Take time out

I’ve recieved a lot of feedback regarding my blog. I’m happy to report that my intent is being carried out. I want to help enLIGHTen people, in every sense of that word. I’m also on my own journey though. And as often as you might find inspiration or guidance through my blog, I’m also visiting it in order to keep myself on the right path. 

So, what do I do when I’m having a bad day? Well, there are many techniques, but I want to share the ones I most frequently use. Sometimes, when you’re out and about, you feel you don’t have time to stop and think something out. That’s ok. Here's some tricks I use to shake the funk, instead of faking it. 

I wanted to share the following story in order to give you a specific example of how I’ve shifted my energy and in return, had an outstanding day!

It was Easter Day. After my divorce, I didn’t really enjoy holidays. I sulked in the memories. I always remain grateful for what I have, but let’s face it...sometime we get sad. Sometimes we get mad. And holidays triggered that for me. 

I had a wonderful friend visit with her kids in the morning. Her husband was deployed, so it was great to get the kids together and visit the pool. She's an amazing person and it's always a blessing to surround ourselves with awesome people. 


I was grateful, yet still missing the big family gathering. My son’s grandmother (ex’s mom) had invited us over, but driving 3.5 hours one way was a bit too far. They've been such awesome grandparents and have helped us out a lot with this transition. Once again, I was grateful to have such awesome people in our lives, but still in a funk.

So, I decided to visit people that may feel the same way. Logan and I emptied his eggs from the morning egg hunt. We filled them back up with candy and little hand-written ‘thank you’ notes that I wrote on paper and cut in to strips. After rolling the strips and stuffing the eggs, I wrote 'LOVE' on the outside of each egg. We then headed to the VA hospital in Minneapolis.

This place is usually bustling with activity. In the past, I’ve invested a lot of my time in their parking lot just looking for a space. Today? A dozen cars were scattered in the lot. 

Entering the building was a bit eery and I wasn’t sure that this mission would be a success. Logan was a bit confused as to why he had to share his eggs and where everyone was at. 

We trekked on and slowly started finding people. We found a guy hunched over in a chair in a waiting area outside one of the doctor's offices. Now, remember the offices are closed, so it’s dark in this lobby. There’s no background noise or elevator music. No phones ringing. Just silence and there he sits...alone. We didn't wake him, but still placed an egg next to him.

We came across another guy just hanging in a dimly lit hallway by himself. He was a Vietnam veteran and missing both legs, below the knee. He smiled as Logan reached into his basket and pulled out a shiny plastic egg. “Happy Eeth-ta,” Logan said with a grin. He has a bit of a lisp still. hee hee

At this point, Logan was mostly excited just to be sharing. He’s a little young to understand exactly what we were doing. But, I know these experiences will remain in his heart and mind. After delivering our eggs, we headed for the exit. 

“Logan, I’m really proud of you for sharing your eggs,” I said to him. “Some of those people don’t have family to share today with.”

“And dey don’t have eggs, mama,” Logan questioned.

“Yes, Logan. And they don’t have eggs,” I confirmed. “But they do now, because you shared your eggs and your light.”

“I shared, mama,” he proudly stated. 

Brings tears to my eyes just thinking back to that day. I set out to shift my paradigm. I set out to take my mind off of things. I also wanted to share the joy of that day with my Logey Bear. I ended up with so much more.

I had an appointment at the VA last week and ran into the Vietnam vet in the cafeteria. It was as if we were old friends. As he smiled, his life and experiences were illustrated through each wrinkle. He had it rough, yet his eyes still twinkled when he saw me. I was in uniform this time and you could tell he was a bit surprised to see that I was also in the military. 

We had a short exchange, but my heart was filled for the rest of the day. I think I’ll do more of this work. I want to visit a women’s shelter. I can connect with them. It might hurt. It might bring up bad memories, but I’m ready to release. I’m ready to grow.

Each day is truly yours to own. Your energy is exactly that...YOURS! Please claim your energy and be responsible for it! 

Take a timeout if you have to. Take time for yourself. Do whatever it takes. It’s totally worth it, I promise!

Tell me how you shifted a “bad” day! Keep smiling!