As I’ve mentioned here before, one of the richest memories of my life is how I used to get up at 5:30 in the morning with my dad. It was our time. We’d eat GrapeNuts and tell each other about the miracle(s) we’d seen the day before. I still try to like GrapeNuts and I still try to look for miracles every day.

Finding the miracles has been harder for me latley. I might notice (my word for 2015) lovely people, places, or things, but I’ve allowed circumstances, over which I feel powerless, to cloud my ability to recognize them as miracles. That’s gotta change.

Here’s how I’m going to change it. Yes/And. I completely accept the reality that YES there are many things going on the world, over which I have no control. AND while I continue to attend to what I can, I’m going to focus on the light, the good, the possible, along with the people doing the light, good, and possible.

YES, the divisions, gloom, fear, and darkness will still be around. My focus, however, will not be as glued to it, as it has been lately. I’m going to focus on the power of miracles. When I find myself tempted to dwell in the negative longer than is necessary, I’m going to seek out AND people, places, and things. AND people, places and things are the miracles Daddy and I used to share with each other daily. I’ll share some of them with you here.

YES, according to World Health Organization estimates, 1,073,968 people died last week AND  one of them was Mary Tyler Moore. 

I was 12 when The Mary Tyler Moore Show began.  I was hooked. Watching that show, as a young teenager nudged me away from my earlier life goal – to marry Mr Johnson’s (from Johnson & Johnson) son.  I still can’t remember how that goal ever materialized when I was eight. Anyhoooo… “Mar” showed me another way.  She showed me, when I was 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 that I could make it after all.  I did fall In Love and marry soon after that, as I pursued a career in TV journalism.  

I was fired (over the phone), after two months, from my first TV gig.  So I thought WWMD (What Would Mary Do?) and called to apply at another local TV station.  I worked there for three years, until I realized I’m a massive introvert. So while having people recognize me in the mall fed my ego, it creeped me out WAY more.  That career was not my calling.  It also wasn’t my gift. It wasn’t my passion. And I wasn’t good at it.

So again, I thought WWMD? I got a job at a bank that ultimately turned into a joyfully rewarding career in the Trust side of banking.  Then divorce, dis-ease, and discernment led me to my current life. In a lot of ways, “Mar” helped me define this part of my life, too:

• look for light;
• shine light when you can;
• love people disguised as unlovable;
• use your brain;
• trust your gut;
• speak your truth;
• when you need to use boxing gloves, use velvet ones;
• laugh at yourself; and
• when parts of you are broken, fix what you can and live with what you can’t fix as long you you can.

Thanks Mar. You made it after all.

Who’s helped you Make It After All?