Waking up angry…

You ever wake up angry? Like mad at the world as soon as you wake up??

Today was one of those days… It was 4am and I am blaming my dreams. I don’t normally have weird stressful dreams but last night, let’s just say I was not happy. Of course now that I actually sit down to write and try to recall the dreams, it’s completely foggy but I remember feeling threatened by someone and an octopus. Go figure?!? I’m sure some dream expert can tell me all about the deep meaning behind the two things but I’m betting it had something to do with the fact that Friday my hubby and I went to lunch and had calamari. Lol the threat by a person I can’t recall, who knows where that comes from but it rocked my morning.

On top of the rocking wake up, I was experiencing what I imagine a hot flash feels like. I was uncomfortable, I was mad and it was waaaaay earlier than I had planned on waking up. You would think that was enough to ruin my day but nope. Finally when I did start my day, I showered and had planned on trying to get away with not having to wash my hair but after spending the time to curl it, realized it was going to be a hot mess and was going to have to wash it anyway.

And then, because I didn’t want to re-curl it (straightening is faster for me) my flat-iron wasn’t warming up.

All before 8 am… I had thought I had a cute outfit picked out for church and just as I was getting ready to walk out the door… I realized it was going to be overcast and too chilly (yes 68 degrees is chilly for the Cali girl) I changed.

Ugh… just thinking about it makes me mad. But there’s a silver lining in the story.

This day could have gotten a lot worse. I know that because in the past I would have let EVERYTHING get to me. I would have been looking for any thing else that could go wrong to go wrong. But because I am very aware of this natural tendency, I started to look for the good.

I turned on some worship music and started to slow down even though I was running late by the time I left. I knew the day would get better if I allowed myself to relax and look forward to what was to come. Instead of dwelling on the rough start. Sure I’m still angry that the morning started the way that it did, but the truth is, there are going to be mornings where it’s not all unicorns and rainbows.

No one wakes up EVERY single day happy as can be. We all have those days and it’s truly up to us to seek out the good. It’s up to us to slow down and smell the roses amongst the garbage. Don’t think it’s possible? Think about the last time you actually smelled the roses, you stuck your nose into the bouquet and took in the fresh aroma. It’s like nothing else surrounding you exists. But that’s what is possible when you have bad starts, the opportunity to stick your nose in the bouquet of good… sometimes you have to take in a really deep breath and other times you don’t… try it next time you wake up in a crummy mood. Search for the bouquet and take in a big whiff!

I hope you don’t have an octopus attack you in your dreams to the point where your arm goes numb and have trouble swimming to safety… (memory came back a little) but I do hope you have the ability to recognize that that single moment doesn’t define your entire day. Breathe in hope, exhale doubt and have a wonderful day (or night)!