Surprise- The Sun Still Rises

September 23, 2020 ~ Angela Dawne ~ 8 Comments

You now what’s weird? No matter how miserable I feel or how many tears I cry or how put-off I am with the world- The sun still rises.

The audacity.

Not only that, but y’know that paper that’s always inconveniently due within four hours from now? (yes, we all know it was technically due two weeks from now but then something happened and suddenly it’s due in literally four hours and nothing is on the document) Well, I’ve discovered that no matter how long I stare at the computer, the thing doesn’t write itself!

Honestly, it’s rather rude of it to assume I’m going to do all the work.

Okay, for real though. No matter what my emotions “in the moment” might be, they don’t change my situation. They only change my mindset and approach.

When I come home from work and have way too much physics homework to work on (me? procrastinate until the last few days? pfffffft. . . you know me too well), and the dishwasher is still not unloaded, I have a couple choices.

I can yell at my brother to please come help me.

I can leave it to see if someone else will empty it in the next twenty-four hours.

Or I can do it myself.

Let’s say I decide to do it myself. Well, now I have even more options. I can either do it with the mindset of- Blast it, I have to clean out the dishwasher AGAIN. No one in this family EVER does anything (I’m a melodramatic teenager, what can I say?)

I can think- My father’s been working hard all day going to and fro and helping other people. My mother’s been helping other people, and she went out of her way today to run an errand with me, hang out with my brother, and make me supper early so I wouldn’t starve at work. My brother’s been doing great at school and work, and he deserves a chance to just chill before Lyfe starts back up.

And get the dishwasher emptied.

Because the truth of the matter is- That dishwasher is going to be emptied eventually (or so we hoped), and my mindset isn’t going to change what other people think about it, or what happens to it.

It will only make the job more enjoyable or unenjoyable (that’s a word, isn’t it?)

And here’s the deal: This mindset applies to a LOT of things.

I can think- I HAVE to walk to class in the rain then go home and clean the bathrooms. Or I can think- I GET to walk in this beautiful rain (and hope it doesn’t drench my laptop, heh) then I get to go clean and blare some music and relax that way.

It really is about mindset.

This isn’t to say I’m perfect (literally anyone who knows me will hastily assure you otherwise), and I CERTAINLY don’t always have the right mindset.

I’m just saying that in the moments of epiphanies, I attempt this mindset, and it works out pretty well. Nothing is going to be affected by my emotions (unless I have a really bad attitude, and I’m around other people. Or, y’know, positive attitudes affect other people too. . . try it sometime), therefore I shouldn’t be so self-centred as to think that my annoyance will change anything.

‘Cuz, folks.

That sun’s gonna rise whether we want it to or not. Might as well greet it with a smile, ‘ey?

Choices

August 12, 2020 ~ Angela Dawne ~ 3 Comments

A quick search on the all-knowing Google revealed that the average person makes approximately 35,000 choices a day (yes, I know you’re not average, but bear with me, ‘ey?). That’s thousands of unconscious choices. Even if it’s something as small as the subconscious saying: And now, folks, we will walk two steps to the righ- WHO PUT THAT WALL THERE?

Odds are, we’re pretty aware of what choices we’re making. At least the simple ones like donuts or eggs for breakfast? Or something like country or classical music?

If you really think about it, you could probably catch yourself making decisions you usually don’t know about. The subconscious ones like- I’m going to move two centimetres to the left so I don’t walk into that wall.

But what about the things you think you don’t have control over? Could you *gasp* could you actually be able to control them?

Attitude, reactions, feelings, all that fun stuff.

Sure, I’d concur that this doesn’t “work” for everyone, but I would argue that most people could benefit a lot from just making the right decision.

Just because I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning, doesn’t mean my whole day is gonna be bad.

(though, y’know, in my case there’s a wall on two sides, so if I got off on the wrong side of the bed I probably walked into a wall which. . .generally isn’t advised)

Seriously though. I experimented with this for a bit. I’m the kind of person who will quickly make the statement of- Oh, well, today is going to be a bad day because it’s 2 degrees too hot outside.

And, by the laws of self-fulling prophesies, the day will be horrible, SIMPLY BECAUSE OF MY SET PERSPECTIVE.

