Tag: Winnie the Pooh

Boss Up

Image above credited to Redbubble

I was shopping with my daughter and my son’s girlfriend earlier this week. Neither of them have sisters, so it is fun to vicariously watch a sister-like relationship forming between the two of them. They both have been saying “Girlboss” and “boss lady” a lot to each other when talking about their lives and what they want for themselves in the new year. I told them that I would like to be part of the “Girlboss” club, too. (You’re never too old to keep honing your Girlboss skills.) Armoire.style says this about boss ladies: “our definition of boss lady is a woman who gets life done, whether that be at work, at home, in an office, with their coworkers, family, dog, cat, friends, etc. Boss ladies are those who enthusiastically embrace new opportunities and lift each other up.” When I read this definition, I thought to myself, this defines practically every single woman I have ever known in my life, from family members of all ages, to my sorority sisters, to my closest friends, to my various doctors and practitioners, and women whom I have worked for over the years. The funny thing is, we see boss lady attributes in all of the women in our lives, and they probably see these attributes in us, and yet, we don’t always give our own selves credit for being Girlbosses. This lack of recognition is what makes us have to come up with these labels and definitions in the first place. We women often don’t take credit for everything that we are, and everything that we do. When we “boss” ourselves, we are often terrible, nitpicky critics and stingy with appreciation. We shame ourselves for not doing, and being more, more, more . . . . We can be terrible, cruel bosses of ourselves.

The truth is, I am also the mother of three young men in their twenties who are just starting out their adult lives and their careers, and I see that they put tremendous pressure on themselves, too. If only I could gift all of my children (male and female) the amazing gift of hindsight – hindsight being that realization that nothing was as big, or as bad, or as insurmountable, as I had built it up to be, as I have lived through several decades of the experience of being an adult. If I could, I would wrap the wisdom and the comfort which comes from hindsight, up for them, in an instant, and it would be the best present that I could ever give to them. But as we all know, the best presents are the ones that long last in our deepest cores indefinitely. These invaluable gifts in life come only from our own experiences and our own reflections of these experiences.

I have written in the blog before that the most important job we have in our lives is to be our own best life manager. How’s your life manager doing? How would you rate your boss (you being the boss of your life?) Is your life manager kind? Appreciative? Supportive? Encouraging? Inspiring? If you have a great boss, it tends to lead to a wonderful work/life environment around you. How you treat yourself, is often how you end up treating others. Are you giving yourself enough appreciation, support, and vision, if for no other reason than for the ability to give these things back to others? Boss up this year. As Winnie the Pooh, one of the greatest bosses that ever existed has to say:

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Today’s random question/prompt from 3000 Questions About Me:

246. If you started a business tomorrow, what would it be?

Wednesday’s Whimsies

Here are a few more new exhibits in the thought museum of the blog:

“There ain’t no answer. There ain’t gonna be any answer. There never has been an answer. That’s the answer.” – Gertrude Stein

“Here is the test of your relationship with what you own: Is it your servant, or your master?” – Alan Cohen

“Giraffes are the long-stemmed flowers of Africa.” – Angela Sheldrick

“As you pray, move your feet.” – African proverb

“Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart.” – Winnie the Pooh

+ Benadryl is trending on Twitter because many people give it to their dogs on the Fourth of July, due to all of the fireworks being let off all over neighborhoods. Our male dogs, Ralphie, the Labrador retriever, and Trip, the Boykin spaniel have never been particularly fond of each other. They have had some heady squabbles over the years. However, last night, those two were cuddling on the same bed like I have never seen them do before. In the end, they wanted each other on the same team for comfort. Silver linings . . . .

+ Some of the best things arise from the absolute worst situations. Sometimes families, neighborhoods, businesses, countries – basically any particular entity can be so corrupt, so toxic, so negative, that the only healthy template you can get from them is to do everything opposite of what is currently being done. But it is with that kind of consideration, deliberation and dedication to change, that a person or an entity often sprouts and arises from the ashes and becomes the absolute best of whatever existed before it. If you are in a low place, you can pivot yourself in the direction opposite of what got you there. Take some poor decisions which you have made, and do the opposite of those decisions. Dedicate yourself to “opposite day”, day in and day out, and be amazed at what comes from it. You don’t need a positive example of what you want. Just notice what isn’t positive in your life, and take steps to move in the opposite direction of its negativity. Some of the best people and places and organizations in the world arose out of escaping situations that were no longer tenable to overall well-being. Our own country was founded on principles like religious freedom and no monarchies, from people who were escaping persecution and wanted something better for themselves. Change arises from awareness of what isn’t healthy and moving towards what is healthy instead.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

The Funny Thing About Life

Life is funny. Life gets really interesting when you start to dig deep. Life is truly at its best, when you are willing to scratch beneath the surface and to truly experience it, at its most authentic, interesting fullness. Life gets really real, when you let yourself deep dive into your feelings. This past 24 hours I have gotten to know, and to love, people who I have known since I was a child, even better than ever. This past 24 hours, I have made new and fast and devoted friends with people whom I had once kept at a cautious and competitive distance. This past 24 hours I have grown an even more massive respect for my child’s coach, only because his pure humility never allowed him to share, with any of us, his true and poignant story of hope and triumph, until I pretentiously pried it out of him. This past 24 hours I have prepared myself (as much as I can) for the upcoming ceremony that says to me, and to the world, that another child of mine, is striding into his adult life, with me being relegated as a supportive and loving witness and cheerleader. In these past 24 hours, I let myself fall into a pure and open and intricate and trusting and total experience of staying in the present. It feels like I may have dropped another layer – a layer that I had once created with the thought that it was there to protect me, but instead was only working as a hazy muffler, to the purest sounds and vibrations of a life lived fully, and intensely connected to the moment. This last 24 hours was so amazingly good, even though everything didn’t always adhere to my “shoulds” and to my hopeful expectations and to my plans. Life is funny. Life gets really interesting when you just let it happen. Life is good. Life knows the way.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today,” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day,” said Pooh.”
― A.A. Milne

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Winnie’s Wisdom

I watched a tribute Anderson Cooper made to his recently deceased mother, Gloria Vanderbilt. It was very sweet, and very touching. Something that he said about her, really struck me. He said that Gloria was not tough, but she was the strongest person that he knew. I could relate to that statement. I am not tough, but I am strong. And I sometimes think that if you are not a tough person, people can’t imagine that you are strong. Of course, we all have “weak” moments. My sister-in-law, a helicopter pilot, and one of the first women to graduate from West Point (in other words, she’s tough and strong) had to be supported when it was time to stand at her father’s funeral, because she was extremely overcome with emotion. Yet, we often equate being emotional, as being weak. Nonetheless, we all know that it takes a whole lot of strength to really feel and accept and allow your emotions. My guess is that some of us are tough and some of us are not tough. Toughness is a personality trait born out of circumstance and adrenaline and physical strength, many times. However, I think most of us are strong – very strong, much stronger than we realize.

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