Friday, December 9, 2011

Hard times

I have not been having the easiest of times lately.  People that I trusted, betrayed me leaving me the most alone I've ever been.  I desperately miss the life I had in Utah, the people I love and trust so deeply are so far away.

Today was the roughest of days, it didn't really matter what anyone said to me today, it ended in tears.  I reached the point this afternoon that I have a headache from crying.  Then I re-read the Thought of the Day {that is sent to me from someone I deeply admire and hope to be someday}.  When I first read this, shocker, I cried.  I think that emotion was drawn out by the sheer truth of these words.  "When you're going through a rough patch, its only natural to think about the struggles you're having, while overlooking the things in life you should be grateful for."  In that vane here are a few things that I am desperately grateful for:

-Having a job.  Lots of people don't have one.  Lots of people don'e have one as awesome as mine.  Yes, I have to deal with people who can be completely unprofessional, but I get to help people reach their ultimate dream--winning Olympic Medals.

-Enjoying my coworkers.  Even though I don't have any coworkers that work in the office with me, I seriously love all the people that work for the USBSF.  The coaches drive me absolutely insane sometimes, but they also have made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.

-My family.  My parents could not be more supportive of me.  I am so grateful to have them in my life and they will never know how much they mean to me.

-My second family.  T and Papa Castellano and the WP.  Each of these people has a place in my heart that will never go away. I could be in the worst mood ever, but one HeyTell message from Jenny Walter will completely turn my day around.  I got to Skype with Chels this week and that was for sure the highlight of the week.  I have said this several times but I thank God so much that we were put together as roommates because she understands me like a lot of other people don't.  I trust her with anything and everything and she is definitely one of the first people I want to talk to when something good or bad happens.

Those are some of the things I am grateful for.  What are you grateful for?

{Here is the excerpt from the Thought of the Day, from Doug Ingram}

An excerpt from
Learning to Dance in the Rain
by BJ Gallagher

Speaker and author, Tom Feltenstein often asks people, "Have you ever noticed how Life has endless ways of giving you more of what you don't want?"
His question makes people chuckle, but he's dead serious when he asks it. The problem is not Life, you see - the problem is us. Many of us are paying so much attention to what we don't want, that we actually make things worse. By focusing on what's wrong, we reinforce it, and attract more of the same.
It is an age-old truism that "we become what we think about." Spiritual teachers, wise philosophers, and psychologists all say so. There is ample proof all around us. By putting so much energy into thinking about our problems, we make our lives more problematic.
It's especially important to keep this fact in mind during stormy, difficult times. When you're going through a rough patch, it's only natural to think about the struggle you're having, while overlooking things in your life to be grateful for.
But if you want a bright future, it's essential that you think about bright things - and nothing could be brighter than gratitude. You and I create our own futures by the things we think about and appreciate:
·         If you want more love in your life, be grateful for the love you already have.
·         If you want more money, appreciate the money you have now.
·         If you want better health, love and appreciate your body.
·         If you want more friends, take really good care of the friends you have now.
·         If you want success, be grateful for your past and present success.
Create your own future through the amazing power of gratitude!

3 comments:

k8 said...

i'm grateful for friends who remind me to be grateful.

Haley said...

And I am also grateful for you, which now I feel bad about not mentioning!

Mike Smith said...

Here are mine:

I am thankful for a family who loves me in spite of my mistakes. I am thankful for a my wife of 30 years and the mother of my three wonderful children who puts up with my faults, my bad habits and my tendency to drag her all over the US and now the world.

I am thankful for a beautiful, brilliant and strong daughter who is becoming the person that I wanted to be. A daughter who was more mature at 17 than I am today at 52 (but it is a young 52). I am thankful that she has the strength of character to be independent and take on the all the challenges that life throws at her.

I’m thankful for a son who once walked a destructive path but finally figured out that he is a winner and is making a name for himself in college and will see his name in lights for his talent and accomplishments in the very near future.

I’m thankful for our baby boy who is just a brilliant as the other two and has always been a source of quiet pride for his mom and me.

Sweetie, if you have learned anything about this family, you know that there are two things that we believe and do. First, we never stop loving each other, no matter what and second, we never stop fighting when challenges come our way, no matter how tough they are. Your great grandmother (who died a year before you were born) taught me that there is always a solution to every problem and if we haven’t found it, we just haven’t looked hard enough. That’s who we are, that’s who you are…

We love you; we are proud of you and will always be there for you when you need us.

See you soon…