Travel Humor

I often tell my clients, “Quote yourself; you’ll never become famous by quoting someone else.” Of course, not everyone wants to be famous and there have been a quote or two that have been life changing for me.

I’m enroute to Los Angeles, waiting in Albuquerque for a connecting flight. The flight here was uneventful, save a rather restless passenger behind me. Perhaps he was listening to some great song on his I-whatever, keeping beat on the tray table – which extends from my seat. I found myself becoming irritated, wanting to turn around and politely ask him to knock it off. It was annoying.

Wayne Dyer’s quote came to mind, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” .  Gosh, why didn’t I think of that first?

But, it did come to mind and I wondered how I could change the way I perceived the constant jarring. I was blowing it way out of proportion by allowing it to become an aggravation.  Maybe it was his way of just letting me know he was back there, so I’d not feel alone.

Tadum!  I was instantly transformed. I didn’t have to be an irritated old shrew; I was once again, the nice lady from Titusville, just flying to Los Angeles with about 90 other people, one of which was unintentionally communing with me.

I wonder if I’ll be so blessed on the second leg of my journey. The nice thing about Southwest Airlines (in addition to no charge for bags or changing your flight) is that I can pick my seat. Perhaps I’ll search out a friendly looking soul with which I can share the ride. I’ve really met some nice people that way. And if the person who sits behind me wants to let me know they’re there, I’ll welcome the unknown hello and smile when I visit the restroom!

Gosh, this whole thing could turn into a spiritual experience. Thanks, Wayne!

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Things are not always as they seem!

I was cooking yesterday, making a big pot of my delicious black bean chili so that Dave has some stuff to eat while I’m in Nashville this weekend. As a rule, I don’t measure spices, kind of just dump them in. Well, I reached for the chili powder, made a few generous passes over the crock pot and realized it wasn’t chili powder, but nutmeg.

Oh geeze, now what? My first thought was to dump it down the drain – all that ground beef, several cans of black beans, and the rest of it. I was truly agitated with myself, inspiring negative self-talk; “You stupid idiot!” I would never speak to anyone the way I sometimes speak to myself.

I calmed down, and wondered how much damage a little nutmeg could cause. What would it hurt to let it simmer in the crock pot and let Dave taste it later (I’m on the no-BLT’s plan – no bites, licks or tastes)?

So, when he came home from his part time job at Disney, Dave lifted the lid on the crock pot, smelled the chili and asked for a bowl! I accommodated him, not mentioning my screw up with the spices. So there he was, a little after midnight, chowing down, raving about how it was the best chili I had ever made. Chuckling, I shared my nutmeg saga. He suggested that I add it to all future chilis!

So there you go. My famous black bean chili will have an opportunity to be even more famous for it’s new secret ingredient, so don’t tell anyone! It could have used a little more jalapeno pepper. I always err on the side of conservative with the hot stuff!

Had I followed my first negative inkling and pitched the chili, we’d never have known what good could come from a seemingly bad situation. I learned something yesterday – things aren’t always what they seem and what may look like a negative in the moment, could be a positive just waiting to happen!

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Spiritual Tip of the Day ~ Celebrate!

DSCN4279My niece Monica from North Carolina and her best friend Kandace visited this past weekend. Monica turned fourteen on Saturday and I flipped sixty-one on Sunday and we celebrated in great style at Disney World. I thought that nothing could top last year’s gala party when I joined the ranks of the sixty-year-olders, but this was right up there in a memory-maker.

Disney is the king of celebrations! We were issued buttons to wear, complete with our names, identifying us as birthday girls! Cast members, as Disney refers to their employees, pay close attention to the buttons, and throughout the weekend, we heard “Happy Birthday”, along with our name, many, many times. I cannot tell you how special I felt and I know that Monica did too. My husband also was very attentive, not allowing me to carry my back pack all day, and every time a cast member said, “Happy Birthday, Gerri”, so did he. In fact, one had an accent and my name sounded more like Jeddy than Gerri, so Dave had a good time calling me Jeddy all day. It was great fun to be so special for a day.

I highly recommend visiting Disney for your birthday and if you cannot do that, find a special way to celebrate. Dave jumped out of an airplane for a tandem-parachute ride. That wasn’t my idea of a good time, but when I turned fifty, several friends bought me the Richard Petty Driving Experience and I drove a real stock car 118.1 mph on an oval track. Wow, I still can remember the excitement of going that fast.

However you celebrate is up to you, but I truly feel like God wants us to grab the gusto in life. You don’t need an excuse to celebrate either. Perhaps this weekend, you can bake a cake, blow out the candles for no reason at all, other than life is great, and why not celebrate?

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Spiritual Tip of the Day ~ Laughter

girls playing uid 1158247“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” ~ Woody Allen

How long has it been since you’ve laughed that hard? 

Does the thought of spirituality conjure up a picture of someone serious? Many of my religious role models were somber. I think it was even a sin to laugh in church! But really, laughter is truly a gift from God and has many benefits. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a statue of Buddha where he isn’t laughing. The best sermons I can remember are those where the preacher made us laugh.

 My thought today is that laughter can truly be a spiritual experience. When I’m in good spirits, I feel connected to the God of my understanding. I feel better when I laugh. I don’t dislike anyone, I don’t feel stressed out. Laughter is so real! Did you ever try and fake a laugh? You’ll probably start laughing for real – at least that is my experience. It is difficult to laugh and feel bad at the same time! 

Look for an opportunity to laugh today:

  • Can a difficult situation at work be tempered by some humor?
  • Find a joke that you can share with someone in your life today ~ if you don’t have a joke at your immediate disposal, use your search engine to find one!
  • Can you find the humor in your own life today?

Here are some articles on the spirituality in laughter:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Buddhism-And-Laughter&id=659287

http://www.kurtkilpatrick.com/laffattitudes.htm

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