Think about it.

You can decide how you want to look at something. Say someone gives you a bowl of popcorn. You can think- Wow, free food! or you can think- Welp, too bad they don’t love me enough to get me chocolate.

Either way, you have the popcorn. So you can either enjoy it completely (and with a big smile and ‘thank you’ that will make the giver’s day), or you can wallow in self-pity (which doesn’t hurt anyone but you. . .and the person would be less inclined to give you anything including chocolate, soooo). You can choose how to handle the situation, but in my personal opinion, the former is better.

What about those of us who are finishing up the final years of highschool? Let’s be honest, there’s a fair number of us who are completely thinking- Oh thank goodness, only a couple more months/years and then FREEDOM. I just gotta survive the next bit of time. . .

Uhm. Okay?

Here’s the thing. You gotta live the next few years at home anyway. You can either steel your teeth and brace yourself to “survive” the next few years, or you can slap the negativity and choose to be happy. You’d be surprised how amazing your family is once you put on the right glasses of perspective.

You make thousands of choices every day. Make the little ones count, and think about the ones that affect your perspective.

*tries to think of a good signing off phrase*

. . .

*will work on it*

Forgot You Existed. . .Sorry?

July 10, 2020 ~ Angela Dawne ~ 1 Comment

Warning: This post contains half-developed, thrown together in the moment, blink-worthy thoughts. Aka, it’s all over the place.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot I only exist when you need something.”
– A Depressing T-Shirt

I was scrolling Pinterest the other day and came across this quote.

(I hear it in a sarcastic teen girl voice, and I still can’t place it. . .even after days of trying to figure it out. . .)

Needless to say, I saved it and thought about it way too much for the next 48 hours. Accurate? Maybe. Helpful? Pfft, no.

Whoever comes up with these uplifting little jewels needs a bar of chocolate and a empathetic pat on the back. Because that be roughhhh.

After my little pity-party session, I stepped back and thought a bit more objectively (yes, believe it or not, I can attempt such a feat). Sure, I might feel this quote sometimes, but if others find it so relatable. . .does that mean others think about this a lot? More importantly-

Do they think about it when they think of me?

I think we (homo sapiens) tend to do this thing called “taking for granted”. Essentially, it just means that we brush some things off and decide they’re *safe*. We don’t feel obligated to do as much with those things because they’re in a nice little box.

Relationships especially.

I’ll be the first to say that I take my family for granted a lot. Especially over the past year and a half of my life.

What does this mean? Well, I basically didn’t go out of my way to spend time with them. I focused on my friends and me. I wanted to do what I wanted to do.

This isn’t to say I became a completely self-centred child (though honestly, I’m way too self-centred), it just means that I directed my time, attention, and energy elsewhere.

Namely friendships.

I worked hard for the friendships I have. I have some of the most amazing people who I call friends, and I have no clue how we’re friends. They’re under no obligation to stick around, yet they do, and I’m eternally grateful to them.

That being said- I had to work for those friendships. Family you’re born into; friendships you plant, nurture, grow, and water. So technically speaking, they’re more work.

But family?

I think we take family for granted.

They’re the ones telling us to do our chores, whining when we don’t go play with them, bugging us for the umpteenth time to ask us where on earth the shopping list went. They’re the ones we see the most, which means we see them at their highs and at their lows.

But like.

They’re the ones who stick by us through thick and thing. They’re the ones who will defend us and protect us against any haters. They’re the ones who provide food and shelter-

And do we thank them?

Pfft. We complain if we have to take out the trash.

Same with our close friends. Once you’ve made a close connection, it can be tempting to put it on the backburner as a *safe* friendship that you can always fall back on if your new more exciting ones fail.

I’ll also be the first to admit I’ve done that a couple times. Not proud of it.

So next time you see or think about this quote and start to break out the black balloons and dark fuzzy blankets for a pity party, think about people who might think this about you.

This isn’t a post to point fingers (goodness knows I’m the last person on Earth who could do that in good conscious), it’s just a friendly little perspective check.

I know I need it a lot.

Now go find someone you take for granted and give them a big hug *winks* (or if they’re like me and twitch at the thought of a hug, make them a cup of their favourite drink).