THIS VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING QUESTION WAS BEAUTIFULLY AND THOUGHTFULLY POSTED BY ONE OF MY SWEET AND BEAUTIFUL "DAUGHTERS" JAMIE ON HER BLOG, LINK TO IT, IT'S AN AWESOME POST, WITH INSIGHTFUL AND INSPIRING COMMENTS. (JUST CLICK ON THE WORD JAMIE TO LINK TO HER BLOG)
WELL I REALLY WANTED TO PONDER AND GIVE THOUGHT TO THIS QUESTION, WHEN I HAD SOME TIME TO SIT DOWN AND DO SOME REAL SOUL SEARCHING. SO INSTEAD OF BLOGGING MY ENTIRE NOVEL OF AN ANSWER TO HER COMMENT PAGE, AND HOGGING ALL OF HER SPACE, I LEFT A SNIPIT, AND PUT THE REST OF MY THOUGHTS HERE ON MY BLOG.
IF I LIKEN MYSELF TO A CUP FILLED TO THE HALF WAY MARK, THEN I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THERE ARE DAYS THAT I AM "HALF FULL" AND THERE ARE DAYS I AM "HALF EMPTY".
DAYS WHICH I AM "HALF FULL";
ARE DAYS SPENT WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, ENJOYING A SUNRISE OR SUNSET, PLAYING WITH MY GRANDCHILDREN OR READING TO THEM, TALKING TO MY CHILDREN ON THE PHONE, DOING SERVICE FOR OTHERS, SHARING A SMILE, BEING KIND TO A COMPLETE STRANGER, JUST CHILLIN' WITH MY HUSBAND, READING A GOOD BLOG, WRITING, READING, BLOGGING, DECORATING, LOOKING THROUGH OLD PICTURES, A CANDLE LIGHT DINNER, GOING FOR A DRIVE, MY DOG & CAT, DANCE, CAMPING, A BIKE RIDE, A WALK, MUSIC, LAUGHTER, PRAYER, SCRIPTURE READING, ETC...
I HONESTLY BELIEVE THE WAY TO BEING "HALF FULL" IS BY FILLING YOUR CUP WITH THINGS YOU LOVE AND ENJOY, STAYING BUSY, GIVING. REMEMBER IF YOU GIVE SOME OF YOUR SELF AWAY IT IS EASY TO REPLENISH YOUR SELF. ALL OF THE THINGS ABOVE ARE RESOURCES, "RIVERS, FOUNTAINS, SPRINGS, AND WELLS" IF YOU WILL, THAT WE CAN REPLENISH OUR SELF FROM, PEOPLE OR THINGS WHO CAN HELP US TO MAINTAIN OUR "HALF FULL" STATUS.
OTHER TYPES OF "HALF FULL" DAYS;ARE THE DAYS WERE I TAKE CONTROL OF MY OUTLOOK ABOUT THINGS, I FIND THE POSITIVE IN A NEGATIVE, I DON’T ALLOW PEOPLE TO PUSH MY BUTTONS, I FIND UNDERSTANDING INSTEAD OF JUDGEMENT, I LAUGH THINGS OFF, I PRETEND THAT THE DRIVER I HONKED AT FOR CUTTING ME OFF WAVED TO ME (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS ONLY WITH ONE FINGER), I DON’T GET UPSET THAT THE PERSON I LET GO AHEAD OF ME DIDN’T EVEN SAY THANK YOU, I AM GREATFUL FOR THE 3 THINGS I GOT DONE ON MY TO DO LIST, I REMEMBER I CAN'T CONTROL EVERYTHING AND THAT'S OK, I DON'T ALLOW SOMEONE TO HURT MY FEELINGS, I STEP BACK AND LOOK AT LIFE INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT IT THROUGH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, I STOP TO SMELL THE ROSES I PLANTED IN MY YARD EVEN THOUGH THE PLANTS AREN'T THAT HEALTHY THE FLOWERS STILL SMELL GOOD. (IT'S HARD TO GROW ROSES WHERE I LIVE BUT I LOVE THEM SO I HAD TO TRY).
