I have been thinking a lot about how to move forward from a period of complete "stuckness." I am currently in a place where I feel alone, trapped, stuck, isolated, without help. The list goes on. When people experience this degree of "staticity." They either find ways for themselves to stay there through complete negative thinking or they work very hard to get out of their static state. I am static. I am not moving forward. I feel stuck. I know how to move forward, I just feel like I deserve to stay exactly were I am. That is why I am writing on how to move on.
1) Realize that you are a sinner and that you can do nothing about it, only God can.
2) God forgives sin. Again, and again, and again.
3) Realize that the world is unfair though there is good in it.
4) Make conscious and actual decisions to let go. (I.E. I am going to eat healthier starting TODAY!)
5) Have healthy expectations. People are broken, I am broken, no one is perfect. Only God knows how to fully love.
6) Do not blow things out of proportion. Things are what they are, and no more.
7) Live a life as if you are free, because you are--through Christ. Knowing this should bring you joy.
8) Think positively. Be thankful for what you DO have instead of what you DO NOT have. You have amazing friends, family, and things (more than likely.)
9) Allow God to bring perspective to your life. When you see things through your own eyes and with your own selfish ambitions, you do not completely understand anything. Your pride skews your understanding of the world.
10) God is love.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 04, 2010
Tips for surviving a Coffee Shop
If I were to sit here for an entire day I would see the regulars coming in and out (from the patio to the counter and indoor tables) all day long. When I talk about the regulars here at satellite, I mean people that would be here on Christmas if the place was open. They are here everyday. I do not know most of them by name. There is that creepy older guy who often strikes up conversations with younger women about who knows what. There is the painter who looks European, mostly Italian. There is the old lady who sips her coffee while reading the newspaper, probably getting her lipstick stains all over the white cups that they use here. They are all friends too! They are adults, over 50 who come here everyday to drink coffee and experience life and each other. It's beautiful. If you come to satellite enough, chances are you will have at least a conversation with each regular.
Satellite also has it's own set of "rules" that people just figure out and follow regularly. If I leave a book on a table and go get my food and coffee, people know that that table is taken. People know that they can share a community table by the couches and the larger community table by the window. They never just join you at a small table in the circular couch toward the entrance of the shop. These tables are small enough for one or two people, but strangers should never just join up. At the counter by the window, you never sit by another person, you always leave a chair in between you and the next stranger. Unless there are absolutely no chairs left, you do not sit there.
If you happen to listen to the nearest conversation, you must do your best to ignore it if possible. Coffee shops are reserved for the most intimate and secretive of conversations that should not be taken outside by bystanders. If you can't help but listen to the conversation, simply join in! If the two friends next to you are talking about an ex-girlfriend or a naked sleepwalking new roommate, just offer up some tips. It will catch them a little off guard, but since it is in this intimate coffee shop space they will soon warm up to you and invite you into their conversation. If they do not let you into their conversation, simply keep talking to them. This is the UNM area, perfect strangers joining in on a conversation is normal. If you are sitting uncomfortably close to someone who is having a juicy conversation, you want to listen, but you don't want to seem obvious, just throw in some head phones. This will ensure that you are listening to something else that is far more important. If you happen to laugh at what the next person is saying, take a quick glance at your computer screen, there is always something funny online at a free wi-fi coffee shop. It will be assumed that the window you have open is what is making you laugh.
These are just some tips. More to come.
Satellite also has it's own set of "rules" that people just figure out and follow regularly. If I leave a book on a table and go get my food and coffee, people know that that table is taken. People know that they can share a community table by the couches and the larger community table by the window. They never just join you at a small table in the circular couch toward the entrance of the shop. These tables are small enough for one or two people, but strangers should never just join up. At the counter by the window, you never sit by another person, you always leave a chair in between you and the next stranger. Unless there are absolutely no chairs left, you do not sit there.
If you happen to listen to the nearest conversation, you must do your best to ignore it if possible. Coffee shops are reserved for the most intimate and secretive of conversations that should not be taken outside by bystanders. If you can't help but listen to the conversation, simply join in! If the two friends next to you are talking about an ex-girlfriend or a naked sleepwalking new roommate, just offer up some tips. It will catch them a little off guard, but since it is in this intimate coffee shop space they will soon warm up to you and invite you into their conversation. If they do not let you into their conversation, simply keep talking to them. This is the UNM area, perfect strangers joining in on a conversation is normal. If you are sitting uncomfortably close to someone who is having a juicy conversation, you want to listen, but you don't want to seem obvious, just throw in some head phones. This will ensure that you are listening to something else that is far more important. If you happen to laugh at what the next person is saying, take a quick glance at your computer screen, there is always something funny online at a free wi-fi coffee shop. It will be assumed that the window you have open is what is making you laugh.
These are just some tips. More to come.
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