.The Giving Tree.

I'm a giver by nature.....and boy, have I been burned in the past because of it....but it's who I am. I'm learning to accept that just because people will burn you, hurt you, and sometimes walk all over you, it shouldn't change who I am. It's hard not to become cynical but everyone gets burned....everyone gets hurt....and sometimes we have to get out of our own bubble to see the big picture and get over ourselves.

I've been surrounded by a sea of complainers lately.....people who are upset and anxious because they're stuck in my waiting room....people in front of me at the grocery store who are frustrated there's another person in front of them....people complaining about their significant other, children, or friends.....and so often, I want to interject and tell people that things could be so much worse.....but that would be rude and my workplace, the grocery store, and various other public places are certainly not the place to be offering my life experience up for discussion.....but I'd like to.

The selfishness of people has been more clear to me than usual as of late. I notice the hurried people who only seem to care about their own needs and wants. I've seen my friends take advantage of their spouse, family and friends. I've seen people walk without the love they used to carry because their lives have become too busy and when you need a helping hand....they just aren't there like they used to be because they only make time for the things and people they deem important when they know that if they need you, you'd drop everything for them. everything. and never ever think twice. Then you begin to move them around on your own priority list because you don't want selfish in your life. You want people you can count on....believe in....and, as hard as it is, you begin to put them at arms length---for the sake of yourself and them....because it's easier that way. easier to just do the best you can with what you've got and hope they will see, someday, the things they have lost....but it is a very real possibility that they just won't....and accepting that is, sometimes, just as hard as re-prioritizing.....but necessary for your own happiness.

Selfishness rarely leads to happiness....and when it does, it usually comes from justification for all the short comings because what they want what they need will always be more important and there just aren't enough hours in the day and a million other excuses to help them sleep at night. Giving to those who only take is part of life.....but giving to those who give back to you is why I remain a giver, someone you can count on always. believe in. dream with. hope with. and, most importantly, spread love with. Yes, I am a giver....a dreamer.....and an eternal optimist.....and, for the record, I sleep just fine :-)