Everyone Has A Story

When I watch people and I used to love to just sit and watch people…in the mall, in the park..wherever.  I have found that everyone has a story but we often do not take the time to even look. We are so busy that we zoom on by.

When was the last time you really looked at those around you…much less strangers?  When was the last time you noticed the slump in a friend’s shoulders, or the held back tears in another person, or the extra sparkle in another person?  Were you so wound up and involved in what happened to your day that you saw no one else?  Have your own children wanted your attention and you got mad at them because you were so busy? Have you ever watched your loved ones and seen things you had not noticed before? Everyone truly does have their own story….even the strangers on the street.

One of the things I have learned through the years is that people do one of two things…they either act on something or they react to something. And learning to tell the difference takes really watching them and trying to look behind the action to see.

The cashier in the store that was so rude to you may have just lost a loved one, or had a sick child at home that they were worried about, or had a health issue or any number of things. When I realize these things can be the cause of people’s behavior, it helps me to understand and not get so upset with them. For, if I do not look for the reason behind, then I allow myself to react to what they said and it becomes reaction…reaction…reaction and no one wins.

I watched a video of a song and I think the name was “hello in there” but it was about how society no longer values and cherishes the seniors in this world. And so they do not bother talking to them and they live the loneliest life of all. I thought how sad. The song went on to say we should stop and say “hello in there” and sit down and talk to them. We would be amazed at what they know…for everyone has a story.

video by Adamfulgence

I love the part about old trees grow stronger but people just grow lonely waiting on someone to say…hello in there.  I want to be a tree with my roots deep in the ground and my branches reaching out full to cover all those I love from the storms. I want to have blooms with wonderful scents that make you all smile when you see me and smell the fragrance. And I want my branches to be filled with love that say “hello in there”  to those that sit quietly and no longer tell their dreams or what is going on in their life.

Do we take the time to really look?  Or are we missing the most wonderful people in the world who are sitting there not saying a word…like some “forgotten dream”?  Are we so absorbed in our lives that we see no one else? For everyone has a story and many no longer talk for there is no one to listen.  If we are so caught up in life that we do not pay attention to people’s silence, then we certainly are not paying attention to their words and both the silence and the words tell a story.

image from mayaxhoyt.blogspot.com

Everyone has a story. Sometimes it is good…sometimes it is sad…sometimes it is bad…sometimes it is funny…but it is still uniquely each person’s story. I believe we were given two ears and one mouth for a reason…that we should listen twice as much as we talk. But just think what you miss. One Thanksgiving, we ate at the community dinner and a family sat next to us. They had their great-uncle with them and he sat there eating quietly. My son started talking to him and mentioned airplanes and the man’s face lit up. He started telling us the story about when he was a pilot in the war and about all the places he saw and what it was like. His own family stopped talking and sat there listening in wonder. One of them told him afterwards that they had never heard that story before and he told them “you never asked”.  What we miss when we allow the world to become too busy for those around us….for everyone has a story. What is yours?  One day, we may all want someone to listen to our story.

 

As Long As There Is Life

A friend posted this picture to me along with the words for me to not quit and to keep hoping and keep my mojo going. Hope…such a fragile thing but it is what keeps us going. Hope can be as fragile as the little chick’s one leg in this picture below or it can be as strong as a steel bridge…but either way…it is still hope. All I know is that this picture reminds me to never give up and to always hope for the best.

I love what this says…as long as there is life….there is hope. Reminds me of the answer I give people sometimes when they ask me how I am coping…I say that I am alive and that is what counts.

I am blessed by a group of friends and loved ones that have rallied around me and surrounded me with love and support. That is all it takes to lift us up when things are tough. And I could not ask for any more love than my family, loved ones and friends are giving me.

