Seeing yourself through someone else's eyes

While we were in Chicago, we met up with a friend for breakfast.  It had been awhile since we saw him in person but we've always liked him.  He's a great guy that you can't help but gravitate toward.  He's nice, genuine and becoming quite the inspiration.  We've seen him transforming himself over the past year or two by stepping outside of his comfort zone and he's always so upbeat you can't help but feel like being around him.  It was so great to see him in person and by the time it was over, we truly felt like our lives were forever changed.  He told us how awesome we were, how positive we were and how we've made a positive impact on him.  I swear I think I literally looked over my shoulder but at minimum was visibly taken aback by that statement.  I said "really!?  Us!?"  I explained I'm a natural born cynic and that was just a surprise to hear.  What else was a surprise to hear was him complimenting us to our faces.  I mean how often do people tell you something more than "you look great" or "cute outfit" or something like that.  I'm accustomed to getting some wonderful compliments from people that make me smile but there is something about someone telling you how much they appreciate you or what you mean to them that makes you well up inside.  (Kind of like I'm doing now.  Yeesh!)

We were listening to some of his plans for the new year and I can't tell you how excited we are to support him on some amazing things he wants to do this year.  The guy is so positive and I swear when we left, we had this renewed attitude that I would kill to feel everyday.  It was like this feeling that anything was possible.  Then we came home and I hopped on the scale and let that stupid piece of machinery make me feel less than,  then I thought back to our meeting with our friend, wrote yesterday's blog and tried to look at the positives of our trip over the negatives and how things had improved.  It helped some but then I went to his blog that he is looking to get into more and he wrote a lovely post about our time together and I sat there crying like an idiot remembering that the things I do affect others in ways I don't even realize.  We are always so quick to cut ourselves down, think the worse of ourselves or feel like others won't "get" what we're trying to say.  But for every troll or negative person who tries to bring you down, there are wonderful people like you and our friend who say "no, you DO matter and what you're doing is helping me."  I am going into this year trying to remember that and trying to do better.

I would love it if you'd stop by our friend's blog, A Schorr Thing and say hello.  The extra traffic might freak him out at first, HA!, but this is someone who has influenced our lives for the better and I think he's someone to watch in the coming year for reasons that'll become apparent later.

Today I issue you a challenge.  Tell someone how they change your life for the better.  It doesn't have to be some long letter or note but tell someone who may not know how their outlook on life shapes your own life positively.  Let's start off this new year by spreading some kindness and smiles!

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