Lost in my mind

Sometimes we get so caught up in life that we forget some of the basics. I've been living that way for a long time now, caught up in life....the elusive hunt for the things that gives up purpose, meaning....a reason to be. It's time to give up that ghost.

I think 2012 is going to have to be a year of getting back to the basics. These simple everyday things that seem to get lost in the shuffle of us trying to “be” something…or to “get” somewhere. Somewhere in our lives, we've bought into all the consumerism and the fact that we, just as we are, aren't enough. It's time to remember or realize that we DO have all we need.

The most important thing we have in our lives is our connections to others….the friendships we’ve cultivated, the family (for better or worse) we’ve got and the jobs we stay at. It’s time to get back to the simple things in life and hopefully that will help create a road map that leads us out of the muddled mess that has us lost in our own minds.

Treat others as you want to be treated. This one is a hard one. Especially if you work retail during the holidays, you see the worst (sometimes the best, but more often not) in people. The greed, the inability others have to see anyone or anything outside their own bubble. I’m sorry I don’t have control over a manufacturer who only produces a small quantity of the Muppet's nail polish. Please don’t yell at me like I’ve personally stolen your first born child and sold them for a bowl of oatmeal. And yes, everything has exceptions…this includes the $3.50 coupon you are standing here arguing with me about….how much in gas did you spend to drive here and how much is that name brand everything your wearing cost? You want to argue with me why you can’t save $3.50 off your $8.00 purchase when the coupon CLEARLY states it’s with a $10 purchase? Really? You want to fight THAT battle? Here….why don’t I just open my cash drawer and give you…let’s say all the $20 bills I have in here…..will that make you happy?

Treat others as you want to be treated….don’t yell at a cashier making $10 an hour because you can’t use your $3.50 coupon on high-end $25 mascara…..suck it up and get a $6 tube of Maybelle for God’s sake….heck, get 3 tubes!

A friend of mine was recently doing a talk pre-holiday....about learning to be true to ourselves during these times. He talked about this Hindu phrase he uses as his mantra "neti neti". Loosely translated it means "not this, not that". I'm sure there is some deeply hidden spiritual meaning behind it but for this purpose, let's keep it simple. Neti neti. I feel that, I get that, I pretty much want to OWN that statement.

If you ask me what I want I can't answer that, I can however, very clearly tell you what I DON'T want....neti neti. I think along with that phrase needs to go the tag line "stop doing the things that don't work for you". This may eventually lead us into the things that do??? Maybe?

So the pre-holiday talk consisted of 4 bullets - 1) Neti neit 2) Start a new tradition 3) Find your peeps 4) Start seeing with new eyes. They all of course, tie into each other. Stop doing the things that don't work for you. Don't do things just because you always have. The holidays still come and go even if you don't spend 6 hours at your family's. Surround yourself with people who fill your bucket....who energize you...support you....love you... and finally take off the rose colored glasses and look at things as they really are. You are never going to have a Hallmark holiday....so quit expecting it.

Lost in my mind, no where to go, lost in my mind, no room for new thoughts. If you keep your brain filled with all the old things how can you expect anything new to infiltrate and change?

We create our own life one choice at a time. Choose wisely.