Did anyone else’s brain jump right to those affirmation posters for this prompt? I used to be kind of snarky about those. You know, in my twenties, when I was all knowing and a bit jaded about sayings you could read aloud in a saccharine sweet voice.

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Choose Joy

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it is what it is

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Judgement and harmony cannot exist in the same place.

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I am worthy.

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Attitude is everything.

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Bleccchhhh.

Which makes it all the more ironic how true these ring for me now. Guess that’s what I get for being a snarky, know it all twenty-something convinced I could control, oh, I don’t know…everything. I was the poster child for Control Freakism. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to actively fight that instinct sometimes today.

But a couple of decades have taught me a few things. Stuff like there are no adjectives that adequately capture the experience of swigging spoiled milk, people really do show you who they are if you’re paying attention, and the things we tell ourselves matter. A lot.

Telling myself I’m stupid, worthless, or trapped doesn’t make mistakes (or what some might call, you know, LIFE) any less mistake-ish, it just makes me feel like crap. Plus the mistakes are still out there so now things have gone wrong and I’m feeling crappy and what’s the point in that?

Sure, the words of affirmation sounded all hippy dippy in my twenties – frankly, calling them that still sounds a little whooshy coming out of my mouth – but damn if the logic isn’t sound.

Linda hosts Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week’s prompt is “affirm.”