You may call me Princess Leslie. Sometimes life absolutely blows my mind. Since I often dance around in a tutu & tiara, one might ask, “How hard could that be? I’m not sure she’s playing with a full deck to begin with.”
Fair enough. But in the case of a recent “mind = blown” moment, it was the tiara & tutu that may have been the very thing that led to an evening I’ll never forget.
Awhile back, I wrote about a tutu-&-tiara kind of morning spent singing & dancing around the house (and eventually out to the mailbox) to the soundtrack from “Beauty & The Beast.” The lyrics helped me realize that despite the Hollywood fairytale of “love at first sight,” falling in love slowly is an equally beautiful thing. I was so moved by this realization that I plopped myself down in front of my laptop & gushed about the lyrics & their impact on me.
Pretty soon I had a nice little essay, so I hit the “post” button on Facebook, delighted with my own happiness in sharing these thoughts. I then went back to my chores, thinking nothing of my silly little story.
Fair enough. But in the case of a recent “mind = blown” moment, it was the tiara & tutu that may have been the very thing that led to an evening I’ll never forget.
Awhile back, I wrote about a tutu-&-tiara kind of morning spent singing & dancing around the house (and eventually out to the mailbox) to the soundtrack from “Beauty & The Beast.” The lyrics helped me realize that despite the Hollywood fairytale of “love at first sight,” falling in love slowly is an equally beautiful thing. I was so moved by this realization that I plopped myself down in front of my laptop & gushed about the lyrics & their impact on me.
Pretty soon I had a nice little essay, so I hit the “post” button on Facebook, delighted with my own happiness in sharing these thoughts. I then went back to my chores, thinking nothing of my silly little story.
Tiaras make everything more magical! Until a few days later when a friend of mine said she’d passed on what I’d written to a friend of hers who happens to know Paige O’Hara (the voice of Belle from Beauty & the Beast), who happens to live in Las Vegas. AND who happened to actually READ THE PIECE!!!
Holy guacamole…are you kidding me?! This woman whose voice I’ve been listening to for as long as I can remember actually read my story about how the songs she sang impacted me? WAY COOL!
But wait…it gets better! Not only did she read the piece…I also received an invitation to come see her perform in the show she’s currently doing in Vegas (Menopause the Musical, which is hysterical!)…and to meet her!! All because she read & liked the piece I wrote. Was this for REAL?!
A few weeks later I found myself chatting with Paige, snapping some pictures, sharing a lovely dinner with my friend & her friend (the one who had set up the meeting), all in my favorite dress & of course…the tiara (because what else would a girl wear to meet Disney royalty?!).
Holy guacamole…are you kidding me?! This woman whose voice I’ve been listening to for as long as I can remember actually read my story about how the songs she sang impacted me? WAY COOL!
But wait…it gets better! Not only did she read the piece…I also received an invitation to come see her perform in the show she’s currently doing in Vegas (Menopause the Musical, which is hysterical!)…and to meet her!! All because she read & liked the piece I wrote. Was this for REAL?!
A few weeks later I found myself chatting with Paige, snapping some pictures, sharing a lovely dinner with my friend & her friend (the one who had set up the meeting), all in my favorite dress & of course…the tiara (because what else would a girl wear to meet Disney royalty?!).
Poof! Like magic this book appeared! As I stood there soaking it all in, a question occurred to me: “What if I had chosen to spend my time writing about what scares or frustrates me instead of what delights me? Would this moment have ever happened?”
The day I posted my essay on Facebook, my news feed was full of articles, comments, & nastiness about the Ebola outbreak and how crappy both political parties are at dealing with our country’s issues. In fact, I notice there’s a lot of complaints & “if it bleeds it leads” kind of news on Facebook most days. Whether posted in agreement or outrage, people apparently love to engage in debates about the things that frighten or infuriate them. They must love it…because they keep doing it.
But like I said at the beginning…the world is listening. More importantly, the world is giving you back exactly what you spend your time talking about (or posting about on Facebook). While I can’t prove a concept like “Law of Attraction” is real, I can say with certainty that what I talk about gets reflected back to me…ALL…THE…TIME.
I talk about Wonder Woman & superheroes. A LOT. Over the course of the last year I’ve received cards, action figures, mugs, glasses, pajamas, stickers, books, gorgeous pieces of art, DVDs, a Wonder Woman USB drive & most recently a one-of-a-kind handmade WW sweater. People know I love her…and so they share what they find (or make!!).
A few weeks ago I posted a hysterical “Text From Dog” picture on my wall & by the end of the week had the full book of Dog Texts (which I didn’t even know existed) waiting on my doorstep after my Saturday morning yoga class.
I wrote about Belle & how the lyrics of her songs affected me…and then I got to meet the woman behind the voice.
The day I posted my essay on Facebook, my news feed was full of articles, comments, & nastiness about the Ebola outbreak and how crappy both political parties are at dealing with our country’s issues. In fact, I notice there’s a lot of complaints & “if it bleeds it leads” kind of news on Facebook most days. Whether posted in agreement or outrage, people apparently love to engage in debates about the things that frighten or infuriate them. They must love it…because they keep doing it.
But like I said at the beginning…the world is listening. More importantly, the world is giving you back exactly what you spend your time talking about (or posting about on Facebook). While I can’t prove a concept like “Law of Attraction” is real, I can say with certainty that what I talk about gets reflected back to me…ALL…THE…TIME.