This is my motto now.  Mojo is on full blast and I am exploring every possibility for I am a survivor and I intend to keep on surviving if there is any way possible. And with the group of loved ones I have…the energy and positive forces and prayers are mounting higher and higher. I have an army outside loving, praying and supporting me and an army of fighter cells that I am visualizing fighting for me on the inside and the tons of prayers from everyone for me. What more could I need. Thank you from my heart. Love you all.

image from shanaprincefitness.com

By Your Side And In Your Heart

“Friendship is not about who you have known the longest–It is about those who came and never left your side.”

I loved this quote for it says far more than the words themselves say. I have been blessed with some wonderful friends in my lifetime. One might read the quote and think that a friend is only those you see all the time but it is not. I have friends from high school that have never left my side nor my heart. We may not talk for months or even years on end but when we do talk, the time evaporates and you never knew there was any time-lapse in seeing each other. They are still in my heart and my life.

image from http://www.knowcrazy.com/2010/11/friendship-quotes.html

I think friendship has become an underrated or perhaps overrated word. It is used to mean all the people who click “Friends” on Facebook and is a term without any meaning. To me…a friend…a real friend is someone who I know I could call in the middle of the night and say I am in trouble and they would try to come help me. I could call and say I am stuck here in such and such place and out of money and can not get home and they would find a way to come pick me up or get someone to me.

I have met a lot of nice people through my many years that I liked but I would not call them friends but more like acquaintances that touched me briefly. One day someone asked me what it was I thought was in a friendship and I researched it and wrote down what a friend was. In the Bible I found the quote that said :

image from http://www.zazzle.com/greater_love_hath_no_man_than_this_that_a_man_tshirt-235370978162490930

Now that is a pretty powerful statement…that I would lay down my life for my friends. And to me..my loved ones..are family and some of that family is friends or family of choice. So, yes, I think if the circumstance warranted it, I would lay my life down to save a friend.

A side story on family being friends too. My son told a woman he dated briefly, who did not want him to even come visit his sick mother…that not only was I his mother, I was his friend and part of his life. That made me cry but it also brought home what I said above. Family is friends too..very special friends.

I have read a lot of mushy quotes on friendship, some even stating that a real friend will lie for you and to you and will follow you into trouble and will let you run into trouble. I do not believe that. I believe real friendship is based on honesty and if you really love someone…then you will tell them the truth and will try to stop them if they are doing something that is going to get them in trouble.

“It can be hard to break the friendship code of secrecy and make your friend mad at you, but you must do what you feel in your heart is right.”
—Amanda Ford

Being totally honest with a friend may not be easy, but if you love them you will be. That is the best present you can give a friend….your honesty and your love for when we are honest with friends then they know exactly how we feel. There are no hidden thoughts or feelings between friends.

image from http://www.knowcrazy.com/2010/11/friendship-quotes.html

A real friend also believes that you are capable and believes in you when even you do not. I have had people I considered friends to tell me they were not as strong as me and could not do what I do. And my reply was that yes they could if they wanted to.  I had seen them be strong when they wanted to be and I knew what was inside them and I believed in them and encouraged them and pushed them to be all that they could be.

image from http://www.knowcrazy.com/2010/11/friendship-quotes.html

Being real friends does not mean that you never argue or disagree. That is human nature. The real test comes when there is a disagreement.  It is then that we learn the truth of our friendships.

“A true friend is someone you can disagree with and still remain friends. For if not, they weren’t true friends in the first place.”
—Sandy Ratliff

The people I call real friends stay by my side…in my heart and close. We may not talk daily or even monthly but we do talk. And even when we have argued and they have left mad or I have told them to leave…they still stay by my side for real friendships endure these things. The ones that leave because they are mad and never come back become the ones that are a sad lesson for me for I learn then that they were not really friends at all. And that is a hard lesson to learn.

image from sayingimages.com

The most important thing to remember about friends is that it does not matter who is friends to your face…what really matters is who remains your friend behind your back.

image from http://www.knowcrazy.com/2010/11/friendship-quotes.html