I like to be thorough when I do something. Do a job as I’m told, and do it well. That’s not an unusual characteristic of someone. So…watch the video and see if you can do a good job at the assigned task:
Did you get the right number?
But did it prevent you from seeing what else was there?
When I saw this video this morning, it reminded me a little about my week. I had a major deadline on Wednesday–tons of work involving putting in numerous hours doing research and compiling the project, with the writing of it requiring careful excellence. I had to lead a significant meeting on Monday evening. The delivery of some meals that I was supposed to drop off at 2 new moms’ houses that I had prepared on the weekend turned out to be more of a hassle than it needed to be–in trying to be efficient, I ended up tripling the work to get the job done–so much for my brilliance in trying to think ahead. I had an event Wednesday evening that kept me hopping after a lecture Wednesday afternoon…I’d been up late the night before preparing the powerpoint. And I’d had a personal disappointment this week when something I’d hoped would go well, didn’t. So…I was stressed, pressured, and somewhat discouraged.
And then I noticed the weather was cold. My cough wasn’t getting any better either. And we were running low on milk…and a sick family member drank straight from the jug–when he KNOWS BETTER!! You can see where I’m going with this. I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. I started counting the ball tosses of a certain color in my life, and was getting to be really really good at finding lots of the same when I was focused on looking for them. By Thursday, I was feeling kinda sorry for myself and the unfortunate week I was having.
The deadlines passed, the sun was shining during the day and I went for a beautiful walk on Thursday evening.
After I saw the video, I decided to look for “the moon walking gorillas” in my life that I may have missed this week…and when I played back the events of the week, I was able to find them. The kitchen was cleaned impeccably on Tueday evening in response to a hastily jotted note I’d left on the door–WOW! It was done–and the water was boiled and the tea cup prepared for my arrival home, waiting on the counter. I’d shared some laughs with people at work, and we’d enjoyed some moments of humor. There were details of the project that came together smoother than expected, and Melanie, our office manager had put the finishing details on the project in a way that had us feeling great about our work. I found sprouts in my garden! When I took my focus off one particular way of looking at the week, and changed my perspective to include what I’d previously shut out with my negativity filter, there was a whole lot more to celebrate and enjoy than I’d realized. I’d gone through the week with a tone of discouragement, when there was more balance there than I could see at the time.
Next week, I plan to be looking at the activities of the white team AND the black team in my days, to find the silver linings in the clouds of life, to acknowledge and celebrate the full spectrum of life.
How ’bout you?
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