I am a longtime wordsmith. I like words. I like finding just the right word. The word to convey a thought, a feeling, a concept. Sometimes I capitalize words… for emphasis… for wordplay… ‘cause I want to. ‘Cause it makes sense to me.
 
I consistently capitalize the word Life. Out of respect… for Life.
 
Life. Such an amazing rodeo! The Show of Shows! Biologically… it can’t be beat! Psychologically… there’s so much going on! Spiritually… beyond amazing! Beyond the beyond.
 
This world we live in is A Miracle. “Life” deserves a capital “L.”
 
Albert Einstein said… “There are only two ways to live your Life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
 
I choose the miracle.
 
You're either groovin’ or you’re grumbling. In gratitude or in grudgement.
 
Where you live inside yourself is completely up to you. We all have a crazed variety of external components. Family. Education. Work. Resources. Lack of resources. But who we are and how we are… who we show up as… is completely ours to call.
 
The way you respond or react to what shows up in your Life… what you do with the hand you’re dealt… this is what makes your Life what it is. Miracle or madness.
 
Where you live inside yourself. It’s all up to you.

Today I opened Holy Wow! Volume III… The HazMat Variety Show… to page 54. “When you are human… you must be strong… resolved. ‘I will not be consumed by bitterness.’ You must not allow grudgement, resentment, vengeance to twist your Life. You must not let bitterness win.”
 
This is a substantial decision you make inside yourself. A choice. Choosing to release yourself from bitterness is your inner work. 
 
Sometimes it’s easy to think… “I’m going to hold on to this bitterness, by golly. That’ll show him!” (Or “them” or “her.”) Holding onto anger, annoyance, feeling slighted… is not the ally it wants you to think it is.
 
Cutting right to the chase… the only person your inner bitterness hurts is you. 
 
Keeping that bitterness churning inside… making sure your resentment and distress are well-nourished… only fortifies your suffering. Generating self-inflicted obstacles. Self-inflicted pain.
 
Another person may have triggered your initial upset… but you keeping your distress alive and well in your gut, in your thoughts, in your inner Life… is you inflicting pain on you. The harsh clamp bitterness has on you poisons your inner environment. Making where you live inside yourself sour… acidic… unpleasant.
 
At this point… it has very little to do with the “other person.” The only person who can release yourself from your distress is you. 
 
Be kind to yourself. Assert self-compassion. Do yourself a favor. Let it go. Jump off the inner-torment merry-go-round. Release yourself from self-imposed distress.

​We humans are quite a fascinating bunch. Someone arrives back from a trip or vacation. Have you ever noticed? You say, “How was it? Did you have a good time?” 
 
“Oh yeah, it was great. Except this one bad thing happened.” They proceed to tell you about the “one bad thing.” Really? 
 
I’ve longtime wondered… how is it we humans are so captivated by negativity? Enchanted. Bewitched. “I’m sure I can find something here to fuss about.”
 
The negative is not the only thing happening. Negativity is not our only choice.
 
In the mid-80s, I began practicing a resource I guarantee you will pry off the barnacles of negativity and level your inner playing field. The wonders of gratitude. Spoiler Alert: If you’re thinking, “Oh sure, that. I know about practicing gratitude.” Unless you have exercised your gratitude muscles… unless you have actually practiced gratitude… you have no idea about the intriguing powerhouse that is gratitude.
 
At first, I followed the suggestion… “make a daily list.” “Today, I am grateful for these 3 things in my Life.” Hmmm… interesting. This gave me a different perspective to look back over my day. To look back over my Life. Looking for the good stuff. The “not so bad” stuff. Things that made me smile.
 
Truth is… they’re here, too. Looking for them… you find them. 
 
There are no rules for what you get to be grateful for. The sunset. That chocolate milkshake. A friend’s kindness. The moving parts of your day going smoothly. A stranger’s kindness. The fact I’m drawing breath.
 
Over time, I began to see… the significant difference between thinking gratitude and feeling gratitude. Give that one a spin. Feel grateful.
 
Feeling gratitude reveals an unexpected gift. Bringing an unanticipated affirming quality… to yourself and your Life. 

​Today let’s do another random tiptoe thru the Holy Wow! tulips. Picking up Volume I… The Blessing Is Being Here… opening to page 137. “Now here is something you are going to find fascinating. One way you can see the uniqueness of each human’s emotional packaging is by watching several people as they each have a completely different reaction to exactly the same stimuli.”
 
I have always found this fascinating. When you’re young… you believe everybody thinks, feels, perceives the same way you do. It doesn’t even occur to you they don’t. 
 
Getting older… experiencing more different people and more fascinating circumstances… you can’t help but see… one person can be tweaked and put off by the same thing another person finds engaging and hilarious. Each with our own unique emotional packaging… completely coloring how we experience our world.  
 
Many diverse ingredients make up each person’s emotional stew. One person’s upset or another person’s amusement have very little to do with whatever the stimuli, circumstance or interaction may be. Each person’s reaction(s) to their Life comes from the entirety of their own… karmic… ingrained… multi-experienced… self.
 
Karma… the nature you’re born with. Entering incarnation in your own particular emotional packaging. Your own inner wiring. Easily disturbed or agitated. Perhaps laid-back and chill.
 
Human emotional Life is not a linear excursion. Numerous additional factors are continually at play. Family… we learn a lot about what’s silly or terrifying from the family we grow up in. Society… what’s currently acceptable. What’s not. Our personal reaction to past experience is definitely stirred in. 
 
Each and all add flavor and spice to your particular stew. To your particular view.