Daily Gratitude: Have you ever noticed this? One day, you’re looking at or thinking about something and have a certain point of view. Maybe it’s not a real favorable view because it’s new to you (and after all, you’re not a big fan of change). But, you’re stuck with it. So, the more you deal with it and see how it actually works (going deeper than that first blush), you quietly say “hm. That’s not so bad. I see why it was done this way”. Once you’ve done this deeper dive, you’ve been able to adjust how you feel about it. If you’re an analyzer like me (and I don’t recommend it- it can drive you nuts), you’ve developed a different relationship and your point of view has changed. I bet you know of a person (or at least a story of) who has been less than interested in another person upon first meeting. Then as you watch the days go by, you can see them becoming oh so much closer. What happened? They got to know each other so their points of view changed. Next time you’re griping or upset about something, tell yourself you’ll give it a chance, you’ll get to know it (or them) and after a set period of time, you’ll reassess how you feel. I bet you’ll even surprise yourself.

Daily Gratitude: What would happen inside of people’s heads (because they’d never admit it to others) if there was no like button (or any of the other ones either) AND there was no way for others to comment? What do you think they would post, if anything? Have you ever thought about it and wondered if anyone would read your posts and more importantly, you’d never know what they were thinking, would you? Do you really know now? You see what they write but is that what they are actually thinking? Is there a wisp of anxiety thinking about that? Wouldn’t it be nice to just see what others are doing or what they are going through? And if they were having a hard time, you could – gasp – pick up the phone or send an email or message or something a bit more personal. That would require a bit of effort and memory though to remember beyond the next scroll. Wouldn’t that mean more to the other person (or to you if it’s you who needed the support)? How much support is really given by hitting one of those reaction buttons? They’ve even taken away the personalization of the birthday greeting by already typing it out for you so all you have to do is hit “post”. That is pathetic in my opinion. It doesn’t mean anything. Think about these things next time you scroll here. I know this isn’t a popular thought but I think it’s something we should all reflect upon.

Daily Gratitude: Ah, change – my favorite subject- ha ha. We all know that nothing stays the same but we sure don’t embrace it while it’s happening. However, later we may not even remember what it was we were upset with. You know my favorite saying (and this really is my favorite) “everything always works out for me”. Well, that includes the things that seem painful at first. For instance, my being rejected at medical school-not once but twice. Boy was that painful. I thought my life was ending. But as time went by I realized how it was one of the best things that happened to me. There was a new path and it was the better path. So once again I proved to myself that the universe is smarter than me. When you write something like that, it seems like a big “duh” but when you’re in the middle of it, you can’t see it. That’s why when I learned to say my mantra, I was able to “let go” (another hard thing for most of us) and let then universe put all that goodness in front of me. I don’t have to understand it right away. I just have to have faith that the universe is always looking out for me. It wants to keep me from stepping in that hole I’m headed for. I just had to learn to listen and heed its advice.