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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sewing Good

As a frequent traveler, I visited and lived in various places around the United States and have lived Internationally as well.

Lived (In Order:)
Dallas, Texas
Madrid, Spain
Alamagordo, New Mexico
Las Vegas, Nevada
Southern California
   Orange County
     *Costa Mesa * Santa Ana * Garden Grove * Fountain Valley * Huntington Beach
   Los Angeles County
     * Manhattan Beach * Long Beach * Los Angeles
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Richmond, Virginia
Upstate, New York
* Watertown * Syracuse

I have traveled across the country and have not explored as much of Europe as I would like, but I have explored our great nation. I have lived in beautiful sunny California and have lived in blizzards and black icy roads of Colorado. In my times of insane weather conditions, I have realized that people can react in only 2 ways. One can either shiver, grumble that it is too cold or one can bundle up and go skiing or snow boarding. If it is raining, one can either decide to let the rain soak up ones clothes or choose to get a rain jacket, umbrella and get out there and get the job done anyway. This may seem simple enough, but not often do we appreciate what traveling teaches us. In my travels, I have learned to see diversity in people, places, and things as a time to be creative. Uniqueness and change has taught me to think "outside of the box" especially when I have been used to doing things just one way.

Meeting a wide variety of people, has opened up my attention to the characteristics of genuine kindness in people as characteristics to be valued. After having lived just a short while in Watertown, New York I now prepare to move again to Syracuse for Graduate school. I have seen random acts of kindness that has made my short stay in New York meaningful. Meaningful things come in small, but heart-felt packages such as a "Welcome" gift of purple Hydrangea's from my kind elderly neighbors, both of whom are retired educators. They welcomed me to Watertown, New York the way people used to be welcomed in their community with a kind smile, a knock on the door and a gift of flowers or a baked apple pie. This type of kindness is not unusual, but in today's world where an individual's personal boundary places up walls, fear often causes most people to brace themselves from intimacy and connecting with their community. It is in the members of the Syracuse community and University life that left me feeling embraced as well, leaving me with a deep sense of thankfulness.

Where ever one may travel, in any weather and in any language or culture- there is only one thing we can control and that is our own attitude. We can only control ourselves and our own behavior and carve out our own road based upon how far we want to go, how far we want to reach. A good attitude leads to all good things, not just success in careers. Personal and intimate rewards can come from acts of kindness, the sewing of good deeds: putting a smile on someone's face, listening instead speaking, hugging instead of judging, and having a sense of humor instead of taking yourself too seriously. Yes, it must be true that you reap what you sew. Attitude is everything in all situations, that is all you can do is try and do your best in all circumstances.