Category Archives: success

Oz never did give nothin’ to the Tin Man…..Trifextra challenge

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The most unlikely friends.  Each of them thought they needed something they already had.  We always seek the things we are afraid to see in ourselves.  Be brave, be clever, have a heart.

Annex - Haley, Jack (Wizard of Oz, The)_02

(image credit: doctormacro.com)

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Written for this weekend’s Trifextra Challenge:

This weekend we’re asking for 33 of your own words about a famous trio. The trio could be from literature, from history or from pop culture. Just make it yours and have fun with it. Good luck! – See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.y3vJUsW9.dpuf

Now leaving your comfort zone…please fasten your seatbelt

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This post was inspired by this post.  Thanks Guap for getting the wheels turning again!

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Risk and reward.  Two words that represent how life really begins when you take that chance and step off the ledge of your comfort zone.  Life in a safety bubble is just that, safe.   No adventure tale every begins with the lead character being stuck in the confines of their comfort zone.   With risk comes adventure and the potential for really harnessing an energy that you never knew existed.

We create and shape our comfort zone for a reason.  It brings us the solace that we crave.  But frequent trips outside of that comfort zone can open up a world of possibilities and give us a sense of freedom.  It can allow us the opportunity to perceive things about ourselves that we never would have otherwise discovered.  And it doesn’t have to begin with a great leap of faith.  Small changes in our routine can lead to a monumental swing in our level of acceptance and can eventually increase the size of our comfort zone.

It is a given that stepping out of that comfort zone will lead to some anxiety and discomfort but the small pains we face to grow our experience will be well worth the gains we appreciate on the other side of the journey.  We need to re-wire the built-in mechanism that regulates our level of apprehension when it comes to trying something new.

Change is frightening but change is also cathartic.  Real personal growth can only occur if we allow ourselves the opportunity to expand our horizons, to go beyond the constraints with which we bind ourselves.  Reaching beyond that level of comfort will allow us the chance to gain more confidence and gain a sense of power from our attempt to evolve.

Take that first step towards the ledge, and then take another.  Slowly you will gain the confidence and know that the precipice that faces you is not as daunting as you first thought.  The fear that you embrace can only hold you back from finding out what awaits you once you take that plunge.  Perhaps the thing that scared you the most will hold the key to you truly feeling like you can conquer the world.

Over forty and feelin’ fine

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Age can be a fickle creature.  Being over forty has radically affected the way I eat and what I choose to ingest.  I began a new, healthy lifestyle two years ago – no more processed food, nothing that I thought could harm my body.   If I can’t pronounce the ingredients, they are not a part of my food selection.  Those simple four and five syllable additives that I thought were harmless were doing my body a supreme injustice.

Once I made the decision that I, and I alone, would be the only one to create the ingredients I absorbed and not rely on pre-packaged meals, I immediately noticed a spike in my energy.  My body was not wasting precious moments of efficiency trying to break down those foreign particles I had been ingesting for so long and figuring out where to store them if they were unbreakable.  Because my body was only required to process real foods that it recognized and could break down easily, it affected not only my weight but my skin and my general sense of well-being.

We have to know our bodies, know what is a normal feeling and what should send up red flags in our comfort level.  If you are in your fourth or fifth decade, your body will start to turn on you.  That truth is inevitable.  The foods that you loved for oh so long, will become the enemy.  Those pre-packaged meals that are so convenient to buy are conveniently stored in your fat cells because your body will not recognize the preserving ingredients as food. There will be more of a discomfort after eating and there will be a general feeling of lethargy.

As we age, our food choices become far more important.  I am now very cognizant of not only the ingredients, but the foods themselves.  Natural foods serve a greater purpose than just nourishing our bodies.  The correct foods can help stabilize our blood sugars and ensure that our organs are working to their optimal level.

With my 45th birthday creeping around the corner, I must strive to maintain these ideals.   Sure, there is the occasional misstep in the new food regime (especially during the summer), but I am made painfully aware by my body that I made a bad choice.  There will be things I refuse to give up – like my morning coffee – but I have replaced a few of those cups of Joe with water and lemon.  I have fallen off the food wagon a few times over the last few months and my body has sent nasty reminders making me all too aware of my bad choices.

Aging is unavoidable but now that I have learned to listen to what my body wants and needs, I am going to give everything I have to make that process last as long as possible.   The lemon is in the water and the whole foods await.  Bon appetit!!

Pay It Forward

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I just watched the movie of the same name again with a young Haley Joel Osment and was as overwhelmed with the movie today as I was when it first came out.  What a concept.  For those of you that have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it – and for those of you that have seen it, watch it again.

