Girls Write Out: Hey Girls--Do You Need a Lift?

Friday, November 04, 2011

I love sunrises. Unfortunately, one reason for this is because they're so rare for me. I see sunsets much more often.

For me, a sunrise is a fresh beginning on a new opportunity to do things right that I may have missed the day before. It's funny that New Years Day doesn't do the same for me, but sunrises are rarer, even, than New Years. I get up at about ten, go to bed well after midnight, often as late as 2:00, because that is the best time to focus on writing. That, plus my poor mother having trouble sleeping at night, keeps me going into the early morning hours. That is why I love a sunset.

They can lift me in ways nothing else can. They hold promise, and such beauty. Recently I discovered a way to give myself a lift despite the lack of sunrises in my life. I surprise myself by recalling something I actually like about myself. Most of us have a bad habit of putting ourselves down and counting our faults. We can so easily keep track of our mistakes during the day. I have that tendency. But what if we were to focus on something we've done right recently?Did you allow someone to pull in front of you in traffic without muttering or honking the horn?

Have you ever smiled at someone and cheered them up? Have you helped someone out of a tough spot? Have you felt your heart go tender for someone whose heart was breaking? Think about it. Are you a kind person, do you have qualities that you appreciate in others? Do you have a creative personality?

Give yourself a sunrise today, lift yourself up. Look for the good in yourself, and not those things that the devil seems to love to whisper into your ear at every opportunity. Focus on the good in yourself, and that is the direction your heart will lean.

And then share here. I'd love to know what good things you are thinking about yourself today.

Labels: Eugene Arthur Patterson photography, helping others, losing ourselves in helping, Sunrise

Hannah Alexander
posted at 5:20 PM
Comments (6)

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6 Comments:

At 10:15 PM, jel said...: VERY AWESome shot! :)

my mom gets up at 3:00am, so that when I try to be down there.

it's past my bed time!

hope y'all have a great weekend

huggs
At 10:49 PM, Tracy Ruckman said...: Cheryl - I love this post, and after a long, hard week, it sure hits the spot. I beat myself up mentally all the time - much too much for my own good.

I manage to make my husband laugh almost daily, and he tells me repeatedly that he's indeed a happy man.

I'm so blessed. Blessed beyond words.
At 1:30 AM, Hannah Alexander said...: Jel, you have such a caring, giving heart, and you don't complain. Your mother is so very blessed.
At 1:32 AM, Hannah Alexander said...: Tracy, you remind yourself of that every morning when you get up, and when you do something to beat yourself up during the day, slap your hand over your mouth and remember what you wrote here. A man's not going to tell his wife he's happy unless he is.
At 6:21 PM, Anonymous said...: Cheryl, thanks for the reminder. i really needed it. to be honest, i've been having a hard time fining something good about myself. i will admit, i have a low self esteem. i believe the bad things people say about me instead of the good. for example; in my church, the music director is a kid i grew up with. ever since i can remember he and i can't get along. according to many, its because he envied my brain (to him, being smart is everything), so that's why he always put me down and humiliated me as kids. i have to admit, i believed him. then, due to the fact that i have a hobby of singing everywhere i go, he heard me singing after he had had a bad day and told me how atrociously awful (his words) i sounded. *sigh, its hard not to believe things like that, especially since you know nothing music-wise, but a lot of people around me seem to like my voice. idk, its always bothered me and i feel utterly childish, but i'm looking for a sunrise in this and what better way than to express myself and get it from friends? anyway, thanx again Cheryl.
At 10:39 PM, Hannah Alexander said...: That's why I never read reviews of my books, and we have an unlisted phone. Someone will have to try quite hard to say something unkind to me. I don't think it's childish to be hurt by hurtful words. I do think it's childish to say those hurtful words in the first place. Either someone is trying to lift himself up by putting others down, or wound others out of envy or jealousy. Therefore, I see no reason to listen. Either way, he's wrong about you.