So I got sucked into the movie Castaway with Tom Hanks the other night.  I had forgotten what a great movie it is.  For those who haven’t seen it, basically he gets into a plane crash and gets washed up alive on a deserted island.  Most of the movie is just him on this island and how he survives for over 4 years there and eventually makes it back home.  He says something at the end of the movie (once he’s back home) that I think is so powerful.  Here’s the quote:

“We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and… knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had… lost her. ‘cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So… I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I – , I couldn’t even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over *nothing*. And that’s when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that’s what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I’m back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass… And I’ve lost her all over again. I’m so sad that I don’t have Kelly. But I’m so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?”

Sometimes we can feel so hopeless, and all your logic may be telling you you’re completely screwed but if you just keep breathing, if you just keep living in the breath, and stay, at the very, very least, neutral (not positive or negative), you never know what will open up for you.

According to the Accurate and Reliable Dictionary (compared to all those phony, unreliable ones), hope is defined as a desire of some good, accompanied with an expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable; an expectation of something which is thought to be desirable; confidence; pleasing expectancy. 

Next time you feel like you have no control, or you’re just feeling really lousy, whatever you do, don’t give up hope because you never know what the tide will bring!

My list of things I currently have that I’m ever so grateful for.

–These are in no particular order–

• My friends.
• My house with warm, clean beds, hot running water, full of great furniture, a playroom filled with toys, a pool, a fantastic neighborhood and schools, and most importantly, a place I call home!
• My car.
• That I have a solid marriage.
• My kids.
• My family.
• My Mac.
• My camera.
• My faith.
• That I have support.
• My health.
• That I am inspired.
• My motivation.
• My breath.
• My awareness.
• My ability to always see the bright side of things.
• My clothes.
• My hair, eyes, and sense of feel.
• My jewelry business that’s doing really well.
• My yoga and yoga students.
• That I get to stay at home with my kids.
• That I am free.
• That I have good food to eat.
• That I get older and wiser.
• That I live a dream life….my dream!
• That I have an amazing body to carry me around in.
• That I’m laid back.
• That I know who I am, and have confidence to just be me.
• The love in my heart.
• That I am able to give.
• That I am open to receive.
• That I get to make this list!

THANK YOU   THANK YOU   THANK YOU   THANK YOU

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So I want to follow up to a blog post I did a little over a month ago.  I, along with some other lovely internet people that I don’t really know, committed to a 30 day giving challenge.  Basically the idea was to give for 30 days…give a smile, kind words, a helping hand, just whatever you can give at any moment.  Here’s the actual post if you’d like to read it: CLICK HERE FOR 30 DAY CHALLENGE POST

I’m a pretty nice person in general (anyone that knows me can attest to that, but don’t ask the following 76 people…  j/k) so giving a smile or kind words wasn’t much of a stretch for me.  But I wanted to do the challenge because I wanted to see what it would be like to be aware of the giving rather than just going about my day.  And, I wanted to see if I could give more than I usually do.  Here’s what happened:

The first day was really good.  I smiled more at people and was kinder on the roads.  The second day was more interesting.  There was a guy in his car that was pulled way out from where he was suppose to be.  As I drove by him I gave him a dirty look and threw a hand up in the air meaning WTF!  As soon as I drove past him I realized what I had done.  I felt awful.  Did he really deserve a nasty look & a WTF sign (I didn’t flip him off if that’s what you’re thinking…just you know, a WTF)?  I mean, we all make mistakes, right?  I’m sure there’s been a handful of times that I’ve done that exact thing.  I wanted to turn around and give him a big smile and a “I’m so sorry” wave but I didn’t.  I thought that might be a little weird…he might have even given me a WTF sign then!  HA  I did, however, apologize to him and wish him well in my mind.

A few days later I was taking my little Max to school.  We were driving down the alley and there was a huge trash can in the way.  I decided to drive around it…after all we were running a bit late.  But, as I’m driving around it I’m thinking to myself “I know what I need to do.  I need to move it out of the way.”  I didn’t!  Again, I felt awful.  Luckily, it was still in the middle of the road on my way home from taking him to school so I was able to redeem myself!  (It’s an even better feeling when you give without someone looking.)

I loved doing this.  It’s such a good feeling to make someone’s day and to just be more polite in general.  I gave several spirit jumps (sending a small gift to a cancer patient to lift their spirits), and I always did my best to make the cashier, at Target, Walmart, or wherever I was, to feel better about their jobs (especially if I could tell they were just totally beaten down).  Being aware of what I was giving made me feel a sense of lightness, like everything is good and I’m not weighed down by negativity.  I just felt happier!

On the other side of the giving coin is receiving!  Here’s what I received out of this challenge:

–People were so nice to me on the roads.  I was going first at stop signs, people were waving me in to get in front of them, & I was even given a parking space when we both got to it at the same time!

–My husband took me on a surprise date because he wanted to let me know how much he appreciates me!

–On our date we went to an awesome sushi restaurant (Kenichi) and our entire bill was comped!

But…most importantly,

–I felt good.  I felt happier.  Period.

If you have stories on giving & receiving I’d love to hear them.  If you took the challenge with me, what did you experience?  Make a comment.

Now, let’s go out and keep giving…what have you to lose?

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