People

I believe I have a very forgiving heart.  I am able to be angry, forgive and then forget... in other words, I get over things very quickly, except maybe during PMS.  I think many of you can understand that.  Outside of that time frame when hormones are going crazy I believe I am a pretty even keel person.  I love people, I love to make people happy, I love to make people laugh, though I am not a comedian nor do I aspire to be one.  I believe that everyone has the potential be be good and do good.  However we have to choose those good deeds and behaviors for ourselves.

I live in what one would consider to be a tight knit community.  During my time of ignorance I loved the idea that everyone got along, everyone was nice and civil to each other, no one went around bashing anyone, and I truly believed with all my heart that the people here were special because even if they didn't exactly like someone, they would still try to be kind to them and share the same space and time in honor of peace, laughter and joy.

Well, that's not the case and my eyes have been opened.  People here are just like people everywhere else.  They can be catty, ignorant, rude, annoying, and inconsiderate.  The only difference is that here we only have "us" there is no other community, there is no other church, there are no other schools, gyms, grocery stores or ball fields. Here we will come in contact with each other.  Don't get me wrong.  If you take these individual groups and set them outside of the circle of people they don't like, they are a fun group. 

The problem here is that there is a huge break in the natural way of things.  For example, if I throw a party and invite everyone I know (a lot of people) some might not attend simply because the person or persons they don't like will be at the party.  That would probably not be a problem if it was just that one person.  However, that one person has a best friend and now the best friend wont go either because they want to support their friend, understandably so.  Before you know you have a group of people not socializing with me because I socialize with someone they don't like.  Surely by now you must see how this is sounding like High School.

Sometimes we get stuck on the things we don't like about people and fail to see how that person might be an asset in our lives, how they just might make a huge difference and even become a trusted source.  I believe it is extremely important to overcome the disagreements that generally happen among people and move on.  If I chose to disregard someone simply based first impressions or someone else's views of that person I would probably not have any friends and would likely be a very unhappy person making everyone else unhappy.

I choose to accept people for who they are, after all, I too have my quirks and expect others to accept me the way I am.

I choose to forgive and really FORGET because I hope that if apologize to someone, they will forgive me and not ignore me.

I choose to embrace every single person I meet and all that they bring to the table - some are chatty, some finish your sentences, some complain, some cry, some are always happy, some are sad, their beliefs and disbeliefs, their likes, dislikes and differences.  

I believe that in order for people to really be happy they need to be able to appreciate others as they are. They need to respect the opinions of others without prejudice.  Life would be so boring if we all agreed with each other.  

Many speak of the Golden Rule which is repeated in many different religious beliefs but mainly in Judaism, Islam and Christianity "Treat others as you would want to be treated." Then why is it there are so many people who can't even follow this rule?

There will be times when my heart will be broken, my trust will be tested, and my life will be changed and I know during these times I will feel like I need to get revenge, make someone pay, or retaliate in some way.  I also know that the feeling will pass and I will simply chose to learn from the situation.  I hope to continue to be who I am today, happy, forgiving, loving and trusting. Life is just too short to hold on to bad feelings.  I will forgive and I will forget! 

Terie

Celebrating me...and more

Spa Night at Terie's

I think it's really strange that while I was going to school, had a schedule packed with reading and writing and caring for the family I had time or took time to write.  Now that I'm done with school I can't seem to fit in any time to write and I really enjoy writing about everything.

Throughout the day I will have many stories written if only I could sending via ESP to my computer.  Maybe insert a little disk in my head and download all that's roaming inside there.  But such is life.  I have been so incredibly absent from my favorite blog, I actually miss sharing and reading what my followers have to say so I'm trying to get the ball rolling here.

An early morning peace moment in Guantanamo Bay it is.  Today, in the aftermath of my celebratory Spa party during which my girlfriends received a mini massage, smeared on some delicious chocolate face mask, ex-foliated their feet and hands and had a fantastic night.  I am so happy today, that everyone had a great time.

I was celebrating ME.  Yes, I threw myself a big bash party with the girls - no hubbies, no kids.  In fact, now that I think about it, the only man in the house was the Masseuse, Willi.  He's an older guy from the Philippines.  He's probably very happy that he chose to become a masseuse because only in this field do you get to rub so many women and have them pay you... ha ha ha!! But seriously, Willi was great and worked very hard to earn his keep. Everyone enjoyed their massage.

