Better

Better.

That's my word for the coming New Year, 2013. I saw a few posts in social media where people were asked to pick three words. Well, see, you put me in a position much like the one I find myself in when asked what my favorite movie is, or color, or song. I can't possibly answer those questions with just one answer. I don't think I can pick just three words that would encompass how I would like 2013 to unfold. I can pick three great words, yes. All day long. But they won't be enough, and they will cheat the other, hundred-or-so, fabulous words out there.

So I chose one.

I don't know that I've ever seriously done New Years resolutions. I doubt that I will start now. What I do know is that I resolve to do better. Not just on New Years Eve, in preparation for January 1. But all year, I find myself wishing this. This idea, that graduates from a tiny seed of hope to be better in all things, slowly evolves into a grandiose statement that I sometimes want to shout from a rooftop somewhere.

"I WILL BE BETTER! I WILL CLIMB THIS MOUNTAIN! I WILL MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE! I WILL HELP ALL THE PEOPLE AND DO ALL THE THINGS!"

It's a huge world out there, and I am one small speck of a human, on the grid. But, remember that butterfly effect? One small good deed, can send shockwaves across the oceans. I've always believed this.

So what I propose to all of us, are these:

Be kind. Be MORE kind than you ever have been. To complete strangers, and to your own. Sometimes the latter is harder, and I'm aware of that. Try. "we'll take, a cup of kindness, yet....for auld lang syne"

Don't take more than your share. And I mean this. From anyone, from the universe, from the person passing you the plate of food, from the candy dish, from the grocery store, to the sale table in your favorite store. Just take what you need. Pull back a little on what you don't. And if you really believe in me, pull back a lot.

Stop, and take the time to go out of your way to help. If the woman in the wheelchair can't reach the green bags hanging above the celery, help her. Get her a bag, and help her pick out the freshest celery. (I had to add this in, it just happened to me at Kroger, so real life must occur in the blog post).

Call your parents. Every week. If you don't have them here with you anymore, call a family member and just ask them how they're doing. Share your life with them too. It makes their day when you do that. Trust me.

Slow to anger, and slow to judge. Or how about not at all, especially on the judging part.

Listen. To anyone that is taking the time to talk to you. It may be drivel to you, while you're busy working or doing all of the things, but stop what you're doing and listen. Look at them when they're talking to you. Be interested in what they have to say, whatever you're doing can wait a few more minutes.

Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every single day.

Remove one thing from your life that is causing more harm than it's worth. You don't have to tell me or anyone else what it is. Maybe it's a who. Or maybe it's a thing. But do it.

When you go to sleep at night, be grateful for the day.

And finally, have a little faith. In yourself, and others. If that doesn't make 2013 better, well, I don't know what to tell ya.

For the sake of old times, (auld lang syne) and new one's, I'm wishing you a safe, peaceful and prosperous New Year.
With lots of happy in it.

Much love,
Tiffany

PS And I wasn't kidding about the fruit and vegetables! Even Breakfast at Tiffany's will have them!

I've always believed in the balance of life....

"'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life...."


One of my favorite songs, "Bittersweet Symphony" - The Verve, is in the background of my day, and sort of my life actually. Right now anyway.
 
I've always believed in the balance of life. There will be good days, and there will be not so good days. I embrace the good days so tight I squeeze the life right out of them. They far outnumber any bad days I might have, because, as you know, for the most part I rarely have a bad day.
 
A very dear friend was recently diagonosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. Nothing like a reality check like that to have life come to a screeching halt for a moment. Cancer of any kind, at any age, is no fun obviously. He's only thirty-five years old, but he told me, "I will beat this".
 
So I wake up and go about my day. I hear, and see, parents screaming at their kids in public places. I see people cutting other people off in traffic. I hear people complaining at work about mundane things that really, in the end, have very little meaning. It makes me tired and sad in a way, to see a much bigger picture out there, that often goes unnoticed by others who forget to realize how lucky they are. I include myself in that statement too, I'm human.
 
"Here comes the sun"....comes on next, as I type this. And that is where I live, mostly. Constantly flipping the coin over to find the brighter side.
 
So yes, BP, you will beat this. If I didn't have faith in this statement I wouldn't say it. I've seen cancer get kicked to the curb so many times, this one will be no different.
 
My request for you, my friends, is this:
 
Be happy. If you're not, change things until you are. Read good books, and walk the dog, and eat a snowcone every time you want to. Be grateful for pretty things, like a gorgeous sunset or a lake with ducks swimming across the top of the water. Be kind. Call your friends and tell them you care about them. Make plans soon, especially if you haven't seen them for a while. Go to a concert and ROCK.OUT. Buy a plane ticket to a beach, and dig your toes in the sand. Write a book. (this is for my friend Kate who did just that, I can't wait to promote it when I get back in Facebook and Twitter).
 
And I wasn't kidding about the snowcone.
 
See you soon friend,
Tiffany
 
PS Severe Storms are on the horizon for North Texas tonight and tomorrow. If we have to eat Breakfast at Tiffanys by candlelight, I certainly won't mind. Will you?