DAYS WHICH I FEEL "HALF EMPTY";
ARE DAYS I DON'T EVEN REALIZE THAT SO MUCH OF ME HAS “EVAPORATED“, AMOUNTS WERE TAKEN AWAY IN SUCH SMALL PORTIONS I DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE, THOSE ARE DAYS WHERE IT SEEMS AS THOUGH EVERYONE NEEDS A SIP OF ME, WORK, FAMILY, SPOUSE, HOME, CHURCH, NEIGHBOR, FRIEND, OBLIGATIONS, THE UNEXPECTED, YOU KNOW THOSE DAYS WERE EVERYTHING THAT CAN GO WRONG WILL, ETC….. UNTIL BY THE END OF THE DAY I FEEL EMPTY, AND FINALLY REALIZE JUST HOW MUCH HAS BEEN TAKEN.
OTHER TYPES OF "HALF EMPTY" DAYS;
ARE THOSE DAYS THAT I ALLOWED MY SELF TO “BOIL” OVER WITH ALL OF MY ROUTINE DAILY ACTIVITIES, PLUS SOME ADDITIONAL ONES THAT I TOOK UPON MYSELF, LIKE LETTING SOMEONE HURT MY FEELINGS, NOT SPEAKING UP TO THE BOSS TO REMIND HIM I'M NOT SUPER WOMAN AND I CAN'T DO 100 THINGS AT ONE TIME, (AT LEAST NOT WELL), ALLOWING MY WORKERS TO PUSH MY BUTTONS, GETTING ANGRY BECAUSE I JUST GOT CUT OFF FOR THE 10TH TIME IN ONLY THE LAST 2 MINUTES, HAVING TO DEAL WITH IDIOT # 400 ON THE PHONE, (AND IT'S NOT EVEN LUNCH TIME YET), NOT GETTING A LUNCH BREAK EVER, FORGETING THINGS BIG AND SMALL, HAVING A DOZEN THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST AND ONLY GETTING 2 OR 3 OF THEM DONE, TRYING TO MAINTAIN CONTROL OVER EVERYTHING, ALLOWING SOMEONE TO GET MY GOAT, ALLOWING SOMEONE TO MAKE ME FEEL BAD ABOUT MYSELF. ETC…….
BY THE TIME I STOP BOILING I'M "HALF EMPTY".
IT’S ON THESE DAYS WHEN I’M FEELING "HALF EMPTY", THAT I FIND I HAVE A “THRIST” TO REPLENISH MY SELF, I NEED TO “DRINK” MORE, EITHER WITH PRAYER, LOVE, HAPPINESS, JOY, SERVICE, KNOWLEDGE, WISDOM, FAMILY, FRIENDS, SCRIPTURE READING, ETC……
(THE I NEED TO "DRINK" MORE FOR ME WAS FIGURATIVELY, NOT LITERALLY, - YOU KNOW IN A, I THIRST FOR WISDOM AND SPIRITUAL HELP KINDA WAY, NOT LIKE I REALLY NEED SOME BOOSE KINDA WAY). LOL
SO I GUESS I AM A PERSON WHO AT TIMES CAN BE "HALF EMPTY", BUT EVEN ON THOSE DAYS I JUST TRY TO REMEMBER TO REPLENISH MYSELF SO THAT I CAN REMAIN "HALF FULL".
I BELIEVE WE ALL HAVE "HALF FULL" AND "HALF EMPTY" DAYS, THAT'S ALL PART OF THIS GAME CALLED LIFE AND I BELIEVE NO MATTER WHAT STAGE YOU'RE IN, YOUNG OR OLD, RICH OR POOR, HEALTHY OR NOT SO MUCH, WE EXPERIENCE SITUATIONS DIFFERENTLY DAY TO DAY, IT’S JUST REMEMBERING THAT SOME DAYS WE NEED TO REPLENISH OUR SELF MORE THAN OTHER DAYS.
