Sometimes it's going to work. Sometimes to the grocery store. Sometimes it's caring for a sick child or loved one. Sometimes it's reporting for jury duty. Whatever "it" is that I'm bemoaning, I'm doing my level best these days to challenge my "have to" mentality with the "get to" mentality.
It's Monday morning and I'm sitting in the juror's assembly room fulfilling my annual service and awaiting my fate as a potential juror this week. I have so much to do this week.
I had a great weekend enjoying a quick trip to Baja, Mexico where my friend competed in a 52-mile cycle race. The weather was beautiful, the beach warm and inviting. On Friday night, we dined with friends on lobsters and mango margaritas. On Saturday, we ate breakfast on our beachfront patio listening to the seagulls, soaking up the sunshine, and watching the waves roll in. After the bike race on Saturday, we indulged in relaxing and rejuvenating massages. We had a fabulous time.
AND - as if that wasn't grand enough - right before we left, I took delivery on my new Nissan Murano in "Merlot" with all the trimmings. I haven't had a new car in 10 years and I'd all but forgotten how alluring that "new car" smell is!
And yet, all around us this weekend in Mexico, there were many who were hungry and poor; who wished more than anything for a job to go to - any job at all to feed their children. Good, decent people who have never and may never hop into their shiny new car, run to the grocery store with all the fresh meats, fruits and vegetables their heart's could desire, or serve on a jury in a country built on a judicial system that succeeds so well in creating a fair, impartial system that, for the most part, we feel safe and free.
The contrast of this weekend reminds me again: I GET to go to work. I GET to go to the market. I GET to contribute to my country's judicial system. I am wealthy and fortunate beyond measure compared to most of the world.
Our life is 99% perspective. And perspective is 100% within our control.