Under My Skin - Addressing Hurt Feelings

I got my feelings hurt this morning.

I feel misunderstood, and judged.

I was offended.

I reacted.  Not responded.

Via text message, a friend of mine informed me that a mutual acquaintance thought my profile picture As seen here) was desperate and inappropriate.  I thought it was fun, playful, beautiful, and sexy. Perhaps I am showing too much leg for that person's taste?  Perhaps its the way I am leaning forward with my arm back?

I went through this 2 years ago when I posted pictures from my first trip to Hawaii ... "some people" were all a flutter because I shared pictures of me in a bikini!  For crying out loud people!  I was once a fat and frumpy person.  I am not now!  I am now feeling beautiful and sexy and happy.  I am not chasing any one's man.  I have one of my own that I am quite content with, thank you very much.

Are other women so insecure with them selves that I have to curb my own self image?  One that I have battled with for most of my 43 years!  What would my mystery critic have done, if I had entered the Pin-Up-Girl contest at the local spring car show?

My first instinct was to crawl into a hole, and stop sharing who I am.  To stop sharing my journey if it is going to be offensive to "some one".  BUT!!  I am not going to do that.  I am proud of who I am now.  I am proud of my body and how I look.  While I still have much more to continue, I am currently very pleased with the lifestyle changes that I have made in order to be a healthier more fit me.  I was fat and frumpy for so so so many years of my adult life, and to now be happy with the way I look is totally new for me.  THIS experience is part of my journey of healing!  It is just a fact of life that when we put ourselves out there, we are at times going to be shot at like ducks in the arcade shooting gallery.

It's the Small Things That Count Sometimes

As you know, I have been doing the daily challenges emailed to me from https://challenge.meyouhealth.com

Today's challenge was to list 3 things from childhood or teen years that made me happy.  The web site's rational is "Being an adult has its fun moments, but it can be full of responsibility and stress, too. By reliving the small events that made you truly happy, it can help you remember and appreciate the simple joys that life can offer. From here, you can keep an eye out for other small things or plan activities that can bring fun and cheer to your days."  Which I agree with, and encourage you to also take a look at your youth through your new grown up eyes.

That seemed like a perfect opportunity to do a little writing this morning!!

Not all of us had totally blissful childhoods.  Some of us may have to think long and hard, and search our memories for the small  pieces of happiness that we have experienced.  I believe that looking for those nuggets from our pasts can help us in our life long healing process, much the way a prospector pans the river for that one gold nugget that will bring him his riches.

My childhood was decent.  No major calamities.  No major victories. Even keel pleasant. Solid.

I was a happy baby, and had lots of family around as a little one.  Some of my most fond memories are centered around various family activities; camping, BBQs, visiting out of state.

I have many happy memories of outdoor activities.  Camping, hiking, fishing, river rafting, chopping fire wood, working, some with friends, some with family.

I got to play a role in our elementary school Cinderella play in the 6th grade.

I learned so much about business and money with my dad.

I learned to love literature and books.

What pleasant things are in your memories past?  Don't discount them, no matter how small they are, they help you

Live Well!
Love
Suzi~Q

What's in Your Attitude?

We have all heard these statements before:

Attitude is everything.

Attitude makes all the difference.

It’s not the situation, it’s how you react to it.

There are many, many, different ways of saying it, but it all boils down to the same principal, again, and again … Attitude is everything!  We attract from the people in our lives, from the people we come in contact with, from God, and from the Universe, the same energy that we store in our bodies.  having a positive attitude, and positive energy, even in the face of less than happy experiences helps to attract to us the support that we need to move our lives forward, and grow, and mature!

We have all met someone that was doing a job that by all common understanding, was an unpleasant job, but the person doing it had a smile on their face, and made the task go quickly.  I met such a person the summer of 2010.  His name is Chris.  He is the deck hand on a fishing charter off the south west coast of Washington.  He has been doing this job seven days a week May through September for 13 years.  He loves his job, and that is evident!  Because of his attitude, my first-ever-2-day ocean fishing trip was EXCELLENT!  Even though I was sea sick all the first day! Having my own positive attitude was also of great benefit to the excursion.  Green around the gills, and “throwing chum” over the side of the boat all that first day on the water was not a lot of fun for me, or my family! But, I just laughed, and said I was helping out the fish catching on my side of the boat by chumming the water! I kept a smile on my face, and made it through the day, and even made some people smile by cracking jokes about my own condition!  And at the end of the trip, even the captain of the boat was patting me on the back for being such a good sport, and one of the best "sea-sick" passengers he's ever carried!

Even when I was almost in panic mode as I was trying desperately to get from my home town 65 miles north of the airport, to my daughter's new home town 835 miles away ... I was distraught, I was crying, I was distracted, but I still carried the Comforting Spirit of God with me.  I knew in my deep grief, that in the end, all would be well.  This really played out nicely for me.  It helped me to dig deeper into my core, and I was able to write from my heart, in my journal as well as here.  It even brought human connection into my day!  The woman sitting next to me waiting for my out bound flight reached out to me, and held me in my grief, and cried with me, and prayed with me.  The staff at the hospital were so genuine and open and caring.  On my way home, the flight attendant reached out to me, and I was able to share with her, and even pointed her to this blog (which I hope she really did come and read!).

Some people just seem to be set on being discontent.  Some people just seem to feel the need to fight for everything.  Perhaps it is because they have had to fight for everything, and they don't realize they don't really need to fight any more.  Perhaps they are so used to getting their way, that they have a difficult time "rolling" with whatever it is that God and the Universe bring to their day.

I have been that person at different points in my life, and can attest to having most of those attitudes mentioned above at different points and to differing degrees.

Within the last half a dozen years, I have been slowly learning to stop trying to impress my intentions, my preferences, my ideas, my values, on to the world around me.  This topic can be huge for me, and these are just my thoughts on it this morning.  There is much more in my heart on this subject.

For today ... 

I want to encourage you today, to challenge you ... 

Try,

just for this morning, or this afternoon ... the next 4-6 hour block of time that you are entering ... Focus your mind and energy on what is positive and good in your life.  Focus your thoughts and energy on what you would like to create and have in your life.

Push out thoughts of what is not as you would desire.

Push out thoughts of what you do not have.

Just take it in; see what God and the Universe has for you today.

Say yes to it, especially if it is outside of your normal comfort zone.  See what happens.  Be open to the energy that is sent to you!  Receive it!  Embrace it!  Practice synergy with it!

Then get out there in your world and 

Live Well!!

Love Suzi~Q