The happiest man alive can look in the mirror and see himself exactly how he is. -J.K.Rowling in Harry Potter
I thought I should do something awesome, memorable, exciting to bring in the new year after the year I just had. And when the formal wear-fireworks over the lake-champagne and dancing kinda night didn’t happen, I was sad at first. But then I remembered this is my Life. I heard somewhere that life is 10% what happens and 90% how you react to it. Looking at a situation from a different angle can change the whole perspective. So instead of moping about my New Years Eve being spent at home, I reacted by making it as great as it could be at home. And actually...it was one of my best new years yet!
I was on the porch all night with my husband as we had conversations and shared our highs and lows of 2010 around a bonfire (it was unseasonable warm this year, high of 62!) with wine and celebration cigars. I realized that’s us. And that’s our life right now…it was amazing how content I was with our formal wear exchanged for sweatpants and our champagne in a flute glass was exchanged for a bud light and a wine bottle :) How I reacted to the 10% of what life threw at me gave me a 90% exciting memory that I will never forget! We of course watched the ball drop and kissed our way into the New Year...oh and it was the best kiss I've had in months…Andrew surprised me and shaved off his moustache :) I've realized that if you want something exciting to happen, YOU need to make life happen, even when you don’t want too. Very rarely will life just happen...McDreamy won't magically appear at your door, A million dollar check won't appear in your mailbox, and riverboats and dancing on New Years Eve must me made by plans...things like that just don't fall into your lap when you live in Ohio. If I wanted a grand New Years Eve Party, I probably should have planned a trip. But sometimes, you get lucky, you make the best of a situation, and you actually have one of the best nights ever. It was a perfect ending to 2010...
So I’m not sure if this is really a resolution, but I want to learn more discipline in 2011. Throughout my life I have usually always gotten what I wanted. I had the means to do it and the drive to get me there. But lately, cancer has given me a reality check that I am not invincible and I can’t do everything so easily. However, I don’t expect people to do things for me either, so that’s why I want to learn discipline. If there is something that I really want to do, I will do it. You can say you are going to lose weight this year, but if you don’t want to do it, you simply won’t because you have not learned the rules of discipline. For me, it took getting sick to learn the rules of discipline…I’m learning right now by not being able to eat what I want because of radiation. I can choke down a hamburger if I really want to, but that doesn’t do any good. I feel awful afterwards and about choke myself in the process. Now if I chose something like soup that is less tasty to eat, I actually feel not only physically better, but mentally because I just beat myself at my own game. I feel more confident in myself because I had discipline when temptation arose. Do you realize that if we instill disciple in our lives, our potential is limitless? If I have the right discipline instilled in me, I will be able to be a healthier Laura by eating better foods. And I will be able to run that marathon because of the discipline it takes to train for it. And by demonstrating discipline, I will gain more knowledge because I will read my bible instead of watching another mindless show on cable.
I’m going to work on being Laura this year. Laura. Not trying to be someone else or live their life because I think its better. I want to be the same Laura that you would see on the street, at work, at the store, at church, and at home. You see, its hard to have 2 faces. To be one person at home and walk out the door to be another. So just be you. To make your mark on this world, you have to be yourself…and for me the person I want to be will take more discipline. Now, I may fail at this, but being afraid of failure will get me nowhere in this Life (that's for another blog though :). So just be confident in yourself, because it’s contagious and more people will notice and remember YOU than the person you want to be. I want more for me and I want it to be because I was disciplined enough to get it. This quote is what I strive for...
The happiest man alive can look in the mirror and see himself exactly how he is.
-J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter
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