Get off that pity pot

   “If you don’t like something, change it.   If you can’t change it,

change your attitude.”   Maya Angelou

It has been one of those days.  I really could have stayed in bed this morning and slept this flu away but I was woken up by the dogs barking and the sound of lawnmowers – garden service day, oh no!  So I dragged my sorry butt out of bed and decided to go to the pharmacy.

Now being an alcoholic and buying over the counter medication is another story.  You have to check for no alcohol in the cough mixture and no codeine in the tablets.  Then when she hands you the medicine and you spend hours checking all the ingredients, more than likely you have to complain that one of them is addictive.  So, putting up with strange glances from the people in the queue behind you, you have to explain why you cannot take it!

Back home with the little energy left and the dogs still yapping at the mowers, I proceeded to do the housework.  My thoughts went back to the old days when a hot toddy with a large dash of brandy in it was the best cure for colds and the little bottles of Swedish herbs all preserved in an even larger dose of alcohol was the cure for stomach ailments.  Then I start going down that dreaded path of self-pity and questioning why this all had to happen to me, me, me!

When the mowers had finished and the dogs settled down and I can hear, I sit down at the computer and through bleary eyes start reading my emails.  I keep reminding myself that I need to write two articles today but I put that off.  Then I start thinking about what I am going to say when the boss comes home and asks the same question he always does “So what have you done today – made any money?”  Gosh that puts me into even more of a mood and I think either I am going to scream back at him “Made the beds, washed the dishes, cleaned the house, picked up your dirty laundry, made your supper and no I didn’t make money” or casually ignore him and burst into tears.  I can’t say I am not feeling well because us females are just expected to carry on regardless remember?     

Then this picture catches my eye.  I start to realize how pathetic and ungrateful I have been all day.  I have a roof over my head, I have a bed to make, I have dishes to wash, I have clothes to launder, I have a computer and a car - and there are so many people out there in this world with nothing.  It is okay to feel poorly but get over it.  

Sometimes we let our attitudes get the better of us and we need to realize that the world does not just revolve around us. Feelings are only a reaction to our thoughts.  Thoughts can be changed and so in turn reactions will change.  Everything in this world happens for a reason.  Perhaps the Universe is trying to tell me to take a break, slow down and rest.  I have learned that I can start my day over any time I need to and I feel better already. 

So here is my article for today and the best thing of all is I am grateful and still sober.   

“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance 

appears.”   Anthony Robbins