A Very Lucky Girl

Confession: I haven't touched Dr. Townsend's book this week. Finals are looming and my brain would rather process episodes of HIMYM during downtime instead of big scientific words about what's wrong with my loving abilities. I did ponder an interesting phenomenon this week though. Have you noticed that love is a noun? Everyone talks about "love" as a verb, but "like" is also a verb, with less power. Love can stand alone as the topic of discussion, unlike "like."  I haven't quite figured out what that says about love, but it's probably worth thinking over. Week Four is "love does not boast." sorry about my nasty veins In a world of insecurity, it's comforting to boast in what I have or have accomplished that someone else lacks.  But an attitude of boastfulness alienates the One who provided me with the talents to meet a goal or the material blessings I am privileged to own.  As finals wind down A Very Lucky Girl...

I don't know that I'm any less broken , but I am lightyears happier than I was at this time last week. I've been attempting to practice love as patience this week. I've never been the most patient person. I like things to happen in MY timing and MY schedule. Recently, part of patience to me is being mentally present when I'm around my friends and family. I've been practicing putting my phone on complete silent mode and letting social media revolve without me for a few hours at a time. It honestly comes down to Friends With Faces First sometimes. Doesn't mean that I ignore my longer-distance friends, but I also don't put them ahead of my more spatially accessible loved ones. I had a moment of shame this week. I really did not feel like being kind to one of my friends. I didn't feel like expressing my compassion and I tried to defend that feeling by thinking to myself, "NEXT week is love is kind." But that is the sort of thinking that ...

So I've been trying this new thing where I make a genuine effort to be truly nice to people, just for the sake of kindness. Not because of what they can do for me.  It's out of character. I'm intensely selfish by nature. So I'm issuing myself a challenge this summer. I challenged myself last summer, but it was an entirely different kind of challenge. I like this one better. I want to demonstrate a Random Act of Kindness to someone every day (this is where you go "ohhh now I understand her title!") during these next few sweltering months. Friends, strangers, annoying customers at Jamba Juice, kindness knows no discrimination. I've been struck lately that you never really know what's happening in someone else's life. And for that reason, being hateful has the power to be doubly damaging.  I don't even want to single damage. A single kind word or action flips my days and I'd love to make other people feel the same. It takes 21 days to form...