Starting Over, AGAIN. You know the feeling.
You roll out of bed after a restless night of tossing and turning, and stumble into your bathroom. As you stare at the person in the mirror, the only question you really have the courage to ask is, “Really? Again?”. The more frightening questions like, “Can I really make this happen this time?”, or “Do I need to find some help?” are usually questions that cause our eyes to dart away from our own gaze, let alone ask them aloud from ourselves, or heaven forbid from someone else.
But we start over, again, anyway.
This type of new beginning can be terrifying. It holds an incredible amount of potential, but those who have been down this road know that this potential has both a bright & a dark side. On the one hand, we have an opportunity to start fresh, and make something new, better and more amazing than we’ve ever known. On the other hand, we see the potential for this to be one more attempt to “start over”, but wonder if it will really be a temporary exercise in futility, only to find ourselves in a time loop that brings us right back to this same place in the near future. That kind of fear and uncertainty can be emotionally overwhelming at times. In the face of so much anxiety, stress or fear, let me offer this bit of encouragement.
Go share a slice of pizza with someone.
Here’s the deal. You can whine or bemoan you situation. You can wallow in it. You can give up. Or when you have a chance, and life seems to give you a chance to get up and take a breath, or eat a bite of pizza, then do it. While your at it, look for someone else who could use a slice as well and offer it to them, or give it to them when they ask.
Everyone you meet, whether friend, coworker or stranger is facing their own pile of worries, fears and challenges in their private world each day. Please people, understand that, and begin to let that affect how you treat them. Yes, you are struggling. Starting over, again, is hard. But so is their life. Maybe the day, or even your life would go a little better if you stopped to help someone else along the way.
Kindness is a Karma boomerang. The more you throw it, the more it comes back to you. Kind words are just as easy as mean words, so use them instead. Kind gestures are rare, so today, go be THAT guy or THAT girl. Here’s an experiment you need to try. Look in the mirror, and look into your own eyes for 60 seconds. Look hard enough so you can catch just a glimpse of your soul. Now today, go do five kind things for people who don’t really have any way to immediately repay you for your kindness. When the evening comes, repeat the mirror exercise. I think you’ll be surprised at what you see.
Compassion is a universal language, and everyone understands it. Your coworker who hates you understands it. Your kids who are angry with you will understand it (eventually). The stranger on the street corner will be surprised by it, but he will understand it, and he will be changed by it. You will be changed by it too.
Sometimes change is painful. It’s kinda like surgery. But not surgery on yourself. That’s stupid. Let’s talk about that tomorrow.