Small Town Attitude in the Big City...

Going from a town of 22,000 people to a city of over 1,445,000 brings a lot of change. In a small town, when you wave at someone driving down the road...they smile and wave back. In the CITY if you do that...they flip you off! 

Everything from the way people drive down to exchanging smiles or conversation at a grocery store are different. This is one of the things we overlook when we get caught up in our 9 to 5 jobs, our daily routines, politics, religion, and taxes. I was out for a drive this morning and this thought popped into my head. WHAT HAPPENS IF I NEVER CONVERT AND CONFORM TO THE BIG CITY ATTITUDE?  Some old cliches come to mind, "nice guys finish last", "the hero always gets the dame", and don't forget "the early bird get's the worm". These have all been programmed into my mind since I can remember. I am almost positive one of my relatives spoke in cliches. Being the positive spirit  I am, I carry the positive ones and let go of the negative. It's almost like figuring out why I was put on this EARTH. Don't let that fool you though. In all honesty, I have my negative moments. I feel like after a year and a half I am finally getting through the roughest time in my life. Starting in January 2012 thru January 2013, I experienced so many major changes in my life that I was pretty sure I would be better off DEAD...and so would everyone else. I wasn't ME...I was lost.

 Through all of this I was glad I wasn't alone. I am very fortunate to have a lot of people in my life who love me, but THIS I had to get through on my own. No pill, no drink, no love, no amount of money, would fix this. It had to be ALL ME!

This is where I had to pull up my big girl panties and make a choice. LIVE or GIVE UP! This is where my positive thinking had to come full force. I had to pick my battles. Was I going to be upset at the guy who drove erratically and cut me off or was I just going to let him in so we all avoided the attitude? Was I going to still smile at people in the store and talk with them even if they looked at me like I was a weirdo invading their space bubble? The point is, every move I make is my choice. I can conform to the way others treat me, or I can rise above. I can take a chance on being thought of as a weirdo because I am overly friendly at times, or I can sit in silence alone. We all know what I choose. It is what feeds my spirit. That is my choice today, I believe we all have to stay true to ourselves without sacrificing others comfort. Today, I put my smile and friendly attitude out there and if someone doesn't respond it's o.k. It makes me feel good to try. I don't believe in pushing them to the point of discomfort because that makes the point mute, I just feel we never know when things will turn around. My small town friendliness may be contagious in the big city! It may not infect all  1,445,000 people if it will get to 4 of them, the rest has a chance to spread. INFECT others today and be the LEADER...PASS IT ON!!!