Our Own Little Ant Hill

When I feel neurotic, or sad, or scared, or insert-yucky-emotion-here I get a good kick in the ass from my grandfather.

What does he say?

It only takes one sentence for him to slap me back into the reality that everything is not a big deal, and it is pretty damn easy to be happy most of the time.

“Rachel, we are all ants and all we can really see is the top of the aunt hill.”

Sometimes I wonder what he means, and why he always seems to talk in metaphor. It’s like having this Yoda in my ear that can only be understood half the time and the other half I am left standing there muttering “huh?”

Sometimes I take this to mean that we can really only see what is slightly in front of us instead of the big picture. Sometimes I take this to mean that all people being equal parts of the puzzle, none of us are as important as we think we are, so self absorption is futile.

Most of the times I take that statement as if we really know so little, and can see so little, then from a universal perspective, we are ignorant.

From that I see that ignorance is truly bliss and although sometimes I don’t understand my grandfather I absorb the information anyway and if we know nothing, we can't worry about anything...joy then is the only way to go.

Will Tag You!

So Grumpy tagged me - though I promise to do that one later...must think about ranom first.

Imperfection

I go through life meeting all sorts of people. Some seem confident. Some insecure. Some have all their shit together and some are still fumbling around in the dark, trying to find their way.

I am only normal. I am neither confident nor insecure. Sometimes I have it together and sometimes I mess up. Often times I know exactly what to say and just the same, I mess up my lines.

It is those times in life when we forget to try to be perfect and forget to try to be confident, when the real person shines through. Vulnerable and open and in its own way…perfect.

I can go through my life and try to pretend to know everything all the time. I can go through my life knowing exactly what to say and what to do.

Or I can fumble around, dance around and fall down, where the real Rachel comes out.

Something tells me that in that imperfection and in that vulnerability, life is perfect anyway.

An Exercise for Happiness

What if every single time you did something you cheered? Try putting up a sign at work that says “Just a reminder that you rawk today.”

Every time you reply to an email stand up out of your desk and cheer.

Every time you finish a task – do a happy dance or skip around the room.

Feeling a lag in the day? Start doing cartwheels.

Went pee pee in the potty? Pat yourself on the back and let your body know you appreciate that it works properly.

Pat yourself on the back every time you smile.

Seriously – how many things do we do that are awesome?

Remember emotional maturity and acting like a dork is not mutually exclusive. Act like a kid sometimes and you might just become happy like one.

Obsessions for the Week

1. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s album – Baby 81.
2. Some random Infected Mushroom track I heard. I apologize no more info can be given at this time - but it rawked.
3. Meatball Sub Sandwich from Mimmos
4. The Canon 30D
5. The book – Married to the Brand
6. Trying to get a 100% on medium level with Guitar Hero
7. The new Queens of the Stone Age song – “Sick Sick Sick”
8. Heroes
9. Disneyland
10. Wondering what Disneyland would be like on drugs

An Exercise for a bad day

Take out a pen and paper and write down a list of 100 things in your life right now to be happy about. Don’t stop until you get to 100 no matter how long it takes. Watch your mood change.

Nine Fingers are better than none

On Sunday night I smashed my finger in the door. I am typing this with nine fingers. My fingernail is black. The pain is more annoying than anything and I have been told more than once that I must drill a hole (wtf?) in my fingernail or the nail will fall off. I almost did it. I got so close. I even heated up a paper clip thinking maybe I could just burn a hole in.

Needless to say – there is still no hole in my fingernail. Just a black blob and aside from the pain, I find myself getting all emo about only one thing…for the next few days I cannot play Guitar Hero.

Oh the horror!

An Observation Part 1

An Observation on losing

Imagine playing a baseball game in which someone told you before each game that you were going to win. You would start to lose the joy for the game right? Isn’t the triumph in winning, knowing that it is a risk and you might lose?

An Observation on Love

You will know if someone loves you when:

… if you piss them off and they give you a hug at the end of the day anyway, if they go out of their way and if they make you strive to be better but overlook your flaws and bad days.

An Observation on Metrosexuals

They can be defined as men with all the body issues of a gay men and the communication problems of the straight ones.

An Observation on Cats

Cats, like women, are one of the only animals that can be part evil and still be considered adorable.