Jul 25, 2008

Why Do You Do It? (Friday, July 25)

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine the other day about my Good Friday blog. She wanted to know why, after a year, I was still doing this every Friday. Besides, she added, no one was really reading it anymore what with summer, people's busy schedule and everything else.

I didn't even have to think about it. I continue, because I enjoy writing my Good Fridays. I like to think that there's this one little place that someone can log onto and get a nice burst of positive, uplifting energy to get them through their day. I like to think that even though no one reads every single entry, there are a few that resound with at least one person who will be forever changed after reading it.  And frankly, it's therapeutic for me as well. Sometimes I go back through the archives and just get some inspiration when I'm having a bad day.

Why do I still do it? Because it makes me happy! :)

Jul 18, 2008

#81: Inspiration From Unexpected Sources (Friday, July 18)

This week I have a story:
So I got a new boss...who just happens to be a micromanager and has absolutely no clue what it is that I do. Since last week she has been sorely trying my patience (and apparently the patience of everyone in our department). LOL.  Each day, I've had to listen to at least two people complain about something she'd done, which only served to increase my annoyance and distract me.

On the day when my irritation reached it's pinnacle and I'd snapped at an unsuspecting coworker who'd done nothing to me, I finally decided to lock myself in a conference room just so I'd be able to get some work done. Ten minutes later, I got a random email from a friend of mine. It was an article about having faith, written by an executive at Merrill Lynch.  

That same evening, I came home and the wind had knocked down a picture frame and some books from my bookshelf. One of the books was The Four Agreements, which was given to me by one of my dearest friends. I re-read the four  agreements:
Be impeccable with your word; 
Don't take anything personally; 
Don't make assumptions; and 
Always do your best
and immediately resolved to approach my work situation with a different attitude the next day.

The Moral: Sometimes when your enjoyment of life becomes challenging, inspiration can come from the most unexpected places.




Jul 11, 2008

#80: The Flavor of the Month (Friday, July 11)

It's no secret how much I love to eat and travel to new places. Alas, I don't have the budget (or the vacation time) to do as much of the latter as I like, so I came up with a wonderful compromise.

The Idea: Try a different cuisine every month. There are hundreds of countries in the world, each with their own special seasonings and sauces, why not try them all?

The Cost: The price of the meal.

The Benefit: You're enriching your palate, learning about the other cultures (which I spoke about on a Good Friday last year) and hopefully getting some culinary inspiration.

Testimonial: First Flavor of the month? German, in honor of my late dear Uncle Pete. Zum Schneider's in LES is the place of choice and I'll be going next week. If you are in NY and want to go, just shoot me an email!

#80: The Flavor of the Month (Friday, July 11)

It's no secret how much I love to eat and travel to new places. Alas, I don't have the budget (or the vacation time) to do as much of the latter as I like, so I came up with a wonderful compromise.

The Idea: Try a different cuisine every month. There are hundreds of countries in the world, each with their own special seasonings and sauces, why not try them all?

The Cost: The price of the meal.

The Benefit: You're enriching your palate, learning about the other cultures (which I spoke about on a Good Friday last year) and hopefully getting some culinary inspiration.

Testimonial: First Flavor of the month? German, in honor of my late dear Uncle Pete. Zum Schneider's in LES is the place of choice and I'll be going next week. If you are in NY and want to go, just shoot me an email!

Jul 4, 2008

#79: More Than Just A "Face" (Friday, July 4)

How well do you know the people on your Facebook friends list? Do you know their favorite color? Or the snack they like to eat when they go to the movies? How about the song that puts them in a good mood? There are people on my Facebook friends list who I have no clue who they are and have never spoken to them, other than adding them (they were friends of friends). There are people on my Good Friday email distribution list whom I've never met in person, but have such great energy online that I know we'll be friends once we do meet (shouts to DD in Toronto, DL in Baltimore and LR in Cali!!).

The other day when I was in my funk 2 of the folks in the latter group actually took the time out to reach out to me and offer some words of encouragement. It made me ashamed that I had not made more of an effort to connect with these two women, despite communicating with them via email for almost 2 years!

The Idea: Spend this weekend really meeting at least one new person or establishing a valid connection with someone you've already met. When I say really meeting, I mean talk about more than the weather, politics or what they do for a living.

The Cost: Just some of your time.

The Benefit: Sometimes it is our connection with others that gives us the most enjoyment out of life.

Enjoy life!