I talk about Wonder Woman & superheroes. A LOT. Over the course of the last year I’ve received cards, action figures, mugs, glasses, pajamas, stickers, books, gorgeous pieces of art, DVDs, a Wonder Woman USB drive & most recently a one-of-a-kind handmade WW sweater. People know I love her…and so they share what they find (or make!!).
A few weeks ago I posted a hysterical “Text From Dog” picture on my wall & by the end of the week had the full book of Dog Texts (which I didn’t even know existed) waiting on my doorstep after my Saturday morning yoga class.
I wrote about Belle & how the lyrics of her songs affected me…and then I got to meet the woman behind the voice.
Given this trend, why would I spend ANY time talking about what I DON’T want more of, when talking about what I DO want more of seems to help those things find their way to me? Really…WHY?!
(Side note: I really, REALLY want to cook with Gordon Ramsay someday making delicious food that is athlete friendly. I mean, he DID run an Ironman, and he clearly did not eat crappy, boring steamed chicken breasts while he was in training. I need to learn what he cooked! So, if you know anyone…)
Back in the day, I spent some time working in TV news (I produced 8 shows a week for WTOC in the local Savannah, GA market). I was on top of things when it came to what was going on in the world. I knew the name of every hurricane & the damage it caused, how many were killed by tsunamis on the other side of the world, & the violent crimes committed in the various neighborhoods of my city. I was ON IT!
Part of me feared that letting go of that knowledge & the conversations about current events would make me look ignorant. And maybe it does. But it also made me something else. It made me HAPPY to let it all go. It opened up time to talk about possibilities, goals, dreams, & things we WANT in our lives instead of dwelling on the situations or circumstances that keep us too afraid to try.
I’m not saying I never check out a news site or that I don’t get annoyed by some of the things happening in the world. I am saying I’ve found that the best way for me to deal with it is to exercise my choice muscle & focus on something more positive.
It was hard at first. It’s always hard to change a habit you’ve had for along time. But eventually I not only stopped watching the news…I gave up having a TV all together. Soon I was checking news sites less & less. And eventually I strengthened my choice muscle to the point of being able to pass right by the sad stories in my news feed. Sure, I still see them…but it’s rare that I chose to click on something I know will upset me instead of something I know will put a smile on my face.
Nowadays, I don’t worry about what other people are posting at all. I simply get up, put on my tiara, write about what I LOVE in my life, & put more of THAT in my newsfeed so people have something positive to hold onto. I figure news media has the negativity base covered. Maybe social media can be our positivity base. Or at least that’s how I’m using it.
You’re always invited to play along with me! For the next week, whenever you feel a complaint coming on or feel the urge to repost a nasty-gram about an opposing political party, different race/religion/sexual orientation, or something upsetting…post a positive comment or happy thought instead.
Spread joy.
Create laughter.
Dress your dog like a bumblebee.
Anything that makes you SMILE! And just notice the difference it creates in you & those around you…
(Side note: I really, REALLY want to cook with Gordon Ramsay someday making delicious food that is athlete friendly. I mean, he DID run an Ironman, and he clearly did not eat crappy, boring steamed chicken breasts while he was in training. I need to learn what he cooked! So, if you know anyone…)
Back in the day, I spent some time working in TV news (I produced 8 shows a week for WTOC in the local Savannah, GA market). I was on top of things when it came to what was going on in the world. I knew the name of every hurricane & the damage it caused, how many were killed by tsunamis on the other side of the world, & the violent crimes committed in the various neighborhoods of my city. I was ON IT!
Part of me feared that letting go of that knowledge & the conversations about current events would make me look ignorant. And maybe it does. But it also made me something else. It made me HAPPY to let it all go. It opened up time to talk about possibilities, goals, dreams, & things we WANT in our lives instead of dwelling on the situations or circumstances that keep us too afraid to try.
I’m not saying I never check out a news site or that I don’t get annoyed by some of the things happening in the world. I am saying I’ve found that the best way for me to deal with it is to exercise my choice muscle & focus on something more positive.
It was hard at first. It’s always hard to change a habit you’ve had for along time. But eventually I not only stopped watching the news…I gave up having a TV all together. Soon I was checking news sites less & less. And eventually I strengthened my choice muscle to the point of being able to pass right by the sad stories in my news feed. Sure, I still see them…but it’s rare that I chose to click on something I know will upset me instead of something I know will put a smile on my face.
Nowadays, I don’t worry about what other people are posting at all. I simply get up, put on my tiara, write about what I LOVE in my life, & put more of THAT in my newsfeed so people have something positive to hold onto. I figure news media has the negativity base covered. Maybe social media can be our positivity base. Or at least that’s how I’m using it.
You’re always invited to play along with me! For the next week, whenever you feel a complaint coming on or feel the urge to repost a nasty-gram about an opposing political party, different race/religion/sexual orientation, or something upsetting…post a positive comment or happy thought instead.
Spread joy.
Create laughter.
Dress your dog like a bumblebee.
Anything that makes you SMILE! And just notice the difference it creates in you & those around you…
Thank you for reading!! If you enjoyed this post or think it might help the beauties & beasts in your life talk more about the positives & less about the negatives...please share!! It's never a good feeling to dwell on what's not working. We're all doing the best we can...and we need to celebrate that!! If we can believe in bright future, we are MUCH more likely to make it happen!! If you're ready to vision your future in a healthier, happier way, click here to connect & find out more about how we can work together!
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