But Today I’ll Smile

October 11, 2012 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

I was stuck inside my house all day Saturday and Sunday because I had the worst migraine ever.

I was irritated that the pain was causing me to stay in my dark bedroom all weekend. Completely overwhelmed, I started to cry which only made the headache worse. I felt like it wasn’t fair because I work hard all week, and like anyone, I want to make the most of my weekends. I wasn’t hungry, I didn’t have the strength to work out, and I couldn’t even stand the mere sound of the TV. I just wanted to feel sorry for myself. I wanted my boyfriend to feel sorry for me and take care of me. I just wanted to feel better. I just wanted to keep crying.

I went to the doctor last night to figure out why I had such a bad headache, and she just told me I have “the same virus that everyone has right now. Take some Advil Cold & Sinus, buy some nasal spray, and it will go away soon.” Not feeling too satisfied, I did what the doctor told me to, and I left. I was still annoyed.

I woke up today still feeling somewhat off, but something had changed.

Maybe it’s because today is my friend Ashley’s 27th birthday, but she’s celebrating in Heaven instead of here on Earth with all her family and friends. Maybe that’s what made me realize how selfish I had been for being so consumed with my lack of a fun weekend. I quickly started feeling lucky that my worst problem was a stupid headache. Maybe it’s because I got a text from my sister saying she’d be home on December 18th for Christmas. Maybe it’s because I woke up warm and tangled up in our beautiful bed, the same bed I didn’t want to spend one more minute in over the weekend. That very same bed felt and looked different this morning. For the past few days, it felt like frustration. This morning, it felt reassuring. There’s comfort in knowing that I have a bed to wake up in and go to sleep in tonight. I felt honored to have an angel in Heaven to say Happy Birthday to. I felt excited that I could start the countdown to when I would see my sister. I felt fortunate that I have a job to go to that provides health insurance which allows me to go to the doctor to find out I have nothing more than some aggravating virus. I felt thankful that I really do have everything I want, and I felt sad for the people who don’t. I felt honestly and truly blessed.

So, yes I cried a lot this weekend, but today, I think I’ll just smile.

About the author: Holly is a 25 year old writer from New England who is on a journey to a happier and healthier life. She’s a firm believer in loving yourself, being kind to others, learning from mistakes, and letting go of what holds you back from being the best version of yourself. Aside from writing, she enjoys eating healthy, staying fit, traveling to fascinating places, fashion, helping animals, spending time with family and friends, and meeting people that inspire and encourage her. She loves to express her stories, ventures, and feelings through words and photographs. Writing about her life is a beautiful release, and she hopes to enthuse her readers along the way. Learn more about her at www.thecatzmeow.net, or Hollyamber28@gmail.com

Mission Trips: How Serving Others Can Change You

August 21, 2012 by Featured Author Leave a Comment

I have always loved my sister.

As the older half of our sister pair, I have always felt some responsibility for looking over her. Because of this veritable lifetime of keeping her within my line of sight, I was a bit worried – okay, more than worried – when she said she wanted to go on a mission trip to South America. Though I shared her religious convictions, I was worried that she would face dangers that I wasn’t ready for her to tackle. Unable to dissuade her, however, I insisted she get a mission trip insurance policy and allowed her to head off on the adventure she was eager to tackle. Upon her return, I found her changed in ways I could have never imagined. My trepidatious little sister was replaced with a mature woman with new-found self-confidence and understanding.

Maturity

My sister had always seemed to me to be a child, even as she turned 18 and I knew that legally she was an adult. Perhaps it was because I coddled her so severely and never allowed her to be the adult she could be. Whatever the reason, my sister’s mission trip provided just the opportunity she needed to break out of her shell of childishness. From the moment she stepped off the plane after her trip I could feel her new-found maturity. She had left a little girl and returned a woman. The difference was both palpable and amazing.

Worldliness

I have, myself, never ventured out of the borders of the United States, so I would never have referred to myself as worldly. My sister was much like me, ignorant of other cultures. In the days that followed my sister’s return from South America I found that she was no longer quite as naive. Instead, she was well-versed in the cultures and ideas of the places she had visited and could speak about them in an animated and informed fashion. I now find myself envying her ability to do this and eager to attend a mission trip myself to gain this life experience.

Selflessness

Though my sister was always giving, her mission trip increased her selflessness exponentially. Now she seems more in tune with the needs of others. I feel like she would give everything she has to help another, something that I am thrilled to see as I want her to be a giving, Christian person. I can say with certainty that it was her experiences while on her mission trip that made her more altruistic and made her even more devoted and dedicated to improving the lives of others.

The mission trip that I was so eager to prevent my sister from taking–when she first mentioned it to me–turned out to be a wonderful adventure. I now appreciate the changes I see in my sister and am thrilled that I didn’t allow my desire for her safety to prevent her experiencing this wonderful adventure–it changed her life and the lives of those to whom she was able to spread her message of God’s love.

