A Very Merry Unbirthday

    

      For this blog post, I am going to take my cue from "Alice in Wonderland" and wish every one of you a Very Merry Unbirthday! Now, say what you will about the origins of this movie and its writer... but... I am very fond of the idea of an unbirthday. Why? Because frankly, I love celebrating! So why not celebrate each other on the other 364 days of the year, too?

     Each day, I think that we can find something to celebrate. Whether that is a promotion at work,  a connection that you made with another human, or simply the fact that the coffee maker worked that morning- celebrate! If you find the time to look for something to celebrate, you will be choosing to look for the good in the world. You will be choosing to support the people around you. You will be choosing to look at the glass half-full. 

     I think that most of us will be surprised at how easy it is to find something to celebrate. But so often we, myself included, choose to look at the things that aren't worth celebrating. The things that don't bring out the best in the world. The things that don't glorify God.

     Now, I'm not naive enough to think that there aren't bad things that happen in our worlds. There are. But I wholeheartedly believe that we can choose to fight each bad thing with a celebration.

     So celebrate! I challenge you to find things to celebrate this week! And if you feel so inclined, post them on social media so that others remember to take a moment to celebrate. Not to sound like Hallmark... but... life is worth celebrating!

Enjoy the Very Merry Unbirthday song here!

Another catchy tune here!

Well Played, Elliptical...

     I joined a gym. For these past few days, I have been trying machine after machine. As I try different machines, while trying to not look like a fool, I have quite a bit of time to think. Today I got to thinking during my first elliptical experience. So here it is: Basically, the elliptical was tricking me. Let's be honest- you're basically running. It tricked me. It's tricking you.

 

      But then as I thought more, willing the time to move faster so that my 30 minute timer would go off, I realized that it is all about perception. Do I view that machine as a trick to get me to run? Or do I view the machine as a tool to help me live a fuller and healthier life? Oh man... my own mind got me. 

     But let's think about this in terms of life. Things are going to go. I don't want to necessarily say that they will go good or bad- I just want us to agree that they will go. And as things are going, you fall into a way of looking at life. You decide how you are going to perceive each and every situation. I would suggest- and know I try- to look at all sides of a situation and think of the way that you want to respond. That one step of thinking about how you are going to perceive something will do you a lot of good in becoming the person that you want to be. 

    Now stop. Don't read this and think, "Here's another post from positive and perky Katie who doesn't know what it is like to have a negative thought in her head because everything in her life is sunshine and sprinkles." I'll let you in on a secret- I lose my cool. I freak out and shut down. I have a bad attitude about things sometimes and worse yet, I let it affect others. 

     So I suggest that we work together to keep our perceptions in check. Be aware of how you are perceiving and interpreting the world. You never know, that's all it might take to change a rough day into a good one.

Joyously Live Challenge

   

    One of my favorite lines in the Alpha Sigma Alpha Creed is "to joyously live each day to its ultimate good." I particularly love the phrase "joyously live." In order to intentionally live more joyously, I decided to create one of those ever so popular photo challenges.

     Why should I do it? For the month of May (or however long it takes you to get through all 30 days), you will choose to focus on the things in life that make everything okay. 

     How do I participate? Save the infograph on your phone/computer. Each day, post the photo that you took with #jouyouslylive on whichever social media site that you visit. If you don't do the whole "social media" scene, feel free to save the photos on your computer.  

     When do I start? Whenever you feel like it! I am going to do mine for the month of May.

     What if I fall behind? It's all good! Either catch up or do the 30 days on your own schedule (aka... not one a day).

     So what do you say? Will you participate?

Be Present

     

     I've read a few books lately. In particular, two very good books. One is by Hannah Brencher (which I highly recommend) and the other was by Karen Kingsbury (I recommend all of hers as well). One was a non-fiction book and one was fiction. But they both seemed to have a reoccurring theme of being present. Because of those books and other things that have happened in my world, this idea of being present has been on my mind a lot lately. With our current technology, it is so easy for us to have multiple people, places, and worlds in our back pocket. I strongly feel that we have to be able to choose when to give in to the temptation of pulling out that tablet or phone and disappearing from the physical world that we are in. 

     I feel like I should take a minute for a short disclaimer. I am in no way against technology. Or cell phones. Or tablets. Or Facebook. Or Twitter. Or Snapchat. Or Instagram. I think that cell phones are a wonderful thing when you have a friend who has moved away. I think they are a wonderful thing when you  have had to move away from your family. I think they are a wonderful thing when you have a friend who is struggling. I think they are a beautiful thing when they give someone language when they might otherwise be non-verbal. I think they are a wonderful thing when you have gotten yourself lost and the GPS is at home (you know it's happened to you...). 

   However, I am afraid that it is starting to become a social crutch for many people (myself included). Relationships are hard. Sitting at a table and talking to one or two people for over an hour can be stressful. But those are things that we, as a society, have to learn to deal with and work through. This probably sounds like a thousand other blog posts or articles on being present and engaging in the world around you but as I sat at Applebees the other day and watched a mother and her son be on their individual phones as they waited for their order, I got very sad and figured that I needed to say something to the world (that's you guys reading this). 

     Once you make the choice to be present in conversations, you'll be surprised at how much you notice about others and your environment. So, my challenge for you is to pick one conversation or social setting this week and choose to be present. Leave the phone on vibrate and attend to the person that you are with.

Community

      In August, I set a goal. I was going to make sure that I had at least one social event planned every week. At the time, I just thought it was going to be a goal that prevented me from staying in my apartment every night and doing nothing (which I was completely content with). Little did I know that it was going to become a major part of my life. The people that I meet up with have become a huge part of my life. They are the people that I want to share exciting events with. They are the people that I call up when I am afraid to go and do something on my own. They are the people that I swap recipes with. They are the people who let me share stories from work with, whether those stories are frustrating or funny. They are the people that are there for me, in both a physical and emotional sense. They are my community. 

      In preparation for this blog post, I did what all great researchers do... I went on Pinterest. I simply typed "community" into the search bar and perused the things that came up. I looked at quotes from Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Mr. Rodgers, and of course... the cookie monster. But one thing that I noticed as my eyes swept left to right across the pages is that so many of the quotes were about depression. About loneliness. About pain. And it really got me thinking. Do we only view "community" as the anecdote for loneliness (I don't know about you but I have definitely been lonely in a room full of people)? Or do we view it as its own critical part of our well-being? I think we should begin to challenge each other to view it as a critical part of our well being.

      There is a second part of community that I would like to point out. Being in a community helps you to feel like you aren't alone. In the right type of community, it will help you to feel like if you weren't there, someone would notice. Someone would care. For most people, this is a huge thing. It helps them to have the confidence to be who they need to be, who they were created to be.

      According to many experts there are three main types of community: location based, identity based, and organizationally based. As I wrap up my thoughts I challenge you to think about the communities you are a part of. What are they doing for you? What can you do for them? 

      This is something that has been on my mind for a while so feel free to comment below and let me know how community impacts your daily life. I'd love to hear your stories!