Speaking Kindly

I stumbled into the locker room this morning at the gym and I had very.little.motivation.  Fighting what I call "Sickness Purgatory" (that spot in-between having a bug and fighting a bug), the last thing I really wanted to do was exercise.  But the hubby, Pickies and I all got moving and I stood in the locker room and placed my coat in the locker.  There were a couple of other ladies in the same area and they were discussing the upcoming New Year:

"Ughh....pretty soon it will be packed in here again..."

"I HATE the January 'Resolutioners'; that's what I call them.  They take over for about six weeks and make a mess here and then they, thankfully, disappear."

Yikes.  So much grumpiness in a matter of seconds.  Since we had casually chatted previously about the emptiness of the gym, I responded to them, "Yes.  Sometimes I get upset too.  Especially when I had babies in the childcare room and there weren't any appointments.  But I'm happy to have those people here.  Thankfully, they are choosing to get healthy and it hopefully some of them will stick to it."


Blank stares.  Non-existent crickets chirping.
And then one of the ladies said, "You are right, I have never thought of it that way.  Thanks for that perspective."  Another woman stopped me on the way out of the locker room and said, "You're a good mom, keeping things positive."


I don't always keep thing positive, but man, I try to keep things peaceful.  When I get grumpy or negative about other's actions or words, I try not to take it personally and move on.  When my heart thumps with bitterness, I think of something positive about that situation and just move forward.  It's easy to dwell, and not so difficult to just move on...if you allow it.

The kinder I speak, 
the kinder I feel.  
At least for a moment.  
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  ~Dalai Lama