About the author: Danielle, who blogs on behalf of Sears and other prestigious brands, enjoys entertaining and socializing as well as maintaining a healthy lifestyle. She has a weakness for new running socks and old family recipes.

You Brought a Dog Into the Restaurant?

August 9, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

After ordering my submarine sandwich, I placed myself at the corner table and, when given the luxury of some extra time, engaged in one of my favorite activities: people watching.

On the sidewalk outside the window in bustling downtown Seattle walked a non-descript gentleman. He appeared to be on break from one of the local offices and was walking a leashed Beagle when he paused outside the restaurant. Unfortunately, the only accurate description that comes to me is “average.” He was about 40, dark hair, six feet tall, normal build, dressed in black slacks, a blue button-down shirt, and sport coat.

Deciding he was as good as any other subject of my momentary observation skills, I watched as he approached another man I assume to be homeless. I could not hear the conversation through the glass. The dog patiently waited, his brown eyes glancing back and forth between the faces of the two men.

When the conversation ended, the man of the street pushed his stuffed shopping cart against the building and entered my restaurant with Mr. Average (and his dog), approaching the counter as a threesome.

Being the guardian of a mini-schnauzer and two orange cats, I have nothing against the more furry members of our families. However, I was raised in a different era, and I am under the impression health code regulations prevent pets from entering restaurants unless deemed as “service animals.” Based on this (correct or incorrect) assumption, I became judgmental. “How dare he bring an animal in to this restaurant!” my inner dialogue harrumphed. “Who does he think he is? Does he have no respect for the other patrons?”

Due to my perception of this seemingly inconsiderate action, I made up from whole cloth an unfavorable back-story about a man I had not even met. Moreover, I managed to extrapolate it to the general sorry state of the world. It went something like this:

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Finding Time to be Grateful

June 25, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

Finding time to be grateful.

We get so bogged down in the day-to-day grind that we forget to look upward and be grateful for what we have. Without doing that, life is dreary and painful.

Take some time to be grateful today – especially if it doesn’t feel like you have anything to be grateful for.

If you look hard enough, you’ll find something.

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Six Steps to Loving-Kindness

June 1, 2012 by Scott "Q" Marcus Leave a Comment

“Loving-kindness” (an endearingly awkward word, if you ask me) is a translation for the Pali word mettā, a Buddhist concept, though that English translation comes by way of a 16th-century Christian text whose author was originally trying to find an equivalent for the Greek Biblical term agape. In other words, loving-kindness transcends culture and religion and is a priceless attribute for any of us to cultivate.

Now how do we do that?

Well, get yourself into a seated meditation position, comfortable but alert, preferably somewhere quiet. It never hurts to gently concentrate on your posture and breathing, though that’s not really the main point here.

Below are the six steps traditionally recommended for loving-kindness meditation:

1. You must begin by extending loving-kindness to yourself. Sounds like the easy part, right? Well, in a way it is…but be honest. How often do you reflexively think harsh, counterproductive, even cruel thoughts about yourself? We all do it, no matter how proud or well-adjusted we may seem. Think about the worst moments of self-hatred you’ve had lately. Did you deserve that, really? Would you put up with an external voice talking to you like that? Would you be so judgmental of a friend?

2. Speaking of a friend, that’s our next stop. Think of someone you love dearly. It’s traditionally advised that this not be someone for whom you have any sexual or otherwise complicated feelings. Also don’t make this someone who’s passed on; though that can be a healthy exercise separately, we’re focusing our attention on the present, everyday world of existence. So envision your friend,

3. Next, a neutral person. Someone in your life tangentially, but toward whom you have no particular feelings for good or ill. Maybe the old guy down the block, or the clerk at the grocery store (as long as the line wasn’t too slow; that’d fit better for the next step). Project a positive feeling of love for them. Just feel it, for no particular reason. Why not?

4. Here’s where it gets hard. But this is perhaps the most rewarding step as well. Think about someone you can’t stand. Now try make yourself feel empathy for them. Envision them in a positive or sympathetic light. Imagine the best-case scenario, where they may be coming from. Then, even if you can’t excuse, just forgive. Remember Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.” The strange sense of peace you get is yours to keep, if you can, and more importantly, the world will be better for your gentle attitude.

5. All of the above. Hold all four in your mind at once: yourself, the good friend, the random neutral person, and your nemesis. Let yourself feel equal love and compassion for all members of this imagined gathering, this tiny band of stragglers on the tossing, turning raft of life.

6. Because of course, those four figures are just a few representatives of a vast, teeming world of hearts and minds. You’ve given your compassion a good work-out, now stretch it. Visualize it extending to everyone, everywhere, for all their pain and imperfection. Sure, a thought can’t save the world. But it’s a start.

That’s it. Hope you feel like making it a part of your routine. May loving-kindness reach you from others, and may you experience its great joy in your own life.

About the Author: This guest post was written by Amelia Wood, a blogger who specializes in articles on medical billing and coding schools. Feel free to reach her at amelia1612@gmail.com.

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