"Regular or Stinging ?" Cycle For Survival

Kids seem to have the same "ugh" attitude about going to bed that we adults have about getting OUT of bed. My twins wait till the last possible minute to use the bathroom or brush their teeth (usually after the 4th time we ask, they actually do it). Jake commandeers the bathroom that has the toothbrushes and toothpaste for his nightly ritual. Abby tries to coax him out or at least "pass out her toothbrush and toothpaste". Last week, as Kurt and I listened to this ritual, Abby asked the usual "can you pass out my toothbrush" and after a pause, he did. Then with a great sigh and roll of her eyes "Can you pass me out the toothpaste?" After a pregnant pause Jake replies "regular or stinging?"

I knew exactly what he meant (we have a few different kinds and some are a little more minty). The concept of asking "regular or stinging" was hysterical to me. To think that his perception was so radically different than ours that he had a completely different "definition" and experience/reality than we did. He wasn't wrong, strong mint does sting but for some people that is a good thing.

Almost everything we experience in our lives takes on a unique definition/reality as it gets filtered through our perceptions, beliefs, prejudices, insecurities, past experiences, preferences and senses. In many ways, none of us can ever experience anything the same as someone else can.

We do get a "say" in all this though. I believe that working on our "selves", we can let go of a lot of judgement about others and even about ourselves. In almost any experience, person or thing we can learn to "find the good". We can choose the "it's gonna be great" reality.

Choosing to be an optimist is just that, a choice. We can also choose to be miserable. The question is...why would we ?

It takes a constant effort to deflect all the "not nice" that comes at us in our lives. Not unlike how hard we train to be able to tolerate more intense physical challenges, we can get our "emotional teflon" stronger but exercising our "it's gonna be great".

I will be teaching and riding with my team f0r Cycle For Survival again this year. Jen Goodman, who started this amazing charity, is a great example of someone who is" like Wonder Woman deflecting bullets with her magic bracelets" with her "it's gonna be great". She is on her 7th round of battling cancer and still she is doing great things and living an amazing life full of purpose and meaning. Her blog is: http://youfearless.com/page/fearless-blog

We can all benefit from "flexing our optimism muscles "and making them stronger. Do good, be good and believe that there is goodness all around you and in everyone (yes everyone). That is just as much a reality as believing otherwise. There will be "good" if we allow it, become it and open our arms to welcome it.

Please give to Cycle For Survival. My team is Liquid Strength and I am grateful to be able to do this good thing. I hope you will feel as blessed giving and joining hands with Jen to feed the "good" all around us.

Story von Holzhausen