Ever Feel Off a Beat?

It's not about forcing happiness. It's about not letting the sadness win.
Anonymous

by Skip Cohen

Over the years, we've all heard a few of blog posts' fundamental "rules." At the top of the list is always, don't get too personal. If I'm truly going with the consistency I've tried to stay with when writing Sunday Morning Reflections, then it's a morning of getting personal.

Ever wake up sad? You can't pinpoint why there's a knot in your stomach, but things just don't seem right. This morning I woke up feeling sad. If I was still a kid and my Grandma Sarah was still alive, she'd tell me I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She'd then hug me and let me babble for a minute. She'd listen, then, at some point, there'd be a smile back on my face.  

I sat down at my computer to write two hours ago and couldn't get it together. The harder I tried, the less progress I made. Sheila filled in for my grandmother, listening to me try and find the source of my sadness. Finally, I gave up, and we decided to have breakfast.

In the process of making French toast, it all came to me. The sadness was a combination of a sugar low, not enough sleep, and a small list of challenges, of which the big one was missing my Dad. My Dad was my best buddy, and I miss him regularly, but more important than missing Dad was not counting my blessings for everything in my life.

I got so caught up with feeling something was wrong that I missed appreciating what was right. That led to a great conversation with Sheila about Dad, aging, the pups, and as usual, over breakfast, the topic of what to do for dinner tonight.

You can complain because roses have thorns,
or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.
Zig Ziglar

And there's my point, hardly earth-shaking, but feeling down sometimes isn't a liability. For me, it's the way my heart likes to let me know it's time to refocus on all the good things in my life instead of the dents and bruises!

Wishing everybody an incredible day ahead and time to appreciate everything and everyone who's a part of your life. And unlike my initial attitude this morning of feeling the need to identify what had me feeling down, take the time to look around you and simply count your blessings!
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Happy Sunday...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.