Everyday I realize more and more that saying 'I Love You' is one of the easiest things in the world. If you are lucky enough to have an amazing nephew in your life, the words 'I Love You' flow freely from your lips every second you are with the child. If you are blessed enough to have someone with whom to walk this life's journey, then it comes out of you and heals like a safe embrace. If you have a child, I'm sure it's the first and last thing you say everyday. I hope I can experience that one day.
I find it strange that some people make a big deal about saying 'I Love You.' When you're dating, it's always such a benchmark identifier and qualifier for the relationship. Who says it first? Don't say it back. How do you know when it's okay to say it?
With family, somehow it becomes too affectionate to say "I Love You' as one matures. As children we are showered with words of encouragement and affirmation, then as young adults we are supposed to grow and excel without words of kindness or support. It doesn't make sense to me.
I say "I Love You' to a lot of people,a lot of the time. I genuinely mean it. For me Love means respect, admiration and appreciation. It also means character, integrity and ingenuity. It means creativity, talent and generosity. It means that you do something so altruistic and humble that it stops me in my tracks and I am grateful for your existence.
Don't get me wrong - if I Like you, I'll say I really Like you - a lot. But if I say I Like You, it's usually because I have not had the pleasure of really knowing you yet. I believe in people. I believe in Christianity. I believe in a spiritual and human connectedness. I believe that everyone counts.
And although sometimes it's challenging, (sometimes VERY difficult!), I can honestly say I love everyday. I love someone everyday. And I tell them.
People need to know you love them. People need to hear you say that you love them when you do. Say it. I encourage it. I am a fan of it. I practice it.
I lost a dear friend today. And I am so grateful to God that I always said, "I Love You, Susan," every time we parted. And she said it back. And I know she really meant it. And I know she knew that I meant it, too.
Love people in your life. Mean it. Enjoy it. Share it. And say it. It's the easiest thing to do.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Late to the game...
Today I realized that exercising needs to be a lifestyle choice. I avoid avoid avoid consistency and then expect to see the results I see after working our hard for two weeks straight. It's annoying and frustrating. I am struggling with this lifestyle because of a few specific reasons:
1. It's boring. Working out and making the workouts count means coming home, eating an early healthy dinner and going to sleep. Early. This formula completely contradicts my current lifestyle. I am social. I enjoy making the most of my evenings. I am a night owl. I know this needs to change, but right now it seems like an unbeatable challenge.
2. One must plan. I do not like packing in general for trips. I always end up forgetting something, or buying a completely new three-day wardrobe wherever I land. I mean top to bottom, baseball cap to skivvies. The idea of packing a GYM BAG with socks, underwear, workout clothes, toiletries, an iPod - it's all just too much for me to process. I know this would help me go from gym to work to gym to home, but this is the same reason I do not do well with an eating plan. I know, "Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail." I have made a living being very successful by flying by the seat of my pants. I know no other way.
3. Loneliness. To attempt to become any kind of athletic competitor, one must spend a lot of time with one's self. That does not scare me; I am not afraid to know who I am. What does bug me, though, is that I get really lonely when I am not with people. I have never been good alone. I hated living alone. I hate driving alone. I just enjoy the company of another person. And I am completely exhausted of asking, trying and begging to get my best friends to join me at the gym or on the road. They don't. They won't. I can only talk to my myself for so long.
I sound whiny, and I would wholeheartedly own my whine if I was NOT working out. But I am. I work out. Hard. I continue to forge ahead. These are legitimate for roadblocks for me. I'm not an ignorant brat; I know these may not be the kind of roadblocks others face - I accept that - but they are mine. And I own them.
I make it a rule in my life to only do things at which I excel. Exercising takes work, and while I am making progress, I am not the best at it. That really bugs me.
I know what exactly what steps I need to take to be very successful at this, yet I do not take them. I feel if I do take the steps and make these small, yet affecting changes to my lifestyle, I'll either be successful beyond my expectations or be completely miserable and quit altogether. I can't trick myself into thinking the positive will overcome the negative. At this point, both options are very real to me. I don't need motivation. I need a guarantee. I don't fail. I've had enough failure in my life to know better. I make it a point NOT to fail anymore. I think this is what scares me most. This might be the biggest step of faith I take.
1. It's boring. Working out and making the workouts count means coming home, eating an early healthy dinner and going to sleep. Early. This formula completely contradicts my current lifestyle. I am social. I enjoy making the most of my evenings. I am a night owl. I know this needs to change, but right now it seems like an unbeatable challenge.
2. One must plan. I do not like packing in general for trips. I always end up forgetting something, or buying a completely new three-day wardrobe wherever I land. I mean top to bottom, baseball cap to skivvies. The idea of packing a GYM BAG with socks, underwear, workout clothes, toiletries, an iPod - it's all just too much for me to process. I know this would help me go from gym to work to gym to home, but this is the same reason I do not do well with an eating plan. I know, "Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail." I have made a living being very successful by flying by the seat of my pants. I know no other way.
3. Loneliness. To attempt to become any kind of athletic competitor, one must spend a lot of time with one's self. That does not scare me; I am not afraid to know who I am. What does bug me, though, is that I get really lonely when I am not with people. I have never been good alone. I hated living alone. I hate driving alone. I just enjoy the company of another person. And I am completely exhausted of asking, trying and begging to get my best friends to join me at the gym or on the road. They don't. They won't. I can only talk to my myself for so long.
I sound whiny, and I would wholeheartedly own my whine if I was NOT working out. But I am. I work out. Hard. I continue to forge ahead. These are legitimate for roadblocks for me. I'm not an ignorant brat; I know these may not be the kind of roadblocks others face - I accept that - but they are mine. And I own them.
I make it a rule in my life to only do things at which I excel. Exercising takes work, and while I am making progress, I am not the best at it. That really bugs me.
I know what exactly what steps I need to take to be very successful at this, yet I do not take them. I feel if I do take the steps and make these small, yet affecting changes to my lifestyle, I'll either be successful beyond my expectations or be completely miserable and quit altogether. I can't trick myself into thinking the positive will overcome the negative. At this point, both options are very real to me. I don't need motivation. I need a guarantee. I don't fail. I've had enough failure in my life to know better. I make it a point NOT to fail anymore. I think this is what scares me most. This might be the biggest step of faith I take.
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