A young boy’s social studies assignment is to come up with a concept that could change the whole world and to put it into action.  His idea is so simple, yet so possible.  It begins with one good deed done for three separate people.   Instead of that favor being repaid, the favor is paid forward to three other unsuspecting, but deserving people.  The ripple effect of such a simple gesture could be remarkable!

The trajectory of human existence could be put into a whole new orbit.  The onus is on you to start the ripple – the rest is putting your faith in others to continue the journey that you began.  Imagine if the human race could single-handedly make the world a better place to live by putting our faith in each other and believing that such a small gesture could make such a vast difference.

It is certainly worth pondering for more than just a fleeting second.  What if the favor you bestow on someone today could start that ripple?  Kindness begets kindness…what we sow, so shall we reap.  But what if we let others reap what we have sown, and pass on that kindness to someone you may never cross paths with?

Pay it forward.  Impart your generosity to someone less fortunate with only one covenant.  They need not pay you for the kindness you have shown them.  Ask them instead to look favorably on someone else in need of that same benevolence that you have shared. The world can seem like an unfriendly and threatening place, but if we could change the outlook on life for three people and they, in turn, do the same, perhaps we can make a difference and make our world a much better place.

Don’t believe everything you think

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My brain plays tricks on me.  It sometimes deceives me into believing falsities that are so far from the truth it’s astounding.  I have a real knack for over-thinking, for seeing things unlike they really are and for creating sub-realities of truths I believe to be factual.

I am not delusional by any means, but I read too far into the most minute of details and things affect me on a much grander scale than they should.  If I forget to do something at work, I obsess over how it will affect my fellow employees when, in truth, it is a minor hiccup in the larger air pocket of the day.  I will churn words over and over again in my head – words that escaped my lips and perhaps fell on deaf ears, but words that I wish I would have said differently.  I over-think how those words could have been presented although time has already marched over those words and left them behind,  buried in the footprints of the past.

brain_on_fire

(image credit: salon.com)

In this regard, I am my own worst enemy.  Or at least the firing neurons in my thought processes are my worst enemy.  I must not believe everything I think.  I must learn that perspective is an individual thing and not everyone sees or hears the things I do in the same way.  I read too much into people’s reactions.  I over-analyze every word until those words are beaten into submission, yet they still torture me in my sleep and continue to hover above my pillow in my waking hours.

I am on a crusade to teach myself to let those things go – to not dwell on the things I cannot change and to accept things at face value.  The drama will continue to play on in my head but I must remember to not believe everything I think.

Once around the sun

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“If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways.”
― Michel de Montaigne

When I was thinking about writing this post I had no idea how I would begin but this quote made me think about how to write this in a whole different way.  Today is the one year anniversary of beginning my blogging journey on WordPress – my blogiversary.  Within the last 365 days I have certainly spoken in different ways and have come to see myself in very different ways.

Polysyllabic Profundities was born a year ago today.  In the 365 days that have preceded this post, I have watched it take its first tentative steps, pull itself up on furniture and crawl until it could walk.  It has developed a personality and challenged me on many levels.  It has drawn me into a circle of people who I am happy to call friends and it has allowed me to truly become myself again.

I feel a great freedom being able to express myself in the way I feel most comfortable.  Words soothe me.  For every emotion I have there is a plethora of words that will perfectly describe that feeling and I eagerly delve into the recesses of my brain, or my thesaurus, to find just the right one.   The sun sets each day, kissing the earth goodnight with its fading warmth and, as much pleasure as I get from seeing it, I feel more joy describing its descent into the blanket of the horizon with words.

As long as my imagination continues to wake me from my peaceful slumber, my words will continue to find their way to this page.  I am grateful for the ability to pontificate.  I am humbled by the responses I receive.  And I am blessed to have met so many wonderful people who I really do consider friends.  Thank you for spinning through this orbit with me and I look forward to being able to write something similar in another year.

Common Sense

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Common sense may not be as common as we would like to think.  Common sense is described as the basic level of practical knowledge and judgement that we all need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way.  Although that seems like a very simple idea there are many people who are unable to harness the that basic level of sense.

I have had this discussion with many friends on many occasions – would you rather be book smart or have common sense?  My answer was always the same and always will be – I would far rather have common sense. People with book smarts that lack that aspect of common sense are few and far between, but it does happen.  They can memorize an entire year of law reviews and quote Roe v. Wade verbatim but when it comes to simple, common sense decisions they lack the ability to put things into a functional perspective.

