I've been working through a book on spiritual growth for the last few days; each morning there's a new concept or word to meditate on, and ideas for implementing each idea throughout "doing" the day.
Today the word was "creativity". Not as in painting or art, but the idea that our thoughts and beliefs are self-fulfilling, and our reality around us is largely manifested from our inside out. In that sense, we "create" our reality. I don't totally understand it, but I was willing to go along with that. So I looked for opportunities to bring out something positive, with more love.
I had to go to Target and then all the way downtown for a couple of errands. My 14 year old daughter wanted to come. Now, doing most anything with a teenage girl means 10% more time and 25% more money, but I said "Sure". I consciously watched my thoughts, and any time aggrivation or impatience seeped in, I changed it to a loving thought and gave her a compliment or some other positive stroke. Lo and behold, we had a great time just doing ordinary things, she was well-behaved and respectful, and really appreciated my words. I felt very close.
So yeah, I hope we are allowed to write a long post in here (I see mostly short phrases), but ANY time things go well with my daughter, I'm way past joy and close to jubilant

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