Molly's Mantras Part 2 (and Happy New Year!)

I do not want to make it a habit of having back to back posts without any attached pictures because I know how annoying that can be.  I hope this is the only time I have to do this because we haven't "dumped" any photos lately on our computer and maybe Nate can get on that sometime soon...pretty please?!

Mantra #2:
If it's meant to be, it's up to ME.

I have a very unstable love and hate reaction to this mantra and I am still working on how this fits with my life and my relationships.  I think this can be a good one for those of us who set New Years goals...I am not one of those people. Otherwise, it can be a good one to use for those of us who sometimes want others to change and behave a certain way before we make any shifts...I can be one of those people.  Although it is embarrassing to admit, I can totally be a person who will not "go first" when it comes to being vulnerable or changing a behavior for the betterment of my relationship.  It's too scary, what if I am rejected, I'm not worthy, etc.  I have many reasons for this based on past and present junk but regardless, those excuses and reasons just perpetuate my stagnancy and me being stuck where I don't want to be.  Now this mantra does not imply that you must do everything for everyone else and that the whole weight of the world is on your shoulders alone; instead consider what it could mean for you in your life and relationships and the possibility that we do have a bit of control and say in pretty much everything that happens to us.  Let me be clear....NO, the girl who was raped did not ask for it, the man with cancer did not do it to himself and a mom who had a miscarriage is not at fault.  What I'm considering is that in every situation, every event, every behavior, every thought....there is an opportunity to choose what to do, how to be, what to think, what to say and how to react.  Take divorce for example.  "If it's meant to be, it's up to me"....maybe the "it" isn't that the couple should stay married, maybe the "it" is the revelation that the relationship is unhealthy and conditional where it is no longer serving the couple.  Having it be "up to me" might just allow a person an opportunity to take charge, honor themselves and make a choice on their own.  There are tons of other examples I can think of, but I'm sure you also have a few that are simmering.  Personally, this mantra isn't so much about saving relationships, getting new cars, obtaining a new job or acquiring "things"...for me, it is more about honoring and reminding myself that I have a say as to what happens in my life and I am in charge of making it everything I want it to be. Wow...that sounded a LOT more corny than I had hoped.

Right now, it's up to me to go get a bag of chips and maybe a snickers bar from the vending machine...so there. :)