...to thy sweet self too cruel." ~Shakespeare
Isn't that the truth? Aren't we usually our own worst critic? I was in that slump around Valentine's Day. Poor Rob. I wasn't in much of a celebratory mood for lovey dovey stuff while I was feeling down. But while I was down, I thought of several great things that I want to share.
My attitude often trumps all. I can have a day where everything goes wrong in the day, but when I have a great attitude, I handle it with ease (maybe not with grace) and I feel happy.
My story is how I choose to tell it...and that, amazingly, affects my attitude. I reflected on this concept soon after I was introduced to this amazing woman, Stephanie Nielson, in the blogosphere (many of you probably already know who she is). She started her blog to write about her life with her family: the husband she adores and their 4 kids. She wrote about her life being like a fairy tale. It's awesome to read. I'm sure there were days where she didn't feel like writing a fairy tale...I'm sure there were days she just wanted to pout and complain. But she doesn't...or when she does, it's in that loving and strengthening way. Then about 1 1/2 years ago, her and her husband survived a horrible small airplane crash and she ended up with 80% of her body burned. It made me cry to go from reading this picture-perfect life to a difficult and painful life. But, as hard as her life is right now, she tries hard to continue to tell a positive story. It's not a fairy tale anymore. It's real life with aches and pains and dreams of being the woman she once was.
Reading her story makes me feel like the stories of my family can be uplifting, too. Then, when I go throughout the day, I find myself thinking about how I would blog "this story" in a positive way, and that helps me think more positively. Case in point: Compare the stories.
I just love watching how Colden is growing and maturing. Lately, he has taken on new responsibilities. Sometimes he unloads the dishwasher on his own. Some days he decides that he needs to take out the trash. One day, after I took a particularly long shower, I came out to see him feeding his younger brother and sister a snack. It was such a touching sight to see.
The other day, when I was feeling down, I was on my kids' cases all morning long. They were each asking something different of me. In a huff, I took off to my room, closed and locked the door to take a shower. And I took a very long shower. When I came out and finally unlocked the door, I saw Colden responsibly feeding Dylan and Evelynn a snack. It melted the huff out of my heart...and I eventually got out of my rut.
Same story, different telling. Both truthful, different angles.
Now, honestly, which story do you like best?
6 comments:
I actuallly like your ´negative´version better. Sorry. I really do. It is one thing to be positive, and another to sometimes be honest about how things went and see the positive in it afterwards. Your negative story wasn´t negative. It was how it went and how you felt. The positive thing about it was, that life continued, and it continued with beautiful moments mingled in with the not beautiful moments, and you could see that, too. That makes your second version real, honest, and positive in its own right.
Honestly, I like the second one. for the exact same reasons as Franziska.
Yeah, and I can usually attribute PMS to the 2nd story too no matter how much I don't want to admit that!
Angie--you are one smart woman! I'm always amazed by your insights. Today was one of those hard days for me and I didn't handle it very gracefully. Then at dinner my 6 yr old prayed, "please bless Mommy to be happy again..." Even when I don't think so, I am one blessed woman.
PMS is a wonderful excuse...and it's even better when it really is PMS.
Personally, I like to try to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. I feel it's too easy to be negative and cynical, and so important to find the good and emphasize that. The positive slant is encouraging and uplifting. We need to be honest, but we can choose to focus on the good.
Post a Comment