January 24, 2015

(day 25)

Well, I’ve missed four days.  Life happened – a late night class and a trip to NYC to visit my daughter and granddaughter -all good stuff and interruptions to my progress.  Interestingly, I didn’t stop working out… a well-ingrained habit unlike my daily writing that fell victim to the classic excuse of being “too tired”.

Nonetheless, I am not allowing my brief disruption cause me to throw in the towel.  In reset buttonfact, what I have noticed is that my desire to write and fulfill on my commitment has never left my mind.  So I believe I’m making progress.

These past few days with my granddaughter are such a great reminder to the pure joy of being alive.  She’s excited and amused by the simplest of actions – being chased, singing songs, dancing, throwing a ball (backwards!) or watching her stroller roll across the floor.   Her bright smile and sheer delight are magical!

I’ve also had a chance to experience the gift of listening.  Listening with an open heart and compassion.  So often all we want is to be heard, not fixed just appreciated for who we are and what we are going through.   What’s so interesting is that all it takes is to be present… just like I am with my granddaughter.  Why is it so much more difficult to be that for adults?

It occurs to me that we are much more generous with children, more forgiving of their quirks and annoying behaviors.   While children (as well as most pets) can act out and behave in what most of people perceive as unacceptable ways such as being angry, sullen, self-centered, impatient, demanding, just incorrigible  – our unconditional love and acceptance prevails.  Unfortunately this is not the case with our relationship with adults.  Our standards of acceptable behavior are more narrow and defined and provide sufficient reason to validate our decision to end relationships.   That said,  I’m not certain that we give full consideration the to the cost of these decisions.

Tomorrow I am going to explore the benefit of “being generous”.