....and a few weeks ago I pulled a pretty bitch move, thus gifting myself a true karmic retribution on Tuesday.
It all started at a local bar. A friend and I were chatting about our weeks, enjoying (what else) some cold Bud Lights and minding our own business. We must have been standing in the same spot for easily 30 minutes when a couple decided to park their conversation right in front of us. No big deal so far. After a few minutes the girl in the duo began taking steps backwards closer and closer to me until she was, literally, leaning up against me, straggles of hair tickling my face, heels stepping on my foot. Perhaps she doesn't know I'm here, I thought as Drea and I looked at each other with half laughing what-is-this-chick-doing? faces. So I gently leaned back into her to make her aware there was a person behind her. She didn't budge. I leaned a little harder and politely cleared my throat. She didn't budge. She then said to her male friend, loudly enough for me to hear, "This f*cking girl is pushing into me." and took another step back into me. Initiate bitch mode. Now, I want to preface my response by saying I was not raised in a home that would approve of my behavior. While my parents were great about letting my sister and I know that if we ever fell victim to someones physical violence against us we better come back swinging (we were raised to stick up for ourselves), they would never applaud or condone catty behavior. I guess what I'm trying to say is I am not proud of what followed...and that, at the end of the day, I know better. Upon hearing the personal space invaders comment I reacted almost instantly. Glancing down to see her pointy heels dangerously treading near my TOMS shoes covered toes (my foot still burning from her first stabbing) I noticed an opening in her purse just slightly bigger than the bottle top of my beer. Wordlessly, I tipped my bottle into the opening and emptied glug....glug....glug....glug....4 solid glugs of it's hoppy contents into her bag behind her back. I was both mortified and sickly satisfied with myself. The space invader ended up walking away moments afterwards, having zero idea that her belongings were currently marinating in a bag of $3 "sure sign of a good time". Enter Karma. Early Tuesday morning I boarded a plane from Philadelphia back to San Francisco, post wedding festivities. I was sleepily making my way onto the aircraft when a gentleman boarding behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said "Excuse me miss, but your bag seems to be dripping..." Huh?, I thought. Oh CRAP! The $4 airport bottle of orange juice that I had just purchased had cracked open and decided to empty 80% of it's contents into my purse/carry-on. My books, magazines, wallet, ear buds, keys, makeup, sunglasses, FlipHD camera, etc were saturated in the sticky and acidic substance sitting in a pool at the bottom of my bag (thankfully I grabbed my iPhone in time). For the next 40 minutes I used about 658 US Airways cocktail napkins to try and clean up the spill--and then sat for the next four and half hours smelling like OJ and wanting to gag. I carried my belongings home in a trash bag. I mean c'mon...if that isn't karma, I don't know what is. And honestly...I had it coming. If nothing else I'm grateful for the reminder to act more kindly; to know that while I can't control the behavior of others, I can control my reactions. I'm grateful for the reminder to be the bigger person..even if it really seems like the offender "has it coming". Nobody wins with unkind behavior. Karma's a bitch only if you are. True story. In Minute Maid sure did teach me a lesson Gratitude, Trish
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My darling friend Noodle has a kick ass mom who recently shared the video below with me. If you have a quiet moment at home or at work, give it a listen. Sylvia's voice and message are so soothing, I dare you not to be calmed... What a beautiful practice.
May you feel safe. May you feel content. May you feel strong. May you live with ease. In Gratitude, Trish For me, saying yes is a key component to living the most adventurous, fulfilling, rewarding and pleasurable life possible. Saying yes can open new doors, introduce you to amazing people and gift you with memories to keep you smiling well into the final days of life. If you've been following my blog at all, you probably already know this about me :) But what I've come to realize in the past few weeks is that sometimes, saying "no" is not only completely necessary...but also a "yes" in disguise. Allow me to explain... I've seen it a hundred times with myself and my friends--we find ourselves in a situation, most often a relationship of some kind (romantic, platonic or professional) where we seem to be stuck in a cycle; riding a roller coaster of emotions, putting ourselves through repeatitive disappointments in the hope that each effort will yield a different result. We can't help it--we are creatures of hope and love. Why wouldn't we fight for a positive outcome whenever possible? Didn't Andy Dufresne teach us "hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.."? This weekend I managed to muster the strength to finally say no to a relationship that was no longer on a path I desired. To be blunt--it was a very difficult choice. And it stung. A lot. The ol' ego is still nursing her bruises. But I was feeling exhausted and drained from months of unrequited efforts and I decided it was time to be good to myself. It was time to say no. I believe that by saying no, I will not continue to positively reinforce this behavior we are actually giving ourselves an answer of yes. While the person on the receiving end may be feeling the vibes of no, your own internal vibrations are flowing at a frequency that says hey, I acknowledge that I deserve way better...YES I am worthy of more. Yes, I am enough. Yes, I am stronger than I know. I changed my view on saying no in this situation and I deeply believe that it has opened me up to receive someone more aligned with me. (Did I mention it still kinda stings?) I believe that it was the right choice simply because it was a choice made out of love and kindness--both for the other person and for myself. That's a key piece; love and kindness for myself. Perception and perspective, my dear readers. Change your perspective--change your life. Just as I was beginning to write this post I received notification from a fabulous author, motivational speaker and life coach named Gabrielle Bernstein on her latest book, Spirit Junkie, that confirmed precisely my thoughts. I love this short little video-teaser and cannot wait to read her latest work... Wishing you all the strength to say YES, even if it may come in the form of "no".
In Gratitude, Trish |
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