I am fortunate that I was born with a quick, analytical mind.  I can take a situation and process it quickly to come up with a viable solution.  This to me is common sense – being able to scrutinize your surroundings and make a valid decision based on your opinion.

Common sense allows you to interpret and respond to a situation within seconds.  It may seem like a snap judgement but there is stronger force helping guide you to that decision that you feel in your gut is the right thing to do. Book smarts can only get you so far but common sense will guide you seemingly and effortlessly through this journey we call life.  I can’t tell you the details of Roe v. Wade but I can certainly get myself through any situation with some careful thought and conscientious decision-making.

There is a profound satisfaction in knowing that, although I may not be entirely book smart, I can navigate my way through life with a sense of knowing that I will be able to conquer whatever arises with a bit of common sense.  I can always pick up a book or Google the answers that evade me in certain circumstances, but situational awareness and the comfort in having common sense will far outweigh being my own Encyclopedia any day.

I saw your car at the bar…

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I’m amazed and thrilled at how the times have changed.  Not so long ago there was a certain stigma attached to people who “had” to leave their car in the bar parking lot after a night of imbibing.  They were ridiculed by their friends for being so intoxicated that they had to leave their vehicle behind because they were too drunk to drive.

You could drive by the pub in the early hours of the morning and see people doing the “army crawl” across the lot, continually peering over their shoulder to see if they were being watched while they skulked across the pavement to retrieve their vehicle.

car in lot

Nowadays having the clear thought to leave your car behind is being worn like a badge of honor rather than a badge of shame. People that have the foresight to give up their keys and find an alternate way home should be seen as heroes.  If you have to say to yourself, “I’m fine”, you’re probably not fine enough to drive.

On the rare occasion that I go out for a  few drinks, I am one of those people who will put their keys aside and choose to be judged, if you will, for leaving my car in the parking lot and choosing to get a ride home.  Knowing that I choose to put other people’s safety ahead of my need to have my car in the driveway in the morning is a great feeling.  Even in a small town like the one I live in, choosing to do the right thing just feels right.  I may only encountered a deer or a wild turkey, or nothing at all, but I choose to not take the chance of something greater being in my path.

It takes just a split second to make that choice not to drive if you have been drinking. And it also takes a split second to be on the wrong side of the line and cost someone else time in the hospital or even worse.  Make the right decision – park your car for the night and get that safe ride home. I’d rather be the one the one they point the finger at to say “I saw your car at the bar” then to be the one that caused the accident that cost someone their life.

Lucky number three – Trifextra post

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She waited at the gates for her turn.  She had been reincarnated twice before and found him late in her last life.  Their souls were destined for love.  Third time is the charm.

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Written for the Trifextra post: On to the new prompt.  This weekend we’re asking for 33 of your own words inspired by the idiom, third time’s the charm.  This familiar phrase may have an indeterminate origin, but its meaning is clear.  Whether or not you include the phrase itself is up to you.  Just make sure to use exactly 33 words.  And, as usual, have fun with it!

Make your own rules – Trifecta Challenge

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The painted cedar shingle hung precariously above the door.  An old wooden ladder had been haphazardly tied at the top rung to the branch of the tree but the placement of its feet were firm enough in the ground to be safe for access to the tree house.  The boys had vacated its four walls a few hours earlier and the fortress that they called their club sat empty.

After nimbly climbing the rungs of the ladder she surveyed the forbidden clubhouse.  Comic books were stacked in the corners of the room, posters of super heroes adorned the walls and the wooden structure was permeated with the smell of dirt. Sun shone through the cracks in the one-by-six construction boards and reflected off the jar in the corner half-filled with coins.

Although it was only a quarter, she felt the weight of the coin in her pocket.  Too many times she had heard the laughter and camaraderie escaping from those walls and she longed to be part of it.  She slowly retraced her steps down the ladder and headed for the garage.

Bracing the air rifle and taking the proper stance, she aimed at the sign that hung over the entrance to the club.  Lining up target in her sight, she squeezed the trigger and the pellet tore through the shingle, splintering off the top piece of the wood.  The sign now read “Girls allowed”.

no girls allowed

(image credit: bestofcalvinadhobbes.com)

Waiting patiently for what seemed like hours, she finally heard the boys return.  She marched across the lawn and climbed the ladder, rung by rung, until she reached the threshold of the one place she truly wanted to be.  Knowing she would be met with the many arguments that no girls were allowed she entered clubhouse, the threw her quarter into the jar and defiantly sat cross-legged on the wooden floor.

With a slight smirk she remarked, “That’s not what the sign says.”