The Positive Side to Negativity

I must say that I have never really liked negative people.  You know the type, they complain about everything.  They are the type of people that would complain about a bright, sunny day because it could make their eyes hurt.  I've come across many of these types of people.  Some of them have even emailed me or left a rather nasty comment every now and again.  I usually make it a point to try and turn that negativity into something positive because I've made it a mission in life to do so. 

The worst thing I've found about negative people is that some of them are doctors or physical therapists.  They will look at you and tell you that they can't work miracles and that you will have to deal with your immobility or pain, or worse, some will give you an expiration date.  I really hated these people up until now.  I think I've found a positive purpose for them.

My Grandmother had a therapist come in to help her get some more strength to walk a little better than she has been.  My Grandma had polio as a young child and has been dealing with limited mobility all of her life.  She has an extremely positive attitude and has always persevered.  I admire her outlook on life and have always tried my best to emulate it.

The therapist took one look at my Grandmother and said that her leg was becoming too deteriorated to have her walk on it.  In her opinion, she felt my Grandmother should be in a wheelchair.  She said there was little she could do for her because she was not a miracle worker.

My Grandmother got a little perturbed with her to say the least.  She did all of the exercises the woman recommended and then when the woman came back for the follow-up, my Grandmother politely told her off by getting up from the bed, walking to the staircase, went down the lift, and then walked into the kitchen with the aid of her walker and canes.

My Grandma is tough and never wants to be told that she can't do something.  She will prove you wrong if she has to.  The therapist?  She was happy that my Grandma could do it and said she'd be back for one more visit before she released my Grandmother from therapy.

My opinion?  I think there was some reverse psychology going on here.  My Grandmother and I may not have known it at the time, but it became clear once we saw the reaction on her face to my Grandmother's progress.  I truly believe this therapist was trying to put a positive spin on some negativity just so my Grandmother could get better.

So my question to all of you is, has this ever happened to you?  Has some Negative Nelly pissed you off so much that you turned it into something positive with your chronic condition?  Do you like this kind of tactic or do you thing it's deceitful?

I know some people tend to think that the ends justify the means.  It doesn't make you a bad person for feeling this way, but to me it's a pretty crappy way of going about things.  We all have an amazing power and I think Emily Dickinson said it best, "A word is dead when it is said some say, I say it just begins to live that day."  Our words can make a person's day or break it.  I'd rather be the bright sun.

Stay fabulous!
Love and friendship,

Kimberley

October

October is my favorite month.  I love walking outside and see the beautiful colored leaves on the trees.  I get an itch for baking again because the weather is cooler.  Hayrides to pumpkin patches are fun, as well as, carving pumpkins.  The month ends with one of my favorite holidays, Halloween.

Having said all of this, I thought I share some of the joy that this month brings me by offering huge discounts on all of my books until the end of the month.  You can get anywhere from a 30-50% discount on all of my books and this includes the latest, Fibro and Fabulous. 

The discount will only be offered through my Storefront on Lulu.com.  You will not find these discounts at Amazon or anywhere else.  

I hope that some of you will be able to take advantage of this discount.  If not, don't fret.  I will try to do another before Christmas.

Happy Shopping and Stay fabulous!

Kimberley

"Do What You Love"

The title of this blog entry is a quote from one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.  He is a wonderful singer and entertainer who has been around for many, many years and has given me a lot of inspiration to keep on keeping on because he's such a New Yorker.  I may be from Connecticut but my whole family came from New York-- right off the banana boat, in fact.  I love New York for many reasons, but for today, let's keep this post about loving New York because of Barry.

Barry loves the fact that people love his music.  He also stresses that you should do what you love to do in life because that makes all the difference in the world...

He's right you know...

You should do what you love because settling can make your life miserable.  I know about this all too well.  You see I settled for a job that paid the bills.  It was a safe job that didn't involve the uncertainty of a writing career.  It was a 9 to whatever- job that most people have and it made me sad, depressed, and out of sorts.  It also exacerbated my fibro symptoms.

I always thought that Somewhere Down the Road, life would be different and I'd have something come together before I reached the age of 40, but it hasn't yet.  I was too scared to let my life just be.  I needed the comfort of a classic job to get me by. 

I'm not saying the job I chose itself was bad-- please don't get me wrong.  The job itself was okay, but it just wasn't me.  I needed the creativity writing would give me.  I did write manuals for the store and even newspaper happenings, but it wasn't the same.  I longed for the late night inspiration that poems, stories, novels, and even articles and blog entries gave me.

This blog entry may sound like a preaching session, and I hope it really doesn't, because that's not what I intended it to be.  In this day and age many of us are settling for what we can find for work, just like I did right out of school.  I just want you all to remember that settling doesn't have to be a sacrifice for your whole life.  You don't have to spend years at a job you hate.  Life will change and you don't have to get comfortable in a job you hate.

You really should do what you love.  Barry is right about this.  Learn from Barry's advice he gives in his music from Read and Weep, to Brooklyn Blues, to Joey.  Was it so long ago where we stopped to remember our life was more than about punching a time clock for a business?

Let's all try to remember what it was like to be a young kid fresh out of school, eager for life.  It may make our flairs a little less of a pain and a little more to bare.  You never know.

When you do what you love, your stress level drops, you enjoy working, and your life can be as fibro free as it can be.  I know this can be hard to do right now.  The economy is not what any of us thought it would be, but it will change and when it does, don't settle like I did.