We are, as you may remember, in the middle of a little redo here at the Dapper and Dreamy house. This spruce up seems to have required copious amounts of spray paint. In fact, I spent rather a lot of time outside trying to turn bare wood into brightly colored inspiration. At one point, a neighbor walked by with a friendly, "Good morning!", as he started his daily walk.
If there's one thing I don't really enjoy, it's painting. Spray painting is a little bit better than the dreadful wall and roller variety, but after a while, it's all the same. And when you can't move the tip of your index finger anymore, you know that you've done your bit.
So, it was with a rather long-faced attitude that I continued my task. Some time later, actually a long time later, the neighbor walked by once again and with a little chuckle said, "Well you certainly are making good progress!" Now, by this point I was feeling a little bit woozy from the smell of several cans of Krylon, and didn't care if I ever saw the color chartreuse again. But, his friendly comment made me think. A moment before, all I'd seen was the work to be done. The several coats of red, white and gold paint that it would take to finish the job. What I didn't notice, but my neighbor did, was the progress I'd already made.
This, my friends, is how I sometimes look at life. I am a fairly productive person. I do all sorts of things throughout the day. But, having said that, I very often only see what remains to be done. I may have spent the afternoon writing and editing a white paper for a client, designing some notecards, completing an illustration or two for one of my books, and cooking dinner and dessert for ten. What I often see at the end of that is all that I could have done and didn't and all that I should really get done tomorrow. Too often it seems that it's what remains that counts, not what's been done. Unfortunately, this can only lead to a sense that one hasn't accomplished a single thing which, in the vast majority of our lives, it completely untrue.
So, I am determined to change my outlook. From now on, I will try to focus on the progress I've made, however small, each day. Join me! Look at what you've done, not what you've left undone. Look at how you've moved toward a better you each day, however small, even virtually imperceptible, that advancement might have been. Notice what contributions you've made to the lives of others, if you really consider it, you might just be surprised at the good you've done.
Do you think my neighbor realizes his friendly small talk made me stop and think? Do you think he knows that, because of those few pleasant words, he helped to turn my mood and outlook around? I doubt it. But this just proves that in our smallest acts, there is great power. So, let's use that power for good! Be good to yourself, and be good to your neighbors.
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