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Friday, January 15, 2010

Not sweating the small stuff

You know several years ago there was a book that came out called Don't Sweat the Small Stuff and It's All Small Stuff? Well, first I want to say that it is ALL NOT small stuff- there is big stuff; this is life so there's just BIG stuff. That's the way it is.

BUT, I'm not going to focus on the BIG stuff; my purpose is the not sweating part. What got me thinking about this was an incident at McDonald's this morning. I went through the drive-thru and ordered a large coffee, 1 cherry pie, and a sausage biscuit; all three items are on the $1 menu. I paid, got my food, and drove away. I opened my sack and had 2 cherry pies and a sausage. cheese and egg McMuffin. In a past life this would've pissed me off to the point of either calling McDonald's and yelling, or going back and demanding the right food. Hell, I HAVE done that in the past. For whatever reason, today, I shrugged my shoulders and ate it.

Tonight, I was knitting something (don't ask- I'll explain later, in another post, about ME knitting!) and I was trying to find the end of a new skein of yarn. I pulled and pulled the wrong end until I had a huge wad of yarn on the floor and I couldn't "put it back together" again. rather than it freak me out or had me angry, I just figured I'd untwist a bunch and knit with it, then stop and untwist a bunch more and continue until I was done. Should I stop and wind it into a ball? Oh, probably. But It doesn't bother me the other way, and I'm just going to unravel it to knit with it so.... I just don't mind.

I realize these are just two examples, and both happened today, BUT this is just how I've been lately. I can think of several times this has happened. Being stuck in traffic and I just wait patiently, having 27 people hang up on me while doing telemarketing and I keep calling, waiting patiently in ling behind the crazy lady at the bank and I just read a book I had in my purse, or the old lady at the post office who... well, it doesn't matter HOW long she took; I just watched people come and go... the list goes on and on. Most stuff that would normally send my blood boiling just seems to roll of me. Nope, I'm not in love, nope I haven't come into a large sum of money (darn it!!), nope I'm not taking anti- depressants... I really think I'm starting to mellow. I could also be so depressed that I'm past the point of caring, but that argument doesn't seem to hold much water... I really thinking I'm learning to mellow. Wow. I'm as shocked as you are.

Am I completely mellow and lost in my own sense of euphoria, and becoming one with all things calm? Hella, no! But I'm headed that way. So I have a secret or a trick that's making it happen? Not that I can think of at all... I am taking some advice from a wonderful friend, Jas. he is so positive, and has such a happy energy, and his mindset and way of thinking is amazingly good, that it's hard to NOT be happy. And to take his example and try to be cherry... well, something is working and I think he's set a good example for sure.

I am still a control freak and have some issues with that; there are certainly things, especially job/career related, that get me "fired" up. Hell, I work in education so I obviously have some control issues. But I don't think you can look at me and see "Control Freak" tattooed across my forehead any more. I don't think if you run into me in the hallway, I sound like a stretched rubber band any longer. I have a bit more.... elastic in me, I guess, to continue with the analogy.

It was one of those big "a-ha" moments for me. Seriously! The "a-ha" started while I was eating an Egg McMuffin I didn't order. Hmmm, guess ya never know when brilliance is gonna happen!

I'm lovin' it,
Maggie

4 comments:

Curley said...

At least you got 2 cherry pies. Now if I hadn't gotten at least one of the pies I would have been right back there. I think I have told you about all the trouble we have had with wrong food orders (which is a pain where there is 10 between the order and where you are eating). People just don't care anymore about good service.

Jimmie Earl said...

Mellowness comes more with experience rather than age, I think. (Of course Prozac helps!) I am TRYING to not sweat the small stuff, but it's so damn hard. Especially when one has been through the wringer, so to speak. Some days stuff all seems so darn BIG! But I keep on "keepin' on" and maybe someday.....
JE

sam said...

Catch up time. I hate signing in, that's why I rarely comment. I know pitiful!!

I found that retiring and moving to a smaller town has mellowed me. That is until some wacko tells me that Obama is:

1. not an American citizen
2. really a Muslim and that's why Mrs. O can't travel with him to Muslim countries.
3. when he ran on "change" that he means he wants to change the constitution.
4. that Fox news is ALWAYS factual.

Oy.

Patti

Maggie said...

Curley- I might've has a hissy fit if the pies were missing! For sure!

JE- all you can do is take it one day at a time and keep going forward.

Patti- sorry about turning on the comments thingy... I just set me up to stay singed in ALL the time.

Anyway, I think if I heard that stuff about Obama mu "mellow" would vanish in a hurry. I try to never talk politics for that reason.