Today I Will (4/7/10)

(The history behind these activities can be found here, and if you click here you will see all the previous posts I wrote on them. Thank you to Irene for having the forethought to buy me this book for blog material.)

Activity #8: Today I will celebrate other people's successes to make way for my own windfalls.

The book states that no matter how grateful we are for the things in our lives, when something good happens to someone else it's normal for slight feelings of jealousy and sometimes bitterness to creep in and ruin the moment. Instead of allowing those feelings to take over, this exercise asks you to "practice being the first to congratulate a friend, even if he or she receives something you wanted for yourself." This will "take power away from ugly feelings of jealousy and insecurity" and your support in turn "paves the way for your own windfalls."

I would like to take a moment to congratulate all of my fellow FDU graduates that have, according to the alumni newsletter, published a first or second novel, had stories or poems accepted for publication in literary magazines and garnered positive press for their work.

A special should out goes to Jack who entered Week 13 free of nicotine; my girl in LA who recently bought her first luxury vehicle, a treat she gave herself for all the hard work she's been doing; my sweetums in MA who ended a long, dead-end relationship only to turn the corner and find happiness with a new man; and another friend here in BK who has been out of work for a few months and sent me a text this morning announcing "I got a job babe!"

I am truly happy for all of them. Their joy is seriously my joy because they are my friends. And who wants miserable friends who never have any good news to report? I will admit I don't always get that back, and have learned to not divulge certain news items with certain people because it will just throw shade on my shine. Hey, what can you do about those people except not let them take your joy, right? I just know I NEVER want to be the one stealing someone else's sunshine. I know how shitty that feels when it's done to me and could never subject even my worse enemy (SEAN COMBS!) to that.

Besides, I'm a firm believer in "whatever you put out into The Universe you get back threefold" even if three is the devil's number; it's a good policy to live by.

*smooches...grateful for all the good things happening around me*
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proximity to greatness can only mean mine is around the corner