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“Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you.” Maori Proverb

Life sometimes feels like the movie Groundhog Day. I hang in there and hope for the best. However, until I change something, the same scene plays again and again.

Albert Einstein called it insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

Like when both our teens started driving within a month of each other. I reminded them several times each day to drive carefully, told stories about reckless driving and losing their licenses, and warned them about speed traps and congested traffic.

After weeks of insanity, I did something different. Each morning when I heard them pull out of our driveway, I’d say what a friend suggested, “What’s going to happen is going to happen anyway.” This reminder gave me peace of mind, as well as permission to feel less responsible for their choices on the road.

When my family of origin went crazy deliberating over whose fault it was, “it” being an issue in the household , I tried to figure it out myself, interpreted, and refereed. That was, until I had a dream where I saw myself calmly walk out of a courtroom, close the tall wooden doors behind me, and leave them to decide.

During waking hours, I did something different. I practiced walking away when discussions escalated, which distanced me from the debates.

And when I recently mulled over a possible negative outcome that’s happened before, I remembered a line from a Robert Frost poem, “Our very life depends on everything’s recurring till we answer from within.”

Putting worry aside, I did something different. I thought about the good that might come from the outcome, and how to take care of myself and others if it happens.

What keeps repeating in your life? Any idea what you can do differently?

WRite wHere I’m supposed to be – When we want different results, we have to practice different actions.

Illustrated by Kristi’s dad, David F. Morrow.

On the lighter side: Author and friend Kristi Butler gave permission to share her groundhog photo. She’s written Gracie’s Groundhog Day Surprise and Grover Groundhog Is Not Hibernating This Christmas! Check out Kristi’s website @ Gracie’s Grounds.

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