Perspective

Hello everyone,

Today's word can be looked at in a variety of ways - different perspectives...get it? :-)

The picture above is of our first-ever tomato plant that we are growing in our elevated garden on our patio. From this perspective, the green tomatoes looks quite big, don't they? Actually, the largest one on the branch is about the size of a quarter here. Sadly, even though this picture was taken about a month ago, they aren't much bigger now. 

So...yesterday, I pruned the second branch - basically just cut it right off the plant so that any nourishment that was going to the second branch (which had no tomatoes on it at all, but was still sprouting pretty little tomato blooms) would now flow to the branch with the tomatoes. I'm hopeful that this will allow us to pluck at least one ripe tomato before the birds or other critters discover our treasure!

So from our perspective, we had to "let go" of one thing to try to nourish the other.  Has that ever happened in your life? Have you had to let go of something to protect something (or someONE) else? A job? A relationship? An attitude? Financial security? Have you been able to find clarity in your new perspective?

I told you in the last post that we were going to Shands to try to get answers on Guy's continuing jaw issues. In two days, we will return to Shands to get a surgery date and the details on what they will have to do to help improve his quality of life. All we know so far is that they will cut out his right lower jawbone and replace it with a titanium bar that will help support the new bone, which will be cut from the fibula in his leg. Depending on the day, our perspective changes on how we feel - hopeful one day because something is finally being done. Scared another day (pretty much every day, actually) because this is a huge deal. However, when we step back and consider our options, our perspective always ends up on "hopeful." It has to, doesn't it? We can wish it weren't so or be angry because it is so, but in the end, our perspective needs to be hopeful.

What's going on in your life that you wish weren't so - or find yourself being angry about because it is so? As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin' for ya??" It probably isn't. Often, when we find ourselves in one of those pits of wishing or anger, we need to change our perspective. 

As you may have heard me say in one of my programs - or maybe I've even mentioned it here - there are only 3 things that can possibly happen in a situation: 1) you can change the situation, 2) you can leave the situation, or 3) you can change your response to that situation. In so many instances, #3 is really our only viable option.

So, will you join me in trying to remember option #3 the next time your perspective gets out of kilter? I know it won't be easy - but it's sometimes all we've got!

Do drop me a note and let me know how it's going for you.

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com
Linda@LindasWorkshops.com

 

Change...

Ahh, change...it happens everyday, doesn't it? The picture in this post shows a piece of our "backyard" - which really means our tiny patio. We have enjoyed a bit of privacy over the past 7 1/2 years since we moved here courtesy of a rustic wooden fence, which I've thoroughly enjoyed - as have the squirrels and woodpeckers. Over the past few months, it has started to lean precariously and the top has apparently been dinner for any number of said squirrels and woodpeckers, as the boards are about 2" shorter than they were a year ago! It's time for a change - before Mother Nature changes it for us by blowing it down!

So I've been on a quest to replace the fence - which is easier said than done since we live in a community that has numerous restrictions about what you can and can't do to the outside of your home. And believe it or not, I'm fine with that policy. Our community is one of the best-kept in the entire area, due in no small part to the "rules" that are in place. But....it makes it a challenge to take care of this pesky fence issue. Long story short, it looks like we'll have to replace the fence with a "buffer" of plants that will grow fast enough and tall enough to provide some privacy. It will be wonderful - at some point in the future - but it will require finding a landscaper who wants this "small" job and me paying attention to whatever is planted so it doesn't die!

That's just one small change in our lives right now - we have several major ones coming in short order. Guy is closing his music store next week after 5 successful years. Things have changed in the retail environment in that time. There isn't much loyalty to the "local small business" anymore, which is terribly sad. People want to come and play his nice, high-quality guitars so they can go buy one online - ARGH. Or...they bring in the guitar they did buy online so he can put strings on it (hard to pay the retail rent with profit from a set of strings!). Anyway, it's time - he's anxious to get back out on the road, buying and selling, so he's a happy camper in that sense. But still...it will be a significant change having him around more - especially since I work from home and am used to having just Murphy and Grover (the kitties) to aggravate me :-) on a daily basis!

And of course, as some of you know, I'll be graduating from UF with my MBA in just 7 weeks and 2 days - hoooooooooooray!!! That, too, will be a drastic change - no more late night conferences with the team, trying to spur them on to getting our assignments done well - and on time. No more going to campus one weekend a month to sit in classes for 11+ hours on Saturday and another 9+ on Sunday. No more trying to carve out a few hours during the week to read the hundreds of pages of case studies and articles necessary to complete assignments. Wow! What will I do with all that extra time?? HA!

And then there's the new doggie, which we hope we'll find by the first part of May. And we're also hoping she'll have the temperament to become a therapy dog. It's something I've been pondering for awhile and I think it would be very worthwhile - but it will be another change in our "routine" for sure.

Changes will be coming in my work as well, I hope. I love, love, love the training I do, but that, too, is always up in the air with this economy. My clients have been very faithful to me, but they are constantly struggling with funding. My MBA is meant to help me find some classes I can teach online as a complement to my training. That will be fun - but a whole different way of "teaching" people than I'm used to. Change.

And we all experience the small changes in our lives without even realizing it sometimes. Maybe that's the whole point of this post...sometimes we need to take a step back and be grateful for the changes that have made things better - and be grateful, too, for the changes we would rather not have gone through but that are at least OVER :-)

Don't forget, too, to step back and appreciate all the good in your life that hasn't changed for you - whatever that might be...friends, family, hobbies, pets, home....

As the saying goes, "It is what it is, but it will BECOME what you make of it."

Make it GOOD!!!

Blessings,
Linda
www.LindasWorkshops.com