what happens when stuff is challenging?


No matter how many things go on in my life, it is absurd to think that I can handle them all with ease and simple steady flow... that is funny, sort of. But the reality is that I struggle each day, that is me being honest and vulnerable. I, in my wise "young" years, have come to terms with nearly most of the stones and sticks and bridges from my life so far... with nearly most of them, I didn't say all.


I have been working through some things, while I have this busy life like the majority of people do, and something I have come to know is that we literally only have the moment we are in. What we learned in kindergarten really truly is all we really need to know on how to survive when stuff is challenging.


  1. Be kind to others.
  2. Don't budge in front of people, wait your turn in line.
  3. Don't let anyone sit alone at the lunch table unless they want to.
  4. Saying nice things about yourself is a good thing.
  5. If someone is mean to you, pause and take a breath, then choose how to respond.
  6. Sharing is actually caring, for real.
  7. Colors are all magic and make the work go around.
  8. What is special to you that you would want to share at show and tell, is perfectly you.
  9. Clean up after yourself.
  10. Everyone got the same chance in the classroom.
  11. Don't take someone's things, ever.
  12. Always ask permission.
  13. Listen. Then Listen more.
  14. Tell stories of wild imagination over and over and more and more
  15. Use your voice when things are not right.
  16. Don't call people mean names, to their faces or behind their backs.
  17. Being kind and not being kind only tells the world who I am. It is my choice.


That last one is what I am going to talk about today. Being kind when we are out and about, out to dinner, or at home watching a movie, scrolling through social media - these are the parts of our simple day-to-day life, the moments we are by ourselves. Those few minutes we escape to the store to pick something up or spend just a few more minutes in the car in the driveway when we get home. It is in those little life seconds that I found that black hole space in time, the one that Scott, aka AntMan, aka Paul Rudd, aka, the guy who never ages, aka... whatever. That black space in time where all of a sudden silence is beautiful and not deafening. That space is comforting and not cold. That space is fresh air and a live vibe that exudes hope. The missing link when stuff is challenging.


When stuff is challenging in my life, I tend to go to that space that is my reset. For me, that space is writing in my journals - writing just about anything and everything. The second thing is taking pictures. Besides my children and my husband, I love next capturing the likeness of someone's personality, someone's experience, and someone's steps in this life. The everyday things that we forget are uniquely human (you know, versus the alien things that we all know so much about).