IS THERE SOMETHING UNUSUAL ABOUT ME?

....From my perspective....

Just an ordinary dog, with a unique way of seeing things….

I have been wondering for some time now, if there is an unusual bent to who I am? Of course if you ask my girlfriends, they would laugh in glee and say ” is she kidding, of course she’s extremely unusual, delightful,eclectic, unique in her perspectives and someone who lives every bit of life, in joy and hope….” Yeah, that’s what I would dream they would say….but perhaps it’s more like “she sure is unusual, why does she trust someone first and then find out they shouldn’t be trusted? She is definitely a “networking” kinda gal, with hundreds of ideas that run through her mind and roll off her tongue, yupper, she’s unusual all right, very”.

Well folks, it’s taken me my lifetime to become unusual, actually I think I was born that way and it’s taken my lifetime to let who I am out of Pandora’s Box. It can be a very good thing you know!!!!

As most of us do, I have strong moral standards and a polite, proper upbringing. Unlike “Vivian” in my favorite movie, “Pretty Woman”, I know etiquette and know which fork to use to dine. I have a decent vocabulary and a love of reading. I love to meet new people and converse with them, I seem to have a nac for building instant rapport and most open up freely, sometimes to the point that it’s way too much information (TMI) as my kids call it. But folks seem to react that way, hmmmmm why? Because I listen to them, I give them my full attention, I care about who they are, their stories and we all have them….different situations, same emotions. So I easily can feel those emotions and quickly imagine what it’s like to “walk in their shoes”. Chances are I have done so many times. So I “get them”….understand their disappointments ,frustrations, struggle,sadness, losses and joys. I make myself available to listen to them, to care about them, to get to know them.

I consider my self, transparent. When we meet, there is very little I would not openly share with you. I try to be honest and forthright and to let you know that others have also been where you might be at this moment in time. There is no use in my pretending to be someone I am not, it wastes time and is foolish because we all know, the “truth eventually comes out” in most situations. So why bother to be someone I am not.

I try hard not to pry into the life of another or not to overstep their boundaries or be invasive in their lives. I just try to be supportive, encouraging and what a friend means to me. I have weathered some storms within my life when God has been my only Allie, my only friend, my only companion….there has been no other human being available. I know the feeling of total loneliness, desperation, hopelessness and being on the edge of despair….I have felt it and with Him and I somehow I have managed to emotionally survive the situations, by His grace. I have learned incredible lessons and have met incredible people who have been instrumental in teaching me what I have needed to learn. I can now look back on the most difficult ones, and count them as blessings…..gifts to myself ….lessons that have brought me through to today to live with an optimistic attitude, in gratefulness for what I have, and a feeling of accomplishment from working so hard to discover who this unusual woman might be.

If I could recommend to everyone, just one thing….it would be to rip off the masks we wear in our culture and to risk being and thinking and behaving like the person inside, the person God made us to be. We are after all a reflection of His image, and God doesn’t make junk!

Take a deep breath, begin today, open your heart and let your own light shine….let the world see your creativeness, your talents, your skills, your compassion, your generosity, your willingness to discover, your love for who you are…..and pass it along to others as you meet them. Share whatever it is that makes you unique and unusual, we each are….I just confirmed I am very unusual and share so much joy, freedom and peace because I am, I simply want those feelings to be discovered by you as well.

Give it a try….make different choices, experiment with what you have always done or said and try something new, go different routes to work, get out of your routine and rut and soar with the eagles, fly with the angels and leave imprints on each heart of everyone you touch…..It’s genuine and a fabulous way to live life! I know, I experience the wonderment each and everyday, why not give it a try? Discover what’s so unusual and special within you and you may find it to be the most priceless gift you ever give yourself or those you love.