I just ticked off another year on this life’s journey. It was an excruciatingly tough year filled with growth, lessons and pain. Through it, I was able to gain some perspective that I hadn’t necessarily requested, but that I’m sure will come in handy down the line. At least I’m hoping. I’m usually not one to view the cup as half full or even runneth-ing over. I’m a realist baked from an early age. I adopted a self-preservation, fatalistic mentality in my teens and it just stuck. Right or wrong. “Expect the worst, hope for the best” was a treatise for me to live and be guided by. I could be the best and most positive Patty for somebody else’s hopes, dreams and ambitions. I was Encourager- in- Chief. But for my own stuff? The fatalism runs deep. I’m slowly but surely freeing myself of those shackles of malcontent, of avoidance of risk. Because the more I realize and it gets revealed to me that we are what we think. What we think, so shall it be. Having a life partner who believes in God and miracles like nobody’s business helps me to grow toward that positive direction like a plant toward the window’s sunlight.
Each birthday is a moment to take stock of the growth, the movement and the positive perspective in myself. Not everything is rosy but I’m taking better care of my own internal energy force field and what is helpful versus harmful. Inspiring versus depressing. I embrace this coming year and all the suns, moons, cloudy skies and rainbows that lie ahead and encourage you to do the same. Oh lord, bring on the rainbows – amen!
Birthday highlights
Free live jazz on a Chicago street after dark
Cotton candy puff
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