Masters of Distraction
Here’s a GIFT designed FOR YOU…DOWNLOAD and PRINT this CALENDAR today!
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio
I Know Derek
Derek and his friend Jane.
SPOTLIGHT: As often as possible I want to shine a light on some person, place or organization who epitomizes the Be F.A.T. way of life. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Derek.
Of all the joints…
On a recent summer evening I met Derek, and his beautiful friend, Jane, at a Jimmy Buffett concert. For Parrotheads, (followers of Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band), making new friends is Cheeseburger in Paradise nirvana. We know every song by heart, dance with complete strangers and for the better part of the day, congregate in a tropical, if not quite, religious experience.Turns out Derek, from Canada, is a traveling Parrothead. This concert was Derek’s ninety-seventh, he said, as in 9-7. I was impressed, and then quick to point out that if he’d put the money spent following J.B. and the band in the bank — tickets, travel, lodging, food — assuming a conservative compound interest rate, a sizeable nest-egg would finance his new sailboat. In cash.
GET BACK UP
I’d tried. And failed. Tripped up. Fallen down.
I stayed on the ground for a while, unable to forgive myself. You can’t fall any further down when you’re face-planted on a concrete floor — the ultimate safety net.
Here’s the thing: I didn’t want to take up full-time residency there. First of all, the view wasn’t great. And it was cold and damp and lonely in the basement.
It took a while to get to a sitting position. And more than a few collective breaths to stop that sucking for air reflex that comes with a hard angry cry.
It had been a long day, and longer night.
Yesterday and Today
Just don’t forget to blink, open your eyes and live for today.
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio
FOCUS ON THIS
Today it feels like I’m rolling a boulder uphill with this project. I’m sure there’s sunshine and rainbows at the top, or the page where I get to type “THE END”.
But today is one of those days where I needed a pep talk…
So out came the trusty Sharpie. I’m right-handed but wrote this with my left. Hold the “oohs” and “aahs” people.
It’s a temporary drawing but a daily quest reminder — to be awesome, not write with your opposite hand.
You with me?
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original Image (Sharpie drawing with my left hand!): Stephanie DelTorchio
If I Wanted Your Opinion…
“Keep your two cents…my jar is full.”
Has anybody ever said this to you, or eye-rolled you the equivalent?Guilty. Not out loud, but the eye-roll is familiar to me.
This is another area in my life that needs an intervention. Or a mouth guard. Or industrial strength duct tape.
I’m sitting having breakfast with a friend in a coffee shop. She begins to unload her problems, at MY invitation. She’s called me to “vent” to a neutral party, someone who will not judge. Whose cone of silence is more legendary than “What Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas.” Yep, I tell her, I’m your gal. Rant away.
I listen without so much as a half-batting eye.
I’m a stiff wood sounding board. Attentive and focused. Offering up a barely detectable throat clearing, a strategically inserted “ahh”, a consoling “I understand” or an in-your-face “damn straight you’re right”.
It’s Complicated
Yup, that sounds like me too
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic and quote: Stephanie DelTorchio
Can You Handle the Truth?
Icalled a plumber to rework the heating pipes in our small bathroom. His voice message said he’d return my call “as soon as possible.” That was three years ago.“You can’t handle the truth” from A Few Good Men is one of my top ten movie lines of all time.
I can handle the truth. It’s NOT getting the truth that’s difficult for me to handle.
Tell me you can’t.
Tell me you’d rather not.
Tell me you’re super busy.
Tell me anything, but don’t lie to me about your intentions to make good on a promise, and then leave me in the cold.
SPREAD A LITTLE SUNSHINE
#MotivationMonday
Remember the theme song from the old Mary Tyler Moore Show? “Who can turn the world on with her smile?”Yeah. Be that person. Be the reason someone smiles today.
BE F-G AWESOME TODAY!
Original graphic: Stephanie DelTorchio
Image: Personal photo from Umbria, Italy/July 2016
Everybody Has A Story
Life is filled with lots of little moments that eventually add up to one life. Your life. Your story.
Our ability to sort the wheat from the chaff is difficult, given that, well, it’s our story. It’s very personal. And when we sum up our life every bit matters — from what we’ve heard to what we’ve seen to what we’ve felt. These are the moving parts to our story.
It’s easy to pick out the good times from the bad times, but we store both in our minds. For safe keeping. Maybe to use later.
The positive stuff goes under the “good” column. If we haven’t figured out a way to “let go” or forgive or forget the bad stuff, we stockpile this to perhaps use later as ammunition or revenge or excuses.
All wrapped together, the good and bad experiences become our story. Years of data — wounds, failures, hurts, surprises, awards, broken promises, wins and losses, etc. — support the story we tell.
No comments yet.
Add your comment