Tourists

I’m sure at some point you’ve been a tourist. Whether it’s in a state next to you, a city you’re visiting for a business trip or a country you’ve always dreamed of vacationing in…we’ve all been one. The question I propose is, how do you act as a tourist?

Now I’m not asking you if you stop in the middle of the street and take a picture because I think we’re all guilty of that…but I’m asking – how do you act towards people?

While in NYC and Maine I had many occasions to observe humans released from their caged-in worlds. I witnessed co-workers being absolutely rude to cab drivers, managers getting wasted with non-managers, people going out of their way to say good morning to security guards, foreigners asking where the recycling bins are, local shop workers giving dirty looks and attitude to innocent customers, cops giving directions to lost visitors, non-English speaking people being made fun of, “upper class” tourists bumping into others as if they had the right to, doors being dropped in others faces, lines getting cut, old people holding hands…you name it and I probably saw it these past 2 weeks.

So I wonder (and I ask you) how do you act when you’re away from home and the people that you see on a daily basis? Do you take a vacation from your manners or morals? Do you try harder than usual to be a “good” citizen? Do you accept others ways of life or secretly (or maybe not secretly) mock them? And are tourists rude because of how they actually are or because of the way others are to them?

I’d love your feedback

Tourists

I’m sure at some point you’ve been a tourist. Whether it’s in a state next to you, a city you’re visiting for a business trip or a country you’ve always dreamed of vacationing in…we’ve all been one. The question I propose is, how do you act as a tourist?

Now I’m not asking you if you stop in the middle of the street and take a picture because I think we’re all guilty of that…but I’m asking – how do you act towards people?

While in NYC and Maine I had many occasions to observe humans released from their caged-in worlds. I witnessed co-workers being absolutely rude to cab drivers, managers getting wasted with non-managers, people going out of their way to say good morning to security guards, foreigners asking where the recycling bins are, local shop workers giving dirty looks and attitude to innocent customers, cops giving directions to lost visitors, non-English speaking people being made fun of, “upper class” tourists bumping into others as if they had the right to, doors being dropped in others faces, lines getting cut, old people holding hands…you name it and I probably saw it these past 2 weeks.

So I wonder (and I ask you) how do you act when you’re away from home and the people that you see on a daily basis? Do you take a vacation from your manners or morals? Do you try harder than usual to be a “good” citizen? Do you accept others ways of life or secretly (or maybe not secretly) mock them? And are tourists rude because of how they actually are or because of the way others are to them?

I’d love your feedback

Flipping Switches

I wrote a whole blog while riding home from the city but decided not to post it. It was fake. I’ve realized that a lot of my writing isn’t the full truth. Not many are. I keep the light and fluffy stuff. I keep the truths that I’m proud to have discovered. I write the ups and not the downs. But that’s not really how life is. It’s just how many of us Christians act. We’re so afraid of what others think that we’re the fakest of them all. We’re afraid to show others that we aren’t living perfectly for the fear that we’ll be judged our looked at differently around our friends. We’re afraid to say we messed up and AREN’T fixed yet. That the life lesson hasn’t unraveled and we’re still laying on the floor in pieces. And it makes me sick that the rest of the world is who we’re trying to save and yet they’re the ones who are comfortable in being their true selves. They’re not afraid to say that they drank a bit too much or openly talk about their problems. They know that they messed up and will talk to anyone who will listen about it. And as I made mistake after mistake this week, I felt lonelier than ever because I couldn’t pick up the phone and call anyone for help. I was ashamed and didn’t know what others would say. So I didn’t. And the downward roller coaster began. Eyes closed, gripping onto the handle bars. I was going for a ride and didn’t know what to do.

I’m afraid to say that I’ve sinned because someone may think that I cheated on my husband rather than let jealousy enter my heart. The bible says that no sin is greater than another, that all sin is the same, but we don’t act that way do we? We don’t actively show that gossip is no different than cheating. Or that pride is any different than true envy. Or that self destruction is any worse than murder. I wrote a blog about flipping switches. About how easy it is to go from right to wrong. And I pointed out everything that I did correctly. The wrong to right switch. That I was able to reach people where they’re at. To love without being loved first. To show mercy and kindness. To become friends with those I wasn’t friends with. But I didn’t write about how I made the wrong decision and went to a bar with a bunch of guys I work with and didn’t get back to my hotel til 1am. I didn’t tell anyone how I ended up in a restaurant owned and run by all gay men. And nope, I didn’t mention that I was actually confronted with the thought that I miss my old life. Not the old friends or single life, but the old me. The me that wasn’t afraid to be wrong or do the wrong thing. The me that went out drinking and partying and did the best she could with what she knew. The girl that went to a bar and woke up the next morning able to talk about everything that went wrong. Instead, I woke up pretending as if it didn’t happen so that no one would think any less of me.

I thought. “How can I show my face in church if people knew I had a drink?” “What if they knew that I lost my temper at a co-worker?” I want to have great Christian friends that I can call and tell them these things and have them help me through it. But I’m not at that point. I couldn’t get the truth to my mouth, forget about through my lips. When the cell phone came out I knew there were a handful of people I could call….but I just didn’t want them to know. So maybe the issue is with me. But don’t we all feel this way sometimes? When you know not to sin, and do it anyway, it’s much easier to hide and pretend it didn’t happen than face the reality of what you did.

A great day prediction

So posting hasn’t happened much recently due to the fact that work is insane right now. And on top of that, life itself has been a bit insane. But here I am, the day before I leave for my 8 day trip to the city, sitting at work at 7:30am and completely set on not starting to work until 8am.

I came in this morning and said good morning to the guy at the front desk at our building. I simply continued by saying “it’s going to be a great day today!” And he said “well that’s great to hear! The best to you.”

And I thought “huh? I was talking about the weather…I DID look outside while saying that didn’t I?” But walked into the elevator with a big smile on my face thinking “hm, yea, I guess today COULD be a great day.”

Is that really all it takes? Speaking out loud that I’m going to have a great day…for me to actually have a great day? Well, I think it’s a big part of it. I’m finding every day that mentality is everything. If you start out your day planning on disaster, you really shouldn’t be surprised when it happens, but often we are. And we then justify everything by saying “I knew this would happen.” Well duh, you probably made it happen without realizing it.

The other day I was in the best mood I’d been in at work in forever. I was singing and drumming my hands on my legs and smiling and talking to everyone and I think I was even skipping down the hall at one point… - I was on the top of the world. Why? I have no clue. I listened to a few of my favorite songs in the morning, prayed for a few friends and set in my head that NOTHING was going to bring me down. And wooo it was a great few hours. Until of course I forgot all about this and let the day get to me and ended up crying at my desk by 4pm. That’s the problem with mentalities – they can change in an instant and our emotions, actions and moods often change just as quickly.

So here’s my challenge – to myself and to anyone reading – think about how you want your day to go, and to end, and then do everything in your power to make this happen. Remember that defense is the best offense! Defend your day – don’t let anyone ruin it! Okay I sound like a coach right now but seriously, I think we all need a life coach once and a while.

And on a side note, if everyone can keep me in their prayers this week I’d greatly appreciate it. I’ll be in NYC until the 22nd for work and it’s long days and sometimes stressful and I’m not a huge fan of being in the city so yea…you get the picture