"If you don't like something, change it.
If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Don't complain."
I have this quote from Maya Angelou posted on my computer and I try to read it before I leave the hotel room every morning.
But once in a while, someone will ask how I'm doing and they are acting as if they genuinely care about my answer (which is rare in today's society) and I hear myself start to babble about how my new job is not what I had hoped and blah blah blah.
And then I stop...because seriously. Is there anything less attractive than someone complaining?
A little over two years ago, I sat in my office listening to a young elementary student share his inner most fears about life. His life was no ordinary life...so his fears were no ordinary fears.
Without sharing too many details, both of his parents were incarcerated, he had endured much abuse/neglect throughout his young life, and he was currently unsure about his next foster care placement. A small tear made its way down his left cheek as he talked through his thoughts and worries. I am one of those school psychologists that really try to put myself in the shoes of my kids, so I am sitting there listening quietly with tears flowing freely.
All of a sudden, he stops talking, looks up at me and with a slight smile he says, "But you know one good thing Ms. G? I actually got 100% on that paper I told you about. Can you believe it? So...you know...that is one good thing that happened."
And right then...this young man taught me a lesson that I try my darndest to remember in my adult life: Always find the good. No matter how hard it gets, there is always something good. Here is a young man who has been dealt an extremely difficult hand in life and he was STILL able to feel pride and hope in something. Now that is what we call character. And when you experience someone with character...it's a beautiful thing.
So go on...be beautiful today.
xo - Marion
image credits: Highlighted Life
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