07/30/2017 – J-Dub's Grin and Bear It

Changing The World ~ Simple As Making Your Bed

Published on 07/30/2017 by J-Dub11 Comments

Some months back … November-ish, I started making my bed every morning. Danny over at Dream Big Dream Often was my inspiration to make my bed. I cannot remember if I read a post or listened to a pod cast. Anyway, he made the suggestion and I needed that something. Right place, right time kind of deal.

I should say I re-started making my bed because as a kid, bed making was a daily chore. When I created my own separate life, making the bed was one of the first chores I quit. I’m a rebel, what can I say! lol 🙂

Billy Bob said I couldn’t stick with bed making long-term but so far I’m proving him wrong. Now you’re asking,

What does housekeeping and J-Dub’s morning routine have to do with changing the world?

Not much, simple really. I love feeling accomplished. Even if just for that one small thing. And not in a compulsive way like Randall from This is Us but in a boy does it feel good way. I enjoy seeing a task completed since a multitude of other things spin out of control in my world. And just maybe those other things are not too far gone. Perspective is gained. Good moods are contagious. One step in a positive direction can lead to another and another.

Small world that it is, we have book club at work. Yay! and the July selection was MAKE YOUR BED By Admiral William H. McRaven.

In it, Admiral McRaven offers ONE: Start Your Day with a Task Completed. If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed! Twice confirmed! Three times if you count me in.

Now I know naysayers will say nay, nay, nay

And all I can say is don’t knock it until you try it

And if you try it, let me know how it goes. C’mon you know you want to say something. Yes I admit, I am making another shameless plug for interaction in the cosmos.

As always, more to come.

I Wasn’t Ready

Published on 07/30/2017 by J-DubLeave a comment

See my preliminary review of The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs.

I have finished the book and felt compelled to share some parting thoughts.

I absolutely loved the book but emotionally I wasn’t prepared for how I’d be affected. I had two comments on my original review suggesting I was brave to read and/or they could not read. I felt like I had been through the wringer and I could withstand anything even a memoir on living while dying. Especially since I was not the one who personally experienced those days in real life.

At first I was enraptured and sure I could power through. There were times I even chuckled. As the chapters went on, some quick snippets into a day in the life and other chapters a bit longer, I realized I might be in over my head. As the illness progressed, I felt more sadness. I knew the inevitable and I wanted despartely to be surprised by a miracle. Alas, that was not to be and now, having reached the end, I am exhausted and emotionally charged.

I almost said emotionally damaged but I stopped short. You see, no damage was done. Life lessons are abound in the extraordinary/mundane. Lately my life is surronded in oxymorons. Hot/cold. Left/right. Strong/Weak. Good/Bad. Happy/Sad.

I am left with my emotions that are heightened in a way I never thought possible. There is so much beauty in pain and sadness. Not in a mean-spirited sort of way. Nothing beautiful about watching someone suffer. Beautiful is the resilience humans display in dealing with … well in dealing with LIFE. Despite ending in death, this memoir was about living LIFE well.

The plot is self-explanatory so I have nothing more to offer. I have decided to post another line or two from Nina Riggs as motivation for your mornings. I still recommend that you read this book. Far more is gained than lost. I rate it 5 of 5 stars.