It's MY Toe!

My mom told me a story the other day about something she experienced in a beauty salon.

She was in getting her hair done, and another regular client came up to talk to mom's hair dresser.

This particular client is known for her persistently negative and complaining attitude about life.

The woman started telling my mom (and her hairdresser) her daily tail of woe. She was complaining about her job, and how hard it was to work a couple hours at a time, serving lunch or dinner to senior citizens in a retirement home. Then she went on to complaining about one of her big toes and how much it hurt. She went on and on about her toe and told mom and the other lady that it was broken.

"It's not ever going to heal!" exclaimed the woman. "The doctor told me it will NEVER heal!"

My mom had sat silently through her monologue until that moment. Then she said, "Pardon me?"

The woman repeated it again, "My toe is never going to heal."

My mom said, "I've never heard of such a thing before? How can it not heal?"

"It's MY TOE!" snapped the woman. "It's not going to heal!"

My mom dropped it at that point.

How sad. This woman has accepted (or decided) that her broken bone is never going to heal. Whether the doctor told her that or not isn't really important. She is declaring at every possible opportunity that it is NOT GOING TO HEAL. She considers it a 'done deal.'

It doesn't surprise me that this woman's general outlook on life is dismal and dreary, or that she views herself as a victim of circumstance.

Her 'toe comment' would have given me a clue about her mindset, even without the complaining that she does on a regular basis.

She simply doesn't believe healing is available to her. Life is hard and she's destined to live with pain and suffering. That... is her belief system.

I'm reminded of that old song, 'It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To.'

We all have a choice of what to make of our party! We all have the opportunity to decide how we are going to handle our life. Will we suffer through it? Will we enjoy it? The choice is entirely up to us.

It is, indeed, 'her toe.' It's also her party! If she continues to think and speak about it in her current form, she's in for a long, dismal trip.

How are you handling you party? Do you have any 'toes' that you are declaring will never heal?

Remember that the choice of how you engage with your party... or your toe is entirely up to you! There is great power in your perspective, the beliefs you hold and the words you speak!

It's as true for you and I, as it is for the woman with 'her toe!'