What goes around, comes around

Ever since I was a little girl I have always heard the saying "what goes around comes around" and I always thought that to be a negative aspect. Like, for instance, someone falls, you laugh and then fall. Karma. How many of us think about the positive aspect of it? If you do a service, someone will pay it forward. It is true though, most of the time it isn't as quick as bad Karma but it will still be in your favor at some point.

This is my most recent visit from Karma and it was the most liberating experience of my life. But in order to tell you that you have to know the backstory to understand the significance.

I moved into my little 2 bedroom town home a little over a year ago with my Momma Jodi. It was cool, she had Mari and I loved her and it was nice to just start a new adventure I wasn't sure at first I was ready to take. I meet my neighbor to the east of me and her daughter and they were the nicest people. Very talkative and the type to sit on their front porch and say hello to everyone. (I love those kind of people). One day Mari had to do her business and she had peed over in my neighbors yard to the west of me. The woman who owned the apartment had come home conveniently right as Mari pooped in her yard. Instead of saying "hello" I got, "you better clean that shit up" to which, you know me... "yeah, no shit". She called me a C-U-Next-Tuesday and slammed her door.

Sidetrack, I love that word. I know it's degrading and dirty but it makes my immature self hysterically laugh every time I hear it. Same with the word "Butt hole". IDK anyway no one else found that what she said was very funny, but I did.

Ever since then it felt that no matter what I did I got yelled at for it. Took Mari for a walk and she HAD to go in her yard to sniff.. she has a dog too. Jodi got her wrath multiple times a week. No one in our complex had seemed to like her. She'd call the landlord for idiotic things and at first I really found it funny. But of course, like every repetitive thing, it got old. I started retaliating by blasting metal music because I knew it would piss her off. If I was cooking, I'd literally slam my cabinets because I knew she could hear it. If her kids came outside and I was present they were to not look at me and had to shield their eyes with their hands. I am seriously not kidding. Her son actually walked straight into the grill of her husbands truck ha ha ha ha. She called me a whore like every week and a hoe. And you know I don't register those words the same way as others do. It has a more significant meaning to me. I could never have a confronted conversation with her because she'd always say something and then slam the door. This went on for almost a year.

About a month or so ago at like 12 am I locked myself out of my house and had to take apart my window to get in. It is so loud and I felt terrible but I was freezing and had nowhere else to go. Her daughter opens the door and I'm like "crap". She says "my mom wants to know if you're okay" I had a super long day at work and I was super stressed and couldn't get the last part of my window unhinged so I was crying (I am a baby). I said in a huff "I'm fine" she was like "well, if you need anything we are here for you". Gag me. I never really had any other passing with my neighbor but I noticed that although I could still hear her yell at her kids everyday she stopped pounding the walls. She stopped calling the cops because I was up too late typing. - That happened. We had that super big snow storm a few weeks ago and she came outside while I was dusting off my SUV and said I could use her shovel. I was really grateful for her offer but given her track record I was skiddish. I tried to buy my own shovel but then I remembered I am the poorest girl in all the land so I ended up using hers and she never yelled at me. Ha ha.

I got home late one night and it had been snowing and I noticed that they weren't home so I grabbed her shovel and tackled our sidewalk and got over by where they park because since she has kids and I didn't want to be mean anymore..I shoveled her side. Normally, she only shovels half of the sidewalk that leads to both our doors - I know. And then over by where her two parking spots are and then leaves mine to be snowy. That's totally fine because I am never home to shovel and crap so it never bothered me I always just laughed. The next morning (after I shoveled her part of the sidewalk) it was SO snowy. They cancelled schools and a few businesses and thankfully I have a huge SUV that I am borrowing from my dad and just drove right over that snow. - I felt cool. I had a hell of a day and cried like seven different times and was so happy when I finally came home at 9:30 pm. My parking spot that was so very snowy that morning was all nicely shoveled. So then I cried again. The next day I went and picked up Kyle to hang out and he was pretty blown away as we both pondered whether or not it was her. I made cake and took her a few pieces and K, if you know me well you know how bad my anxiety is. I stood outside with a plate full of cake and was sweating as I pep talked myself into this. I knocked. She answered and I gave her the cake, It was simple.

It turned out she was the one who shoveled my parking spot and then apologized for everything that she ever said or did to me. Guys, I almost cried. I immediately apologized and so much negativity just shed from my soul. I floated home. Literally. Remember that time I wrote about feeling like I wasn't getting anywhere and that this was all a mistake? It takes time. Karma is great at working quickly to give you what you deserve when you've been behaving badly. I think it takes a while to give you your blessings when you are being a better person because you are really learning valuable lessons and I think it's made me appreciate the art of forgiveness a little more. I hope this sticks for her and she is able to build friendships through kindness.

