“marvel at the fact that you can light up a room with your smile,
electrify someone with your positive energy
envelop someone in the loving vibrations of your big,
beating
heart.

be astounded by the way that you can uplift someone with kindness
enrich a day with sweetness
and be the lens through which someone can see their greatness with clarity.

your life is an ocean of opportunities -
infinite; boundless in scope.
the whole world is at your fingertips
and all you have to do
is reach out
and touch it.”

- julia lee


yes.

In Gratitude,

Trish

Oh man. This can be a hard pill to swallow sometimes, can't it?

Just yesterday I was faced with a man who was quite the crumudgeon and tested my kindness capabilities big time.

The long story short: Our catering company (whom we love for providing us with delicious and healthy lunches) had parked outside our office to quickly run in and grab the equipment post-lunch. The van was, admittedly, temporarily parked in a tow-away zone for non commercial vehicles, though the driver had put on her flashers and intended to stay a whopping 5 minutes to get in and out. Folks on our block do this pretty much on a daily basis; it's a horribly inconvenient place for a tow-away zone and people are very mindful of only staying a few minutes to get their quick errands done. It's kind of like this neighborhood has an unspoken agreement about it.

I looked up from my desk to see a parking ticket agent (what is the official term for people who write tickets but are not cops? beats me.) AND a tow truck pulling up to the van. The caterer and I sprinted outside immediately to tell them she was moving ASAP and to beg for forgiveness, only to be met by a hugely negative man who essentially...how do I say this delicately....verbally ripped me a new one about how stupid I was to have her park there in the first place.

"Serenity now" was on repeat in my head.

Although I was able to calmly convince him not to tow her (the power of kindness!!), he still slapped (a little too smugly for my taste) a $75 ticket on her window.  Thankfully, my company footed the bill for the caterer since we felt badly for the situation...but it definitely still stung.

Once I got back inside I was clearly on my last breath of patience and had some choice words about the man. I was even threatening to call the parking authority to file a curse-word-filled complaint about his behavior. Hey, you can take the girl out of Jersey, right? My coworker gently reminded me of a conversation we had just the day before in which I stated that people are complicated little beings and that we can never fully know where they are coming from or what's happening in their lives. I had said that the negativity from others in most situations has nothing to do with us and we should shy away from taking things personally. It's simply not worth it.

Whoa, maybe I should practice what I preach, huh?

Here's what I know:

1. I too would be fairly miserable at my job of handing out parking tickets. Nobody likes a guy who makes people pay fines! Can you imagine being so unpopular?

2. I have no idea what his life is like or what kind of day he might have been having. It must be frustrating to have to deal with people trying to skirt the parking system on a daily basis.

3. Because I remained calm, apologized and acted as kindly as possible I was able to avoid the way bigger fine and inconvenience of being towed. It didn't matter that I couldn't control his negative (and unnecessary) anger--I could control myself, and that counted for something.

Kindness will always be a good choice, my darlings. It's certainly not always the easiest or the most natural feeling...but it will always be a good choice.

In Gratitude,

Trish

I have a beautiful new friend in my life that I am simply adoring getting to know. She's smart, funny, authentic and dynamic; a gem of a lady I'm so happy to have recently been introduced to! 

The other day we were emailing back and forth about this, that and the other when the topic of mental mantras came up. I told my sweet new friend that these days when I feel anxiety or anger or frustration building up over a person/scenario I simply say Trish, honey, choose love. The motivation behind this is to simply remind myself (gently remind myself) that while I cannot control another person or the outcome of most scenarios, I can control myself. I can control to choose love over all else; I have the ability to shift my perspective in the moment, to create peace in my mind and heart. 

I'd love for you to read her perfect reply (shared with permission):

"The mantra I've been working on (since yesterday...) is "I love you. I'm sorry. I release you. Thank you." It's an ancient Hawaiian practice of forgiveness called Ho'oponopono. Not sure if you've heard of it, but the teachings are similar to the Secret in that everything you experience you have actually attracted to your life so when things go wrong in life it's a reflection of something in you that you need to fix and the only way to do it is by loving yourself. I tell myself "I love you". "I'm sorry" (for whatever hurt is inside me that is causing this unpleasantness in my outside world). I added "I release you" (they say to say "Please forgive me" but when I ask for forgiveness from someone I still berate myself after the fact even if the other person has "forgiven" me- so instead of asking myself for forgiveness and feeling bad that I even did something that requires I seek forgiveness, I'm working on releasing myself so I can move on) and then "Thank you." :) "

How beautiful is that? So simple and yet so powerful.

I love you.

I'm sorry.

I release you.

Thank you.

Just a little mantra food for thought :)

In Gratitude,

Trish

With a rainy forecast looming in my future I decided sunny today should be the day I rock my new dress from Heritage Row.  Naturally, I needed approval from my stylist, first...

Dress: Plastic Island, Belt: ADA, Boots: Steve Madden, Jean Jacket: 10 year old Abercrombie guy (hey, if it still fits....), Bag: Tano.

I'm headed to a concert tonight with some work friends (it's a band I've never heard of and am completely blanking on now...oops) courtesy of tickets generously given by one of our awesome recruiters. I think this little number makes the perfect Thursday night outing look :)

Once again, hugely grateful for Jenny keeping my wardrobe current and cute and affordable!

In Gratitude,

Trish

My bus ride to work today involved a silly face making contest; me vs. an adorable little blondie on a school field trip.

I pulled out all of my most silly faces (much to his delight--the squealing giggles were worth EVERY odd look from fellow bus patrons), but I think I lost...

...and I don't mind in the slightest :)

Happy Tuesday! I hope you find things to giggle at today, too.

In Gratitude,

Trish

"How'd you like a little peek into the future, Tricia ? Oh, I really shouldn't, but, well, you so rock, I figure this indulgence, just once, will be all right.

You're sitting around a warm and cozy fireplace surrounded by friends and boisterous laughter. Early-morning snow gently falling across the countryside is visible from the enormous, ceiling-high windows beside you. Everyone is sipping hot chocolate, and reminiscing about the fabulous circumstances that have brought you together, brimming with excitement for times ahead. And then you chime in, "If only we'd seen it, we never would have been so hard on ourselves. If only we'd had just the slightest inkling that the challenges, lacks, and issues we faced back then were of our own exacting design, and that they'd soon make possible the whirlwind of events that so swiftly followed, we'd have been, well, as proud then as we are now... and every bit as photogenic." 

And then everyone starts clapping, smiling, and taking lots of pictures. 

Not a word to anyone,
    The Universe

PS- You're also wearing the most outrageous sparkly tights I've ever seen, Tricia . But then, you always could wear anything."

-Notes From The Universe


...amazing start to my Monday :)

love and light,

Trish