Magnifying blessings

Here's some cute pictures that I came across.... :)

 

The Chinese have given a beautiful and very convincing theory as to why the wedding ring should go on the fourth finger. As the story goes:

Look at your left hand, the hand that your wedding ring goes on, and do you see your thumb? Well the thumb represents your parents. Now your index finger, or your first finger, represents your siblings. The third finger, loving called the middle finger by some, represents yourself. Where the fourth finger represents your life partner. And your pinkie is to represent the children you will some day have.

Now if you place both of your hands together and bend your middle fingers together, and leave the other fingers touching together (like shown in the picture).

When your hands are as such do this:

Pull your thumbs apart. (this represents the parents) Your thumbs will open because you and your parents are not destined to be together forever. At some point they will leave you in your life. Now put your thumbs back together.

Repeat the same motion with your index fingers (this representing your siblings). Of course your index fingers will also separate because you are also not destined to be with your siblings for the rest of your life. They will move on and have families of their own. Now put them back together.

Now seperate your pinkies. (representing your future children) Of course these will also seperate because your children will not be with you forever. They will grow up to have lives and families of their own as well. Now put them back together.

Now for your "ring" finger. (representing your life partner) Try separating them as you did with the other. Can't do it can you? That is because your life partner is the one who is supposed to be with you for the rest of your life. They will be the one to be with you forever and through thick and thin.

Anyways........ :)

It's so common to get caught up in all of life's big problems and issues.  A lot of people get stressed with their jobs, their classes (I know this feeling all too well), family issues, relationship problems, you name it.  And I mean...we can all relate. We all complain.  Some of us, too much.  And some of us just shut out these problems or decide to ignore them.  I am well aware that the big issues in life can sometimes be overwhelming and hard to handle.  However, I think we should all take the time to enjoy the small things, too.

I've been wanting to write this post for a long time now.  It amazes me at how the smallest things can brighten my day.  Seriously, the smallest things.  That is probably true for you, too.  I mean, how can you not be happy when you see a beautiful sunrise?  How can you not smile when a little kid asks to hold your hand or gives you a hug?  

Of course, jobs, classes, family, and relationships can ALL cause major stress to us.  However, you have to think about the many positives they bring.  Those things that we all have in our lives can bring huge blessings to us.  One of my favorite quotes is this:  "If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier."  A guy named John Wooden said that.  I think he is so right...most of the time, we focus on the negatives.  I know I do.  I focus on how many days I have to work in the week and how I don't have enough time in the day sometimes.  I focus on how much I don't want to be in my Swedish class anymore and how I have a serious dislike for history.  I focus on how my mom, dad and I sometimes don't get along...but then I also think about how much I miss my home.  I get focused on how I can constantly make my relationship with my boyfriend a better one, how I can fix every flaw within me so that I can be perfect for him. I focus on our arguments sometimes and how I regret some of the negative choices I have made within our relationship.  I focus on how I don't see my friends enough and how I miss them a lot.  Even though we all live in the same building, I focus on how I just never really get to hang out with them anymore. 

Those are a lot of negative thoughts that fill my mind.  I'm sure you have a list of your own.

I can't rid my mind of negativity completely...that's just not how humans are.  But I CAN decide to magnify the blessings that all of those things bring in my life rather than the negative things.

I recently just got a job working with Girl Scouts.  I work with elementary and middle school girls.  I told my boss I'd work almost every day...Monday through Thursday.  It is really nice that I have the weekends off, though.  :) But...I can already tell that I may get a bit stressed with it.  Some of the schools are over thirty minutes away, which adds on more time to my schedule.  I have realized though, that so many people work way more than I do.  I mean my boyfriend, Abe, works almost every single day every week.  I don't know how he does it, but I admire him deeply.  Instead of focusing on how my job can potentially stress me out, I can look at the blessings it has brought me,  the small joys it has already given me.  Just talking to the little girls is enough...being able to help them with making a small craft is enough to make me happy.  Their willingness to just open up to me makes me smile.  I don't even feel like I'm working when I am working.  What a wonderful paradox. 

Classes stress me out sometimes and they stress almost all of my college friends out, too.  However, my classes can be really fun.  My history teacher's wife made my class molasses cookies.  We study colonial American history in the class and,  apparently, they ate those kinds of cookies back in the day.  It was really nice.  It's fun singing in my Swedish class, too.  We sing all kinds of Swedish culture songs and we sing happy birthday every time it's someone's birthday.  It's fun.  I sit next to my cousin, too.  It's nice because I know someone and I have him to talk to.  Swedish isn't bad at all.  It may be a little hard and annoying, but when I look at the little things, it's actually a fun class.

My mom and dad are huge blessings in my life and I don't thank them enough.  I never could.  I am so incredibly thankful for them.  When we argue and disagree, I make a huge scene out of nothing.  It's ridiculous.  My dad is so cute.  I know that's so weird and it probably doesn't make sense to you.  It doesn't make sense to him, either.  I couldn't ask for a better dad.  He does so many things for me that I couldn't ever tell him thank you enough.  My mom is amazingly supportive and so encouraging.  She is sort of like me, her day is brightened by small things, too.  I couldn't ask for better parents.  I have so many small moments with them that just make me smile so wide.  Playing a board game with them, watching Chopped or The Walking Dead with them and Abe, taking my dog on a walk with my mom, or just simply sitting on the couch talking to my dad about school and things.  It's amazing how many blessings they alone have given me.

Abe is amazing.  I'm afraid he won't ever know how much I love him.  I can only tell him so many times...until it becomes meaningless.  We don't argue much, but when we do, I focus on it and get really upset.  That's silly, really, because we have so many little things that make up for our one big argument.  The way we know which exact spot on each other's body is the most ticklish, the way we sing ridiculously loud in the car and roll the windows all the way down (even when it's 20 degrees), the way we lay next to each other and just cuddle, the way we play with my dog, Cali, and just smile so much when we're around her.  There are just so many little things that make me smile in our relationship that I could never make a list of them all.  We don't always have to be doing something big like going on a fancy date.  We can walk by the river and be just fine.  We can hang out in his room with me doing homework and him working on his computer.  We can do small things and be more content than we would be if we were on a date at Texas Roadhouse (although that is still nice, too).  

My friends and I don't see each other much anymore and it makes us all kinda sad.  We are all just so busy with school and other things.  And that's okay, because when we do hang out, it's really fun.  We can go to Target and shop for fruit and soup and tea and shampoo and still have a ball.  We can go to dinner together at the College Center which has pretty not-so-good food most of the time and still laugh together.  We can simply sit in each other's rooms doing homework all night and still just feel content.  It's not like we have to be doing something big every weekend in order to be friends.  We have fun doing little things together. And even if we don't get to see each other that much anymore, I am so blessed to live with my best friends.  

It really is the small things, the little blessings, that make up my life.  In the midst of them, the big things become invisible.  I don't know if it's the same way for you, but I challenge you to think about it.  Instead of magnifying your disappointments, try magnifying your blessings.  

Thanks for reading.  Check out this video if you are feeling like all of the negatives in your life have brought you down.  You just need to take time to breathe.  

Also, check out Abe's blog.  It's so awesome and I'm sure you're going to enjoy it. :) Like his Facebook page, too!

“Today, just take time to smell the roses, enjoy those little things about your life, your family, spouse, friends, job. Forget about the thorns -the pains and problems they cause you- and enjoy life.”

-Bernard Kelvin Clive, Your Dreams Will Not Die