Things I learned today…
It would have been easier to go to bed than stay up and write my TILT, but as long as I can help it, I don’t want to miss writing one.
I learned today that you MUST be a student through life. If you aren’t listening, willing to share your authenticity and knowledge with others, and you aren’t open to understanding new concepts and people, you are not capable of learning from other people. I find this wildly important.
I’m not sure we always meet people where they are. Do you follow that? It’s allowing someone to be himself, giving someone grace for their shortcomings, appreciating them for what they bring to the table (no matter how big or small!). I believe we tend to approach people with US in mind, our expectations, our perceptions, our preferences. We go in looking through those lenses rather than seeing people for who and actually what they are. Meeting people where they are takes effort. It takes compassion and empathy. It takes seeing through bullshit and any fake personas, or maybe even recognizing that those exist and handling them accordingly with grace. It requires a deliberate effort, that’s for sure.
I was reminded today that changes we make in ourselves impact others. Our changes in attitude, behavior, habits, goals, reactions, everything…ripple out…creating waves. Think about this.
God bless our hearts, we all just want to be accepted, don’t we? We want to be liked, maybe affirmed. We want to feel like we’re appreciated. Recognized. Seen. I’m not sure those are desires we can turn off.
I really, really admire strength and bravery in a person. Keith is strong and brave. I’ve seen him demonstrate it time and again. A lady on stage this evening is struggling through breast cancer treatments and has an upcoming surgery. She is stronger and braver than she probably realizes. I watch studio owners present on stage in front of crowds of people for the first time, pushing aside fear and doubt, charging forward articulately and with confidence. That’s strong and brave. I saw a woman smile and clap tonight who had lost her husband suddenly this past year. Strong. Brave. I so value strength and bravery.
I think you get out of things what you put in. You just CAN NOT go through life expecting anything without effort. I wish everybody would work on themselves. Work on being good people. Work on being authentic. Work on being light. Work on being compassionate. Work on being selfless, yet work on demanding better. If everyone was putting in effort, goodness knows what we could accomplish.
I’m not particularly articulate tonight. My thoughts are all over the place, but it was a really good day. Being a watcher of people, hearer of words, and eager learner of things gets exhausting. And I’ll be ready to do it all again tomorrow.
REAL folks are hard to come by. When you find one, don’t let them go.
My babies appear to be doing really well on their trip to the lake this week. I miss Keith.
That’s all. We learn every day, don’t we?
Amanda Herring, Writer 