I'll Bring the "Whine!"

Today is one of those days where no matter what I do, nothing seems to be working!! AARRGGhH!! My printer and I are clearly not on speaking terms, my art work that I was so excited to get listed on my website is trapped in some strange realm that won't allow it to size correctly and I am one frustrated bird! So, naturally, frustration for me leads me to wondering how I got here in the first place. Why am I sitting inside on a gorgeous afternoon trying to reconcile with my printer when all I really want to do is go sit outside and pout? Do you have days like this? Days where all of the suddden the things you have not yet accomlished suddenly seem to vastly out-weigh what you HAVE done? If you are familiar with these days, then pull up a chair and join me for my little pity party....I'll bring the "whine."

So, this cranky me is also wondering, in spite of all that I have not done, do we ever really give ourselves the opportunity to appreciate just how far we HAVE come? I know that we judge ourselves for what we don't have enough of, what we haven't accomplished, or the fact that we STILL haven't dropped those last five pounds. We find all sorts of things to silently scold ourselves for, and yet, somewhere in the middle of all that self-imposed negativity there simply MUST be something we can proud of ourselves for......right? So, how about if we allow ourselves to come up with a few things we can shine a big beautiful light on and celebrate today versus our usual focus on the shortcomings??? Maybe you could grab a sheet of paper and some big fat colored markers and write a little note to yourself applauding where you are right in this moment! Something a little like this.......

Dear Self.....I think you should be proud of the fact that although this blog, and this art thing are slow going, you are moving forward. Okay, so it is not happening in the blink of an eye, and you might feel as though you are spending a lot of time talking to yourself, but at least you are doing it!!! You committed to developing this whimsical and colorful inspirational place where you can share your thoughts, offer a little humor and insight .....and you are making it happen. One little post a day, one new drawing, one word a day, and slowly, very slowly, something is starting to take shape. For you Heather, that's no small feat since normally by now you would have thrown your hands in the air and moved on to a new project, right? So two months later you're still typing away, and that's a BIG deal! There is also the fact that though each drawing you finish has scared the be-jebusus out of you, you have completed almost 30 of them!!! Okay, so the printer is not cooperating and you can't get them out there like you would like to, but the good news is, they are done and soon they will be out there for all the world to see....provided you let people find them! So, yes Heather, it's a process and sometimes it's not all wine and roses, but as long as you keep going forward then you are a million steps further then where you were a few months ago, right? That is something to be proud of! Oh....and didn't you lose 4 pounds last month?? Not too shabby if I may say so myself!!!

We are on a constant process of evolution and self-awareness, but if we only ever allow ourselves to focus on the junky junk that is NOT happening, then when will ever find the time to embrace all the things we should recognize as GOOD....FABULOUS....REMARKABLE......and DONE? We owe ourselves a little pat on the back at least every once in a while don't we? I think so! I believe we should be smiling back at ourselves daily and knowing that yes, the road is long, yes, there are some "incompletes" hanging out there in the wind, but there are also all of those things we told ourselves we would do and heck yes, we have done them!!

So, today, or maybe the next time you're having one of those, "I'm-just-not-where-I-thought-I would-be days," you will remember to stop and recognize all the amazing things you HAVE done and you will permit yourself to be wildly proud of exactly where you are!!!

I wish you an afternoon filled with long lists of all the wonderful things you promised yourself you would do and the ability to recognize that you did them! Go forth and be proud of you!!!!

Heather