never be reminded too often that it's not what happens to me that determines the quality of my life. It's how I perceive it.

Good Salad Gone Bad

I hate to waste food.
I find it physically painful to do so.
So I make a concerted effort to gobble up the stuff in the fridge that is making its way to the spoil zone.... even if it I am not really in the mood for it.

I am always very satisfied at having done so, knowing that I had a good meal and kept food from going bad and being discarded needlessly.
During the holidays we tend to be offered all sorts of comestible treats, which can lead to neglect of the perishables we've purchased that are waiting patiently in the ice box.

Today I pulled a regular favorite Trader Joe's salad from the fridge, and thought it looked a bit tired. But true to my creed, I tucked in, undaunted by the first signs of pekidness.
This act turned out to be utter folly.
A certain sector was slimy and gross.
But there I sat, grimacing with each bite.

Finally it dawned on me.... why?
Why was I doing this to myself?
It made no difference to the salad ingredients
or to the staff at Trader Joe's.
So why would I put myself through that?

Emboldened and full of love and respect for myself, I snapped closed the salad container and summarily tossed it in the dust bin.  And then I took it a further step by drowning out the all-too-vivid memory of slimy veggies with a goodly dose of freshly homemade chocolate truffle cookie dough... using Trader Joe's cocoa truffles no less.

I found the entire experience to be a sweet little lesson on valuing ourselves and realizing that we deserve nothing but the best, and should settle for nothing less.  I look forward to being more alert to this mentality each day, and to viewing others as deserving of only the best, as well.

wishing you a delicious week,
Joy