CH CH CH CHANGING…..
What a wonderful weekend. Great friends, great relatives, great gatherings, great events…the events keep going. By the way, I’m speaking of last week, June 22-28. I’m sure these situations will happen this weekend, the 4th of July weekend, but I started last week. I had to go back to Chicago, and then to Peoria, my home town for a class reunion. Who would have thought that this reunion event would be as great as it was? I’m not sure that I would be in that group; now I regress! It’s funny how age and wisdom come into play with an event like this; talking to people that you maybe spoke to in school, but now you really find out about a person, how their life has been, what their profession is, how their family is now, and before. I appreciate all of this now, because we ARE adults, (I know, I’m stretching it here!), and it’s language that we all speak, because we are all the same age! Dinner with old friends, social gatherings with people that we don’t see for YEARS, which adds to the excitement. Top all of this with LAUGHTER! That didn’t stop; and there’s nothing better for you, for all of us, than laughter! I think that we all know how stories go between friends: we tell stories from the past, we embellish the story, everyone else KNOWS that we embellish, but the laughter still comes out, the sides were hurting.
I know that this is my personal story, and probably not a lot of you guys can appreciate this like I do, but there are a few general aspects that I think that we all can appreciate. Let’s start with the laughter part. There is nothing better than laughter; and what is laughter? Starts with a good mood, an open mind, (going back to the embellishment part), and just being there now, at that moment. It means a lot, to look at someone who is with you, telling a story, rather than speaking with someone who might be looking around the room, catching only a line or two instead of the whole page. It also means that you’re very comfortable with people you’ve known your whole life. Even if we don’t keep in touch, you’re immediately back to being 19 at some event like this, and it seems amazing that you’re willing to change your immediate plans to something else, like you did so many years ago, rather than sticking to THE plan like we do in today’s world. Today’s plan is the courtesy of “having a plan”; changing on the spur of the moment is FUN! Well, let’s just say it’s was the way most of us did that years ago, but every once in a while in today’s world…..go for it! Let’s have you just go out, play it by ear, and just go for it without thinking ; do it, do it, do it! You won’t regret it, and hey, I’m talking to myself here, as well as you! It made me think think that the long range plans might not come about for all of us. There was a “Memory Board” with pictures of those who have passed on, some of them with health issues at an earlier age, so that’s why I say to have some fun now, without having to think to much about “having fun”!
I also saw a lot of my cousins who I grew up with; they were my tight group of “friends”, that come out of the blue every once in a while, and call. How great is that? When you see their name on your phone, it seems that I start to smile before I even answer the call. Talk about laughter and fun, with just a phone call. I think that we should all do that. When you think of someone, don’t hesitate on picking up the phone, because if you’re like me, you’ll forget, because life moves on. When life moves on, we probably don’t remember the moment that could bring us a big smile, and put us in a great mood! Do it, do it, do it, pick up that phone! I assure you, a good mood is much better than a growl!
By talking about changing plans, I’m sure that you all do it at work. A problem comes up, on the spot you have to come up with a solution, or at least on a short time frame. So what not do it on your personal time, or your “fun” time? I have to think like this when I’m working; sometime I have to completely change my plan with a client, depending on what info that they give me that day when they show up. The problem is solved, so why would it be different in the ol’ fun times of your life?
My flight plan was flying into Chicago, so I called the lady who interviewed me back in December, 6 months ago. The company was called Brainlab; they originate machines and devices which mostly address neurological traumas. We did the interview over the phone, so after I called her, we set up an appointment time where I would go down to their office in downtown Chicago. It was great, because the office/showroom was SO cool, and she wanted me meet the marketing staff that wanted me, (I love this part) to be their FIRST personal spotlight story, and this company is all over Europe, with Chicago being their only office in the States. We then had a Q&A about how I felt about my surgeries, about how I felt about the equipment that was used, (which was theirs), and most certainly, about the surgeon who operated on me, Dr. Isaac Yang at UCLA. The meeting was great, actually VERY great, but the point here is that I called her out of the blue, had a great time at the interview, which could go further down the road. This was because I went out of the routine, set it up on a whim; that’s why I say, do it, do it, do it! You’ll feel so good when things take a turn!
I want you guys to have a great 4th of July, do some spur of the moment plans, and thank yourselves for doing something of pleasure for you!……….Enjoy!
Scott
blog: www.everythingisgoingtobealright.com