What you put out into the universe will always come back to you. So make sure you send out kindness and love.

Opportunities for change

            I've enjoyed scrolling through my social media feeds and seeing what everyone's resolutions are for the new year. I normally scroll through and roll my eyes at what they are because we all know you won't keep them. I can't even keep them. I wanted try something new this year. I still liked everyone's ideas for change and rolled my eyes at the others but I can't break mine you see, I'm just going to spread positivity and love. I am going to be the best me I can be and if that means I start going to the gym...well, then I guess I'm getting double rewards. Although, I am currently sitting here at 9a.m drinking a red Mtn Dew so it's safe to assume diet was not on the list of being a better me ha ha.

         You know the saying "inhale positive exhale negatives" and "if you think positive thoughts and do positive things the universe will give it back to you"? I found that to be very true. You know my neighbor that's super grumpy and rude to everyone? The other day I was dusting off my Sequoia and she leaned out her door and called my name and said I could use her shovel to clear the space in my parking spots. She would have never done anything like that in the past. I am assuming she saw me get my little Honda really stuck and having to use cardboard I fished out of the dumpster as traction to get out. Have I mentioned how much I hate winter? Anyway, I said thank you and thought maybe she'd take that offer back so I didn't use the shovel the next day. I saw she placed it right in-between our houses so that clearly means I can use it right?? Ha ha.

       One day I was self analyzing everything I was doing with my life and making a list of things I wanted to work on and a big one was positive thoughts about others. When I see a fellow sister on the street or in the store my first thought isn't going to be whether or not her shoes are cute. Or what her weight is. I would look at how beautiful her smile is as she says hi to me. Or the way she talks to her children. I wouldn't avoid eye contact because if she actually was beautiful I would try to not compare myself to her. It was definitely a chore. I did think of mean things at first and then would quickly think of something positive but that negative comment is what stayed in my head. We are trained to be that way. We are trained to see in magazines or on T.V. what is perfect and if you don't look that way you are ugly and useless. But what they fail to tell us is that the figure we hail for perfection was actually just a normal person like you and me but got computerized in photo shop to create that perfect figure. So whoever I saw on the street and judged the way her pants sagged in the back instead of hugging her figure, that's what perfection is. I carry with me the thought of what I think is perfection and it's made seeing a person as they really are so much easier. I have found who I really am as well. Judging someone by their clothes or the way their face looks doesn't make you any better than they are. It just shows how ugly you are.

      Every morning I go to the bathroom and as I wash my hands I look in the mirror at my sleepy eyes, no concealer, bed head, and sometimes eye boogers and I pick what I love. I love my under eye today because that means I was able to finally sleep. -Do you know how rare that is?! The first 3 weeks I ran this new task if you may I cried. I cried because no, I didn't like the bags under my eyes, I didn't like how I looked with bed head. The way that I saw myself is a reflection of everything I have ever been told I was and believed. Some days my confidence was up and I could name more than 3 things I loved and other days I teared up and just didn't look in the mirror. One day I was in the bathroom battling myself because not only have I gone publically about all of these changes, I started it for me. And I knew I had to keep going for me. I said aloud " I am bea-" paused, "I need to trim my hair". No, no...no negatives. "I am beau-" tears streaming down my face I started thinking of all the things I needed to get done that day and how I didn't have time to do this. Kyle came into the bathroom to brush his teeth and said "you look beautiful babe" and then kissed my ear. I stood there in my oversized bed shirt, my hair knotted and moved to the side and he still saw the same girl I am with my hair done and makeup on. I'm an emotional person by nature but I probably sat on the toilet for a while just crying. Ever since then, I've kept that in mind and it's been a little easier to battle myself. And Kyle will never know the impact he made that day.

      Whatever it is that you choose to take away from this today, please understand that you are so perfect. If you don't think you're beautiful or worth it, I do. At work I get paid to make a difference in someone's life. And I would do it for free. Be the change. Lift one another up and do it because you believe society is wrong. I will always battle my inner demons but I pray that one day I will be able to win each time they tell me I won't be as perfect as my coworker, or that lady sitting next to me on the bus and all the more reason to make this resolution last forever. Blogging has been so therapeutic for me so I apologize if posts are a little all over the place. My mind has 29 streets running at the same time.

"I am powerful and strong."