Week 2-15 – I See What I Look For

We’re beginning the Franklin Makeover this week. This exercise is wonderful for proving that in all situations I see what I look for. The easiest example of this is cars. After I get a new car, I find myself noticing other cars like mine on the road. Those cars were always there, but I never noticed them until I got one, and it occupied a greater place in my attention. (Possible exception: Lamborghinis outside of the LA area — I know if I got one, I would not see more of them on the road in my little Central Texas town — but I would notice them more when they were there.)

In today’s world, this is more important than ever. Do I think there’s more division and strife in the world? It’s easy to find. Especially when I believe it’s there. But guess what? There’s a whole lot of good in the world, too. Look for it. Seek it. Comment on it when I see it. People say kids are up to no good, but if I go looking for all the good, hard-working kids out there playing by the rules doing what they should do, they’re there, too. Look for them. Notice them. Remark on how many great young people there are in the world today.

I was in an elevator with my mom a few years ago. The elevator had two posters. One with a little kid, and one with a puppy. My mom oohed and ahhed over the little kid. I melted for the puppy. I’m wired differently. I see a family together in the park, and even though I grew up in a family, I cannot fathom being in a household with all those people raising kids and doing what you have to do to help them become the responsible next generation for this world. I’m a little better at it now than I was ten years ago. You won’t believe how I got that way. Six and a half years ago, we fostered a stray cat who turned out to be pregnant. We kept her in the house. We made sure she got good food, clean water, and veterinary care. We did what we could to help her have healthy kittens. I was there when she gave birth to those four kittens. At that point, I began to get just an inkling of what human moms might feel for their human babies, but I have to do it through the filter of those kittens.

I have to get better though, because the Blueprint Builder, paragraph five says I must “develop a love for all humanity, because I know a negative attitude toward others can never bring me success.” Paragraph five has some challenging areas, and, for me, this is one. I’m getting better. I have a long way to go. I need to actively look for what I’m seeking. It’s there.