Transformative Experiences

[cdif911]

Thinking about your life, is there a moment (or experience) that looking back fundamentally changed who you are for the better (hopefully)?

For me being in charge of the GLBT (under a different name) at my school brought a level of awareness about issues that I had apathy towards before. 

There's plenty, but thought I'd throw one out to start it.

[indeedproceed]

My father had a personal illness which forced me out of school for basically 2 yrs...the thing was he would get better then get worse then get better...so I'd be in school for a month or two then have to quit. He ran a business with my mother and I was the only one besides him that A) knew how to talk to customers and B) had a license to do it...

it set my degree back 2.5 years but I put the family on my shoulders everytime they called and we're still solvent. That would be mine.

[cdif911]

My father had a personal illness which forced me out of school for basically 2 yrs...the thing was he would get better then get worse then get better...so I'd be in school for a month or two then have to quit. He ran a business with my mother and I was the only one besides him that A) knew how to talk to customers and B) had a license to do it...

it set my degree back 2.5 years but I put the family on my shoulders everytime they called and we're still solvent. That would be mine.

I've actually had a similar experience with my family, not quite as intense, but realizing family comes first does change you

[Redz]

Funny you should mention this.  I revisited a place this past week where I had an epiphany about a dozen years ago.  My daughters were at yoga (yeh, they do yoga) on Wednesday so I had an hour to kill.  I used to live right around the corner from there when I was in my mid-twenties.  Down the street from yoga, and where I used to live, is one of my favorite beaches.  I used swim there at night after work.  Sometimes I'd sit in the life guard's chair and just chill out, listening to the waves meet the shore.

One day, when I was just short of 30 years of age, I walked to the beach and climbed up to the life guard's perch.  My Dad's sister, who was just a few years older than I am now, had recently passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She was always asking me if I was dating anyone, and I'd always tell her no, not now.  We'd talk about other stuff too, but I knew she really wanted me to find someone to be happy with.

So, I got reflective.  I thought about what was really important to me.  I thought about what I was doing with my life, and how I could improve on things.  I thought about the power of positivity, and I resolved to seek out positive people and purge myself of any negative people in my circle.  I thought about worrying less about finding someone to love me, and concentrating on loving who I am - who I really am - first.

I thought for a good long while that night.  I felt a flush of hope come over me.  Like everything was going to be all right. 

I did the things I'd thought about in the months that followed.  I kept positive, and found that positive people started gravitating towards me, and me towards them. 

The woman who would become my wife, the same woman who had worked next door to me for years, and known me from around town forever, suddenly looked at me differently.  We started dating and fell in love very quickly.  A little over a year later we were married. 

I can't fully describe the depths of how miraculous this turnaround in my life was.  I am not super religious, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking.  I just wish I remembered it more often.  Like Wednesday, when I returned to the chair, kicked up my legs, and looked out at the ocean.  It had been years since I'd been there, but I plan to return more often now and refocus on the things that are truly important in life. 

I've certainly had other transformative experiences, but the day at the lifeguard chair began my life as an adult.

[FallGuy]

Funny you should mention this.  I revisited a place this past week where I had an epiphany about a dozen years ago.  My daughters were at yoga (yeh, they do yoga) on Wednesday so I had an hour to kill.  I used to live right around the corner from there when I was in my mid-twenties.  Down the street from yoga, and where I used to live, is one of my favorite beaches.  I used swim there at night after work.  Sometimes I'd sit in the life guard's chair and just chill out, listening to the waves meet the shore.

One day, when I was just short of 30 years of age, I walked to the beach and climbed up to the life guard's perch.  My Dad's sister, who was just a few years older than I am now, had recently passed away after a long battle with cancer.  She was always asking me if I was dating anyone, and I'd always tell her no, not now.  We'd talk about other stuff too, but I knew she really wanted me to find someone to be happy with.

So, I got reflective.  I thought about what was really important to me.  I thought about what I was doing with my life, and how I could improve on things.  I thought about the power of positivity, and I resolved to seek out positive people and purge myself of any negative people in my circle.  I thought about worrying less about finding someone to love me, and concentrating on loving who I am - who I really am - first.

I thought for a good long while that night.  I felt a flush of hope come over me.  Like everything was going to be all right. 

I did the things I'd thought about in the months that followed.  I kept positive, and found that positive people started gravitating towards me, and me towards them. 

The woman who would become my wife, the same woman who had worked next door to me for years, and known me from around town forever, suddenly looked at me differently.  We started dating and fell in love very quickly.  A little over a year later we were married. 

I can't fully describe the depths of how miraculous this turnaround in my life was.  I am not super religious, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking.  I just wish I remembered it more often.  Like Wednesday, when I returned to the chair, kicked up my legs, and looked out at the ocean.  It had been years since I'd been there, but I plan to return more often now and refocus on the things that are truly important in life. 

I've certainly had other transformative experiences, but the day at the lifeguard chair began my life as an adult.

TP for this post Redz.

I hope following this year's Celtics is not a slippery slope away from positivity.

[cdif911]

great stuff Redz