Kristin Armstrong has a section in her book "Mile Markers" called I GET TO. It really had a lot to say to me. I'm a complainer. I don't mean to be but sometimes I complain a lot which then defines me as being negative. I don't really think of myself that way. I think I'm a pretty positive person. I don't let anything keep me down for long.
This Get To Vs. Have To has been simmering in my brain for awhile. I say I have to go run tonight or I have to clean the house. Turn that around and say I get to go out for a run tonight or I get to clean the house today. One is joyful, the other is not. I really need to practice this more for many reasons. I lost three close friends to cancer during the past 10 years. Two died before they turned 40, the third before he turned 50. All three were soccer friends that I played with, drank beer with, went to tournaments with, and shared my life with. Their presence in my life is missed. I will always miss them. The fact that I get to run another day, that I get to watch my son grow into a man, that I get to clean the cat box, all of these things are really celebrations of being alive, of being present in my own life. This way we honor those who don't have that choice. Think about that voice in your head and change your attitude. Celebrate your get to's.
