I told myself a story that wasn’t true based on my interpretation of what I read and my own personal lens. I deceived myself by believing what I wanted to believe.
The dogs haven’t learned that they will never, ever win in their desire to rid our yard, or our village, of squirrels. In their quest to alter reality, these dogs take after their adopted mother: me.
Rather than expecting everyone to view reality as we do, I’m wondering if we can be open, curious even, to asking questions in a sincere, nonjudgmental way about why someone holds particular opinions or interpretations of reality.
Bringing home a puppy is inviting chaos and a lot of extra work into your home. It’s also saying, “I do” to more love and joy, and that’s what I want, regardless of my age.
It’s a cyclical turn: first you have a hard day, and then next I’ll have difficult one. And in between, we somehow find moments of joy. But what can we do when it’s our turn to have the difficult day?
The Honor Flight may have been intended to honor veterans, but I felt honored, too. When we witness others being honored and shown respect, it is contagious and uplifting.
I had to be OK with what was not OK. The reception didn’t meet my expectations, and I couldn’t fix it. But I could change my expectations about our reception.
As a parent, I wish I would have asked “Why is this important to you?” more often before issuing an edict or making a judgment. And if asking questions is important in parenting, imagine how asking questions could impact our other relationships, even our world.
This idea of making wishes, whether we’re six years old or adults, has more to do with wanting to control reality than any specific need we might have. Trying to control reality, however, is a losing game.
This same thought can be comforting if we consider that the passage of time gives us a much broader perspective about life events than we have when we’re in the midst of them.
I told her nothing of importance, but everything I said was important. It helped her know she was not alone, just like my mom helped me all those years before.
Being able to remember “all the other ages you’ve been” with the grace of those who may have witnessed us at our immature worst gives us a chance to reclaim those memories with compassion for our younger selves.
We understand that we live in a world where “beautiful and terrible things will happen.” Our real freedom lies in being able to choose our response, not our circumstances.