Cut your mirror some slack

A friend of mine recently joined a pilates group at her gym. She loved it. She sang its praises! Naturally, I agreed. Then the gym changed the space where her group met.

She was bummed about the new space because it was full of mirrors. "Before I could imagine I looked cool doing pilates," she said. "Now I just see how much I have to improve."

Earlier that same week I had covered one of my mirrors with photographs because I was so tired of constantly critiquing my workout. And I'm no beginner.

It got me thinking about reflections and how much credit we give them. When I look in the mirror, I'm only seeing an image. It's not me; it's backwards me.

Reflections are good teachers. They can guide you. But they are no substitute for the real thing. Only we can make our reflections move.

I propose we give our reflections a break and start believing what our minds see. You're a natural at pilates. My belt looks great with these jeans. Every day is a good hair day. I'd be willing to bet our reflections will follow suit.

Astigmatisms can't be blamed for lack of perspective

Today I was tasked with inspiring my team at work. I introduced them to Littlewood's Law, which basically applies a little math to my idealistic attitude. I thought it was pretty good. What I didn't expect was for them to come up with a few of their own thoughts about it that blew my optimism out of the water. Bonus!

Last night my boyfriend gave me some constructive criticism and I actually listened. (What? I'm not perfect?!? This came as a shock to me as well.)

I've always said that I want to surround myself with people that make me want to be a better person. But I guess I've never really fully considered what that means. Wanting to be a better person is one thing. Becoming a better person is another. It involves admitting that others might know more than me and then changing to see their point of view. Or to at least consider it.

These things are uncomfortable and scary. All of this reminds me of a moment in As Good As It Gets.

I guess I just want to say thank you to everyone who is in my life in big and small ways. You make me want to be a better woman. And damn, I know it's hard because I'm stubborn and arrogant!

In turn, I encourage people to speak their minds and keep their perspectives. No one person thinks in the same way, and you never know whose life or heart you will touch with your thoughts.

Thanksgiving is my favorite American holiday

My flight to Oslo was on Swiss Air. I'm a fan. The flight attendants were friendly, I only waited for the bathroom once, wine was free, and the food was decent. Although it was airline food, it was served with real silverware. For some reason, that made it for me. Serve me tasteless pasta and I'll be disappointed, but give it to me with a silver fork and I can't stop raving about it!

My friend and I were talking last night about how  it's the little things that make life so great. I brought up the silverware. She talked about the stranger on the street who complimented her hat. She said that if we paid more attention to the small stuff, the big stuff would hardly matter.

I agree. I have a white board in my room that I see every morning when I wake up. It lists all the things I can think of to be thankful for. Inevitably it has the big things like my room and food -- things on the bottom of the hierarchy of needs. However, most of what is on there are things like wine, friends, pilates, trees, stars, and (of course) my blog.

I have had all sorts of experiences in the past week or so that I am thankful for. And since I don't have my white board, I figured my blog would do just fine.

My friend and her family have had me in their home for the past week; there has been fresh fruit, homemade bread, more cheese (or ost in Norsk) than you can shake a stick at, and all the coffee, water and wine I could want. I truly thank them for their hospitality. I feel like part of the family.

My dear friend in Oslo picked me up at the airport, booked a train for himself and me to Trondheim, and will take a day off from work to show me around the city next week. I am so blessed to have met him through a church celebration of Norway's independence in Minneapolis. Yeah, I know. That's the Universe having a sense of humor right there.

The weather in Trondheim reminds me of Minneapolis around this time. Cold, windy and just a bit damp. Very fall. Very crisp. Thank you to Trondheim for confirming that I made the right decision by moving to California. Although it could get this cold where I live now, it won't get colder (like it will in my former post) and for that I am truly thankful!

Some people say the devil is in the details. I tend to disagree. Don't sweat the small stuff? I don't know about that, but then I don't sweat much of anything. The little things in life are what we really remember. They stick out in our brain for years. If there isn't toilet paper in a restaurant, I would be willing to bet we remember that longer than what we ordered for dinner. 

In the spirit of the little things, I would like to say thank you to everyone in my life that I know and to those I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet for making it so amazing. I love you all! 

A well-placed remark

"You have a nice skull shape," she said to me. I am taken aback. What does that even mean? Apparently she thinks I'm one of the few people that can pull of a head scarf. And so she tells me.

Those are the kind of compliments you don't forget. "I like your outfit" or "You're a good dancer" are nice compliments but you tend to mush them all together in the back of your head where they float around and you don't refer to them often.

The weird ones are great. I'll never put on a hat or scarf (both of which I do often) without thinking about it. And even though I doubt this person will be a large part of my life, she will be forever in my mind.