My greatest UNDERSTANDING challenges occurred this week on the way to Philadelphia for a work trip.

Impatience produced eye rolls, heavy sighs and overall displays of irritability.

It later struck me (hindsight is 20/20) that my inability to have EMPATHY for the other guy and gal was related to just how much the world (that day) revolved around ME.

It was the tri-fecta of doom when traveling: A middle seat in the back, a crying/screaming child behind me, and a seatmate who was at the height of a horrible, coughing, sneezy cold.

Yes, I asked for a seat change.  No, there were no other available seats on the flight.  Yes, I caught the cold.

It’s easy to be understanding when nothing goes wrong, isn’t it?

Fortunately, I arrived to my sister’s haven of a home and was love-bombed, which I can always count on from her.  Then I traveled to PA for my meetings and stayed at my home away from home with my friends Renee and Steve.  Steve likes to say, “If I can choose who I can come back as in the next life, it would be one of Renee’s friends.”

True that.  I’d want a repeat.  (This is the woman who has soft music playing and fuzzy slippers waiting for me when I arrive.  She makes me protein smoothies for breakfast and sends me to bed at 8 PM if I need it.  Plus, we like the same TV shows and can watch The Voice together.)

My prayer for both households is that they do not catch the bug I may have brought with me from my Sarasota seatmate.

Even though I was starting to feel yucky, all the love I received made me a much more UNDERSTANDING and kind person on the trip back home.

Which leads to my point: If your understanding tank is running on empty, maybe you need to fill it up with some love.

Don’t feel bad about being testy.  See it as a signal that you need some self-care.  Then take care of yourself.

This commercial demonstrates this concept better than any words could:

You might just be one snack away from a more understanding day.

Parting thoughts on that here (and the new WOW!)

Yep – we’ve definitely got a progression going on here.

Be good to yourself this week – and then you’ll have something to give away.

xoxoxoxo

Brenda