Doing the right thing

I hope everyone is having a great start of the new year. I have been busy getting Abby ready for her audition for the Professional Performing Arts school. As much work as it has been, it has been a way to work together towards a common goal. At 10 (now 11 but just barely), she wanted to play many times when she had a voice lesson. Peeling her away from the play ground for a monologue rehearsal was not fun. Now that we are a day away, she is in the "I would do ANYTHING to get in to this school" mode.

Living enough years on this earth teaches us to keep those goals that seem SO far away as children a little closer to our hearts. We learn that we need to train, sacrifice and stay focused to get or become all we want to be. With our "eyes on the prize", we can keep ourselves pretty much on track.

A few things happened this month that makes me realize that as adults, we likely still have room for understanding (I know I do) better about staying power on that road to get to where we want to be. People learn from positive and negative feedback. We are not all that far away from our beloved canine counterparts in that way. Most times, instead of a person teaching us, it is "Life" that doles out our feedback. Direct or indirect results that have been effected by the choices we have made. The hard part about this process is that "Life as master" can take a long time to deliver the message of "good job". If we are not paying attention, we can miss it. We can miss the entire learning process in the minutia of our day to day.

As we get older, it is harder to stretch ourselves out of our comfort zone to grow in new ways. With a combination of ego and insecurity, we bristle at criticism and fail to hear the positive. This can happen in our relationships and in our work. If we can somehow find a way to be open and to "listen" with open hearts , we will hear the love that is often accompanied within what we perceive to be criticism.

Every person on this earth can get better. As friends, parents and workers we have room to grow. If we can embrace that journey and even get excited by it, our lives can and will move constantly towards a better place. Last month, the national director of Equinox came and took my spin class. After class she had some very insightful feedback. Both good and bad. I had a choice to make when I spoke to her. If I chose to listen with my ego and insecurity, I would have heard only the negative. Instead, I listened to her. Having a "fresh pair of eyes on the ground" is a valuable asset. Having taught for so many years, I need to be more in tune with people who are walking into my class for the first time. Every word she said was true. My classes are stronger now from the feedback and wisdom I gained from her. I could almost feel my younger self and older self processing this information and all the various choices I could have made. I am glad I made the right one.

As most of you know, I am divorced from the twin's birth father. Like any divorce, it was tough. I have been working towards a better relationship with my ex husband for years. During this middle school process, we had to work together. We did. In fact, we learned to actually enjoy the process. We both made the right choices and moved towards the greater good. To see our children's amazement at us enjoying each other's company was magical.

This month, I taught my daughter that we have to have "long" vision as we go through our lives. We have to consistently make the right choices and stick to them. Even if we don't see the results we want for a long time. While I was teaching her, I was learning too. I hope that as I grow ever older, I will always be open to that process. I wish for all of you that you will be too.

Story von Holzhausen