A Better Me

After another slight break in blogging (I’m definitely not winning over any fans this way), I am going to attempt to weave together a few stories, so please bear with me.

I think I’m well on my way to attaining enlightenment. Right now I’m at the “I want to be a better person” stage. Next up, becoming a better person. Then, in no time at all, attaining enlightenment. After that, I will burst into flames.

I’ve tried visualizing and reciting affirmations along these lines with help from a CD, but the speaker’s soft and pleasant voice usually just puts me to sleep. However, a few weeks ago in deciding between two weekend adventures away from my wife, neither of which I can really afford, a soft and pleasant voice in the back of my head reminded me that “I have Faith in the Abundance.” Twenty minutes later, I had committed to both.

I survived the first weekend a couple weeks ago, and now, I can report that I have survived the second weekend, a wedding in Florida . I was able to take a few days off of work beforehand to see my sister along the way, which gave me some justification for driving instead of flying.

On a map, it doesn’t look so bad. I live in Northern Virginia, so I’d have to drive through a lot of Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , a small part of Georgia , and a small part of Florida . With a stop at my sister’s in North Carolina , I’d get to break up that state going down to the wedding, and South Carolina looked so small compared to the states around it. All in all, I was thinking North Carolina would suck on the way back, but Virginia looked the most daunting, and by then I’d be in the home stretch.

Point is, I was wrong. South Carolina is enormous. And that small section of Georgia I think is even bigger. The way down, two 6 hour drives, wasn’t so bad. Not only did I have a destination, but the mile markers that line the highway were counting down so I knew how far it was to the state line. On the way back, it was anybody’s guess. (Although, the South of the Border place on the Carolina divide with their love of billboards was helpful. “Hey, Amigo, only 216 miles to South of the Border!” It’s bad when “216 miles” is of some comfort.)

Anyways, the wedding was a lot of fun and I’m glad I made it. It was the right decision and in a way I think I’m a better person because of it.

So, back to becoming a better person, I’ve turned to a book to be my guide of sorts, It’s a Meaningful Life, It Just Takes Practice. It’s a great read. Each five- or six-page chapter makes you think about stuff and look at yourself differently, and more often than not, it leaves you challenging yourself to do this small thing or that little thing, all in the name of becoming a better person. For me, it’s become something of a daily shot in the arm.

On Sunday night, after 12 long hours racing up the East coast, my daily shot in the arm encouraged me essentially to be more personable and treat everyone like friends, singling out people like telemarketers and cashiers who have a lot of interactions but are usually overlooked. On Monday, after driving 24 hours in one long weekend, I returned to work with this still fresh in my mind, and on my lunch break, I had my first chance to put it into practice at the local pharmacy.

While I’ve been advised not to share the literally-blood-dripping details, I feel comfortable saying that after so much time in the car, my first attempt at greeting a cashier with all due compassion was with a tube of Preparation H in hand, ironically another first for me.

Needless to say, my first attempt did not go over too well, and in fact, for most of this week my path to being a better person has hit a few rough patches – one in particular comes to mind. But I’m pretty sure that sooner than later along this path of mine, I’ll see a sign up ahead that reads, “Hey, Amigo, only 216 miles to being a better person!” and that will provide at least some comfort.