SO TO ME, MAYBE THE QUESTION ISN'T SO MUCH ABOUT WHICH AM I, "HALF FULL" OR "HALF EMPTY", SINCE I BELIEVE THAT LIKE MOST PEOPLE I CAN BE BOTH, BUT MORE ABOUT WHAT I DO DIFFERENTLY EACH DAY, AND HOW I CAN TURN "HALF EMPTY" INTO "HALF FULL".
THANK YOU JAMIE FOR ASKING A QUESTION THAT MADE ME STOP AND THINK, PONDER AND REALLY DO SOME SOUL SEARCHING, AND THEN TURNING IT INTO A FORUM WHERE WE COULD ALL SHARE AND HOPEFULLY INSPIRE ONE ANOTHER, AND SEE THAT EVEN THOUGH WE MIGHT ALL BE FROM DIFFERENT AREAS, OR IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF OUR LIVES, HAVE DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES THAN ONE ANOTHER, THAT WE REALLY ARE ALL GOD'S CHILDREN AND WE REALLY AREN'T SO DIFFERENT AFTER ALL.
HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A "HALF FULL" DAY !
4 comments:
This was AWESOME!!! I love how you described your half-full and half-empty days.......SO true! Your words are perfect, thank you for sharing with us! I have to admit though, sometimes on those "half-empty" days where I am "thirsting", those are the days that I wish I could use a little "booze" to lighten it up a bit! ;) hee hee
Thank heavens I know better, right?! ;)
Thanks again for your words, I really appreciate hearing it all. It's always nice when we "daughters" can hear this kind of thing from our mothers (mine called and had a GREAT conversation about this)....it helps us to know that we've ALL been there!
There I go leaving a novel on YOUR messages now!
LOVE YA!!!!
Jamie
I loved this post. I think its SO true that we all have both days. And some days we have "both" in one day! I know that we can't always help what life throws at us, and sometimes it really does just make a difference in how we view our cup!
Great blog! It is so true that I feel both "half full" and "half empty" at times. I gotta say though, finding a reason to feel "half full" on those "half empty" days sure does make a world of difference. For example, when I'm pacing around the house at 1:00 in the morning with a baby who has been screaming for 3 or 4 hours just praying that he doesn't wake Addison up I'm feeling "half empty". But when I take two seconds to calm down and think about how blessed I am to have two beautiful, healthy children (even if one is screaming and the other may wake up) then I am able to feel my cup filling to the top (although this is often a hard thing to do under these circumstances). =)
HOLLIE, I CAN REMEMBER HOW TRYING THE LATE NIGHT OR SHOULD I SAY EARLY MORNING, WELL, MAYBE IT'S MORE LIKE LATE NIGHTS THAT CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, WITH A LITTLE ONE CAN BE. YOU FEEL "HALF EMPTY" PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, AND EMOTIONALLY. IT IS OH, SO DIFFICULT NOT TO "BOIL OVER OR JUST MELT DOWN" AND ALL YOUR MIND KEEPS TELLING YOU IS, THE ONLY WAY TO "REPLINISH" YOUR SELF IS FOR THE SCREAMING CHILD TO STOP, SO THAT THEM, THE OTHER CHILD AND YOU CAN GET SOME MUCH NEEDED SLEEP. I ADMIRE YOU FOR FINDING ENOUGH STRENGTH AND MENTAL CLARITY (ESPECIALLY AT 1:00 A.M.) TO FIND A POSITIVE OUT LOOK TO HELP RETURN YOUR CUP TO "HALF FULL". ALL MOTHERS KNOW THAT IS NOT AN EASY THING TO DO. AT TIMES ALL YOU CAN DO IS JUST SIT DOWN WITH THEM AND CRY TOO ? YOU ARE A GREAT MOMMY, YOUR CHILDREN ARE BLESSED, AND ON THOSE DAYS THAT YOU AND YOUR FAMILY SEE THE PAY OFF OF YOU KEEPING YOUR CUP "HALF FULL", YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SMILE AND KNOW THAT IT WAS ALL WORTH IT, YOU WILL SEE THE POSITIVE EFFECTS IT HAS ON YOUR FAMILY. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS BLOG THAT MAKES ME WRITE NOVELS???? :}
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