Nobody’s Getting Out of Here Alive

As I updated this website recently, I struggled to get the mobile version to jibe with the desktop version. The result? One version displayed misaligned words, titles, and images that appeared out of whack…and amateurish. And dumb. This left me so frustrated I wanted to scream.

I realized then I needed to pause, take a deep breath, and realize this wasn’t something that deserved my anxiety.

I’m sure this has happened to you. You make your plans, set the wheels in motion, and then the hiccup!

You might be rushing through life on automatic, and the universe gets your attention by throwing a wrench into your best laid plans. Like realizing you left your cell phone in the shopping cart at the store and had to drive back to get it. (What?! That has never happened to me! Lol) Or spilling coffee on your shirt when you’re already running late. Or not being able to send that important email because the server goes down.

This is a good time to pause and realize that we might be missing something. Maybe these small misfortunes are meant to reboot us into a more mindful state…to remind us that we are taking ourselves way too seriously. Life isn’t about the dumb little mishaps. It’s about finding the peace, the beauty, and the presence to enjoy what’s in front of us.

This is the time to remember that we are not here to be perfect. Things will not always turn out the way we hope or expect.

Nobody’s getting out of this life alive. That’s a fact. Do yourself a favor and lighten up!

During these moments of stress, it’s useful to stop and reflect. Put on some music, meditate, or listen to all the sounds around you. And always look for the humor in the situation…or in the way you reacted to it. Laugh at yourself. Or imagine that your situation was happening to a good friend and what your reaction might be.

In our crazy lives, there’s beauty in nature, our family’s faces, our loving pets. There’s connection with others in the human experience. And there’s a silver lining. You’ve got to look for it, but sometimes we never find out what’s gained when things didn’t go our way.

Humor is one of the keys to happiness. That’s why it flows so naturally into my stories. It is one of the big aspects in my upcoming novel “Don’t Tell My Brother.” Because who doesn’t like to laugh?

Hey, check out the cover I’m teasing on my home page until it’s release on this shiny, imperfect website while I laugh at myself and all the ways the universe reminds me to stay present, look for joy, and calmly find a solution…when I’m ready for it.

P.S. Q: Why can’t a nose be 12 inches long? A: Because then it would be a foot. (thank you, Teflon Saga!)