Moxie week has gotten off to quite a start! I am starting to feel like a real blogger lol. I have people taking my side and others saying goodbye. Ok, so no one said goodbye, they just left but you get the idea. What I haven't told you is that writing that slightly political post was me actually following my Bliss Initiative to do something brave. On the bravery scale it probably isn't very high but it did get my adrenalin pumping a bit when I pushed "post."
Now this fact is probably laughable for some of you who consistently post controversial things but for me it was pushing the moxie envelope. What is even funnier, talking to my neighbors is also pushing that envelope! No, I am not a shy gal but at this point, more then six months after moving here I have reached the "I no longer feel new phase." When I was new it felt appropriate to walk over and say, "Hi, I just moved in the green house over there." but now some silly time line in my head has been crossed and I think it is kind of weird to talk to the people I've been sort of ignoring for seven months now.
Funny how we create these barriers for our selves. That new guy at work told you his name but now you have forgotten his name. For weeks he has been saying your name when saying hello so you just cant't admit you don't know his. You ask a few co-workers but most of them are in the same boat and you can't decide if his name is Fred or Ted. This can go on forever but thankfully one day you overhear the receptionist tell Ted he has a message. Come on now, how many of you have been party to a scenario like this?
Maybe it wasn't a guy at work. Maybe it is the gal who has been serving you coffee at the coffee shop for the past two years or the mom of the kid your kid plays with at the playground or even that new neighbor you did meet briefly six months ago.
This may not be you. Perhaps you so routinely say things like "I forgot your name, could you remind me? So you already knew Ted was not Fred but if this isn't your thing then likely you have another.
For my mom it would be going to the movies alone. She will not do it. Since my Dad died, all most 10 years ago, I think she has been to three movies (those were with me! I live in California and she lives in New York so we don't often have the chance.) She also doesn't like feeling like the third wheel so she won't ask any of her couple friends to go with her. She waits around, hopeful some friend's spouse won't be interested in going to see something she would like to see and that they will be all knowing enough to know she wants to go. Hence the three movies since 2001.
We all have places where we shy away. Places we think perhaps our opinions don't matter or at least aren't as important as others. Times where we hold our tongues, wish we had spoken or taken a chance. This is my challenge to you today. Go out and do it! Do the very thing that came to mind as you were reading this post!
Just let that moxie flow! Or at least try tiptoeing.
Tulips from National Geographic Traveler
Tulip Time: May 2-9Visit Holland, Michigan to tiptoe through some of the six million tulips that line this Dutch-settled city. This community-wide celebration is notable not only because it is the largest tulip festival in the United States but because they recreate old-fashioned Dutch traditions, like giving the city streets a "Dutch cleaning" before the grand parade. This celebration continues with daily activities such as klompen dancers, town crier competitions, concerts, quilt shows, tours, and a carnival.
Next post: A Moxielicious post from the wonderful Jingle over at Just Jingle
My 13 bliss virtues: joy, order, creativity, passion, whimsy, serenity, inquiry, community, romance, gratitude, moxie, humility, surprise
Stopping by from SITS and wishing you a great Friday :)
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