5/07/2014

Every Day Stars



Some days I wonder if it is worth getting out of bed. There just seems to be more going wrong in the world than right.  I turned on the morning news, before I rolled out of bed and heard about a bad accident on the interstate.  Two people were airlifted to the hospital.  And on the hour, they said the news was going to cover a murder that happened over night where someone was arraigned first thing in morning in the County Court.  We got to see a mug shot of the charged person.

Next on, the weather man who tell us viewers it is going to rain hard and possibly hail late afternoon. Hail, maybe he meant to say hell, because that is what the newscast has been so far.  But, then, I look over at my night stand and see my water bottle just before I give in to throwing the blanket over my head.   The bottle is half full.   And I am thirsty.  As I reach out my arm to grab the bottle, I realize, well a sign of life, that water bottle.  I drink and I realize something good is about to happen.  Already the day improved.  It is all about how you 
look at it.  

I use to be a hater of social media.  I thought Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, My Page, etc…was idle chat.  On the outside looking in, it seemed like a gossip network.  Some of the posts were derogatory, politically motivated, racist, or promoting items and services people were selling.  To me, having a career in marketing and sales, it was an instant turn-off. It felt like an extension of my work day.  But, once I took another hard look at it, on my off time, as more and more of my friends became well versed at it and pushed me in the direction of using it, I begun to see why.  The true value of this form of communication is what it brings to live, to our world, connections, relationships and news in a positive format. Amen to that!

When we pick up the phone, in our busy lives, and talk to the few close friends in our circle, it is more likely to be about the news worthy events in our lives.  We make plans for dinner, we talk of upcoming items on our agenda, and information we have learned about our kids or our community and building up our relationship. This stuff matters a great deal no matter how busy we are. 

But, there are other people in life that matter too, people we don’t see very often at all. It is impossible to stay connected with everyone these days.  We can touch those lives and those folks can affect ours just by a profound or simple quote, a shared image or a thought for the day.   These are the folks we are connected to via social media. This is the stuff that truly makes life, some days, simply sparkle. When all else seems doomed, one can log onto a site like Facebook and be instantly reminded how great the world is and the people that are in it! 

You can read, for example, about someone like Renee, who is battling cancer again and is just as sharp witted as ever!  Positive attitude exudes from her central being. A little autistic boy like Ty who is more infatuated with a cell phone than any toy named to children.  He is constantly surprising those around him with his accomplishments and awakening others zest for life with his profound advancements.  Someone like Eileen has found a playful side to her personality again through her grandchildren. Those of us that follow her know, when the grandkids are coming over, we will be treated to funny posts and seeing our friend our age acting like a child again. It reminds us we are never too old to have fun!   

There is Lizzi who loves putting videos up of her daughter cooing so the rest of us can watch and giggle over her cuteness. Ramon is a prime example of someone who takes his love of writing and talent, constantly writes things on his Facebook page as posts where he is the butt of the jokes.  He creates on-going dialogue on his page and then gives himself therapy, for all the world to read, without charging himself! In doing so, it serves as a lesson to us all to not take ourselves quite so seriously.  Hence the title of his book, When Will My Life Not Suck?

The list just goes on and on.  You can easily write your own.  On a bad day, log on to a social media site and just count how many positive posts you read in 15 minutes. You will be amazed! It is a great example of how we can and do lift each other up.  Amazing, huh, that the news has not found a way to mimic this and feels the only way we will watch the news on television is if bad stuff is reported.  No wonder so many newspapers have gone under and the news programs are finding it hard to get viewer ship numbers up. 

I, for one, do not enjoy following anyone who is constantly down, negative or full of hate.  Life is about counting pennies thrown in by a wishing well, admiring flowers in bloom and listening to others funny stories about their life and laughing with them, not at them.  Looking at others photos of life awakens memories within me of similar tales and sometimes it’s just simply something to laugh at or be in awe of like the Fourth of July fireworks. 


Life is funny that way, don’t you think.   My grand-daughter and I pulled in my driveway the other night. I was pointing out the moon and she said, “Grandma but where are the stars?”  I told her they would be here soon. She was worried because she didn’t see them yet. So, when we got home, we went and stood in the backyard waiting for the stars to come out.  We got tired of waiting so went out front and drew with chalk on the driveway until suddenly she remembered what we were out there for. All the sudden, she screamed bloody murder, “Grandma!!!! The stars are here, see the star, Grandma?”  I looked at her with a big smile on my face and said, without looking up at the sky, “Yes, honey I see the beautiful star!” 

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