Celebrate

Celebrate good times come on! Do do do de do de dit... (hands clapping)

In all of my looking and digging and changing of my perspectives in life I've come across some hard truths about myself and the world that I live in. There have been some moments where I wanted to call myself a real asshole. There have been times when I've felt really guilty and times when I've felt real anger over things that I did in the past. I've changed my mind on a lot of those attitudes and I see so many things so much differently these days. That is cause for celebration.

I far too seldom stop and look back and then take stock of the present and say, 'Hey man. You've done a good job, you're doing a good job, and you're in a much better place right now.' Why not take time today and celebrate all that is right today rather than focusing on the negative.

I saw a kid the other day raking leaves in his yard. I was at a stop light so I had a few minutes to just kind of watch him and remember when I was a kid raking and doing yard work. He had maybe done about 10% of his yard and he stopped, sighed, and looked at the rest of the yard. Been there kid.
I know, there is so much more to do. I remember when I would finish raking as a kid my hands would hurt, my back would be sore from scooping all the leaves into a bag, and I would be really tired. But, then I'd look back at the yard and think, wow, I got a lot done and now our yard looks so much better. I'm sure he had the same feeling a few hours later whether he enjoyed raking those leaves or not.

That raking is sort of like the work I'm doing in my life. I can't say how much of my 'yard' I've gotten done, but I can take a minute to lean on my rake and look back at what I have done and celebrate that work and those accomplishments. There may have been a lot of acorns, sticks, and hidden dog poop in there to clean up, but it got done. Some work has been done. Now, I'm not looking to toss down my rake and call it a day, but I am willing to stop for a second, enjoy some sun on my face and celebrate where I am right now.

You don't have to accomplish 'big things' to celebrate your successes either. Did you get out of bed and put some pants on today? Good for you! Maybe yesterday that wasn't a possibility for you and now it is. Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe a shirt and some coffee...

It's like that in life though. You have to take the small steps before you're able to take the big ones. For me, one of these steps lately has been trust. Trusting not only myself to listen, love, and make the right choices for me, but the ability to trust others. There is a vulnerability in that. 'I trust you.' was not something I would say (and mean) very often in the past. Today, I seem to be able to not only say it and mean it, but crave it. I've gotten to a point where I've surrounded myself with people, thoughts, and mindsets that I can trust. How? By trusting in God, by not planning for the future but trusting in it, by listening to people in my life whom I know have my best interest at heart. It's great to look at someone and ask, 'What do you think?' and then fully trust that their response will be the best thing for you.

I made a choice to see my life differently, see my world differently, and to give up trying to control and force 'my will' onto it. In defenselessness my safety lies. All of this took a ton of trust, faith, and willingness to see things differently. Today, I'm willing to stop and celebrate that. I may just be leaning on my rake for a minute before getting back to work, but the sun feels great on my face and I'm confident that my yard is going to look amazing once I finish.

So dear reader, just stop for a second and celebrate yourself. It's ok to take a breather from time to time and find something to be grateful for.