Back to ME.  I was celebrating the fact that I finished college and now have a B.S. in Social Studies and Humanities.  I am celebrating that I've been married to the same guy for 20 years.  I am celebrating my 43rd birthday and feeling more like 34!  I am also celebrating all the women who choose to NOT be co-dependant of anyone but themselves, women who choose to grow, love, laugh, and even break lose and do something wild.  I am celebrating perseverance, accomplishments, success, friendships, LIFE!!

I think the message was clear during the Spa party.  I shared with just about everyone how important it is to let go of negative feelings, to appreciate life and our short time together here in Guantanamo.  Holding grudges can often be debilitating and drag us down, depressing and viciously takes away precious moments in life.  So we learn to let go and move on.  Be happy.

Cheers to all my precious friends who shared in celebrating us!

Terie

Staying in the now

Photo by SpinDiva

"Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation... It is to relinquish inner resistance to what is." ~ Eckhart Tolle

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Life. It has been somewhat complicated these past two weeks. We've been packed, the vehicle has shipped, we live in a hotel suite smaller than my old bathroom but the kids are happy. I was a little worried about their reaction to moving and leaving dear friends behind. I must have done a really good job somewhere along the way (yes, padding myself in the back right now) because I expected trouble all the way to the end. Instead they are excited, sad to leave friends, as am I, but excited for this new adventure to begin. A few more days of this craziness and we're on our way from 45 degrees and foggy to 85 degrees and clear. I can live with that! I can't wait to share our adventures and life in Guantanamo. I have a feeling we will have some interesting stories to tell. I do hear you saying "I don't know how you do it all." Well I have friends reminding me that I should forget about the statement "it is what it is" and remember that "it is...what you make of it." So I choose to make it a positive experience, even in the midst of stress and chaos. 

I admit there were a few moments I thought I'd loose my mind and the stress monster tried very hard to take me down (i.e. when I thought I lost my wallet one week prior to moving) but I resisted, talked myself out of an anxiety attack and guess what, I found my wallet exactly where I left it, under the bathroom sink.  

WHAT? Doesn't everyone use this space for their wallet? Surely you must have put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the pantry at some point in your life!!

OK call me crazy. Well, then again, don't. That would just be mean.

I will continue to remind myself that right here, right now is really all that matters so I will continue to only focus on that which I can control, everything else will fall into place nicely.

Embrace life - seize the moment

Sometimes little things happen that we just completely miss because we're all too busy to take a moment to notice the beautiful things in life.  I often find myself too busy to eat healthy, too busy to play with my toddler, too busy to do homework (that's never a good thing), worst is when I'm too busy to just be and really enjoy every moment in life with and without the kids.

I visited Dayne at TheHappySelf.com yesterday and here is what I first read:


"Everyday you are surrounded by sheer beauty.

The question is, are you feeling it, are you aware of it…or are you too busy in your mind?

The beauty could be in the form of a rising sun, the sound of your child’s laugh, the flowing steam off a fresh morning coffee, or that beautiful and coy smile from a stranger on your way to work."

His words made me think, a lot about the things I miss because I need to finish the dishes or vacuum the living room.  I realized that life is not in a clean room or in an empty sink (although it is good to clean those things).  I read on to learn that beauty is not something we see or feel, instead it is something we experience, it is invisible and undetectable, as Day explains.

I encourage you to visit his blog to read more about the 5 Most Beautiful Things in Life that are Invisible

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As for seizing the moment, here's a photo of a fine example of something I would have missed.  Instead I ended up laughing my butt off...check it out.

My poor kitty, Tiger.  The toddler said he had to feed the cat so I didn't give it a second thought.  He came in and out of the kitchen several times, the last time he had a tissue in his hands, which he said was "to clean the kitty cat" and I though "oh no cat throw up...eewww."  So I came into the living room to find this..the cat wearing a bib and the toddler feeding her with a spoon.  It was hillarious!  I had to laugh.  The cat is looking at me as if to say "are you really going to allow this to go on? This is wrong, really wrong!"