4.9
September 10, 2021

Life Sure Feels Better when we Look for Silver Linings.

I woke up to the reality that there is still no Cupcake (our dog).

I took my son, Dylan, off my calendar as he is no longer coming for a visit due to COVID-19 insanity in South Florida and replaced it with a follow-up with my MOHS surgeon regarding my skin cancer follow-up.

Let’s try that again through the silver lining lens:

1. Woke up.
2. I’m healthy and alive.
3. Cupcake is no longer suffering, and she’s in puppy heaven.
4. We are lucky to have work, so we are lucky to have to pay income tax.
5. Dylan will be safer not getting on a plane in San Francisco and landing in the epicenter of Covid.
6. I have a brilliant surgeon who did an incredible job with facial reconstruction. I will wear my scar as a badge of honor.
7. My husband is a great doctor but I prefer him as my nurse.

Sure feels better when I look for silver linings. It’s a skill, you know?

If I’m ever dreading unloading the dishwasher, I flip the script. I’m so lucky to have dishes and a dishwasher to clean them for me. All I have to do is put them away. This may seem silly but it absolutely works.

When I’m missing my kids so much I ache, I think about how blessed I am to have kids I love that much. Some people can’t move their kids out of their house fast enough, and don’t miss them a lick.

Last week, I had to miss a yoga class to take my car in for service. I know, wah, wah, wah. Call me a wambulance, right? But I was momentarily bummed out. Starting my day with yoga is my insurance policy for a healthy frame of mind. I had to sit myself down and recognize how lucky I am to have a car, and to be able to afford to have it serviced so it runs safely.

How many times a day do you get nudgy about something that you could be grateful for? My son used to get annoyed when he hit a red light years ago. Teenagers are always rushing and zooming. I reminded him that it’s a chance to breathe in and think about the day. And he did.

We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we absolutely get to be the author who writes it in our minds. It’s a three-second choice and it will start to happen organically, once you practice with regularity.

The next time you feel aggravated that you have to meet friends out and you’re tired, remember how lucky you are to have friends to meet. When you have to pick your kids up at school and you just got cozy at home, be glad your birdies haven’t flown the coop, like mine did.

It’s all a matter of perspective. Choosing the silver lining lens makes everything look a bit more sparkly.

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