Life is full of surprises. Just when you are used to things the way they are, circumstances have a tendency to change. And while we may immediately try to resist, embracing the shifts placed before us almost always results in personal growth. If you’re experiencing a hiccup (or two) in the voyage of life, I challenge you to find the positive in the change. Allow yourself to wallow (but only for a bit) and then find what or who inspires you and will provide the motivation to push through with perseverance.
Surprisingly, for me today, the push came in the form of a pedicure. Having gone seven weeks since my last one, Gia and I ventured to the spa for some “mommy and me” time – or so I thought. Armed with an iPad and Beats, I had no chance of capturing her attention. But that’s ok – I need a little “me” time instead.
What can be more comforting than a pedicure? You sit back and relax, your feet soaking in a bath of warm water and gentle bubbles soothing away the day’s (or life’s) troubles. The pedicurist applies lotion, gently massaging your feet and legs. Ahhhhh! She may use a bladed instrument to scrape off those nasty, painful calluses that have been bothering you – just like aspects of life. Then she trims, files and polishes your toenails. You leave feeling like a million dollars. So, what could possibly be wrong with that? Nothing! – except I had to choose a color – ugh!
My toes have been polished with OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark for the last five years – never wavering. Each time I walk into the salon, the lovely pedicurists never have to ask “what color”? as they know the answer. However, today I surprised myself. In love with the look of Lincoln Park for so many years, it also represents aspects of my life – safe. Choosing a color that will always coordinate with your attire and requires no thought is…well…cautious…and boring! But today I paused my thinking – “In the midst of so much chaos and change, why am I playing it safe?” Throughout the course of my “c” campaign at no time have I been tentative. So why start now? “Exactly!” Gia exclaimed as she sauntered over to the rainbow wall and proceeded to pick out a fabulous red polish. “Mommy, this is what you need on your toes!” she stated with a brassy look. That’s my girl – setting me straight, providing the motivation, being my inspiration.
Cutting my hair was not an issue – so why the polish? Maybe it represented the last aspect of my body I could control or have a say in (for now of course). Relinquishing yourself to change is never easy. Having witnessed numerous shifts in my physicality over six weeks – scars on my abdomen, hot flashes, night sweats, brain lapses, muscle loss, weight loss, hair loss, bone pain, fatigue, toxicity like Chernobyl – it’s no wonder I resisted a polish change. Who wouldn’t! But as I was pleasantly reminded by Gia about my grit and desire to be the exception, “Chick Flick Cherry” did not need a second thought.
Ironically, as we hopped in the car afterwards, Natasha Bedingfield’s song “Unwritten” permeated the air reminding me that my arms need to open as my book has just begun….
I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined
I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned
Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten