Happy Sunday Everyone:
I save every Sunday Thoughts with a. title, so I can try to remember what each one is about. This one is titled “Sunday Thoughts: WGAF”. I’m curious as to how many people reading this automatically know what that means….? You’ll probably also want to send someone to check on me when you’re done reading.
I have said many of times “I wish you could hear what’s in my head vs. what I’m trying to say”…in the hopes of articulating my thoughts correctly and contextually….it’s the hardest part of writing these…while also thinking “who the heck wants to hear this stuff anyway”, and then I get a peaceful easy felling and think “WGAF”. If you’re reading this, you’re reading this, if you’re not, “WGAF”. Truth is, I do, but I’m trying to GAF a little less. The balance of caring and not caring is an interesting blend. It’s what makes us what we are, and what we are not. You’re either with me or totally confused.
I’m not naive as to how much I talk about various topics, especially around my family i.e. how many lessons do you want to hear that I’ve learned from my kids, Kim, my parents, my Grammie, etc….my guess is less is more. So perhaps this will be the last one for a bit but I can’t help myself because it has everything to do with WGAF. The story is this….Thomas (the 13 year old) has his teacher review with him where he placed on some “standardized test” last week. The teacher, who was not being malicious at all, pointed to the fact that Thomas was “average” in his rankings, simply pointing to where Thomas tested and where his results were as it related to the bell curve she was showing him. He comes home from school and conversation goes like this with Kim.
Thomas: “Mom-my teacher reviewed with me where I came out on the standardized test from last year and it says I’m in the average zone”.
Kim: “How does that make you feel?”
Thomas:”I feel great, they don’t know the whole package!”
I’ve talked about Thomas quotes before but what I want to make clear is that these are not smart ass comments that are followed with self-deprecation or over selling confidence for insecurities, this is Thomas in his natural form, , it’s what he believes. His outlook is such an amazing and healthy balance of doing his best and also thinking WGAF after he’s done the best he can do, or acceptance of what he is, and what he is not. What he is not is the San Ramon Valley School District’s Bell Setter for Scholastic Aptitude, what he is, is an example of where his dad is trying to get, which is that peaceful easy feeling of WGAF when you’re pretty darn comfortable in your own skin.
I understand this might be perceived as a very strange Sunday Thoughts. For me, it’s coming at a fairly strange time. I’m not sure if it’s just me, I’m not sure if it’s my age I.e. midlife crisis, etc. but I’ve encountered, sadly, multiple people passing, more conversations about people struggling with marriage, stories of disease…real life issues…and the culmination of all of it leaves me thinking continuously “what is this all about?”
Scratching my head trying to tie this together with what my point is (which I know but can’t quite articulate), between Thomas and WGAF. Here we go; This life is here and it’s now, and it’s happening. To have the best life we need to keep perspective on what is important and what is not. I for one find myself caring too much about situations or people that I shouldn’t GAF about, and then not spending enough time thinking about the people and situations where I should. What keeps us is the wrong box or the right box has to do with the comfort of the skin we find ourselves in, and this is where I think many of us, including me, can seek counsel from someone like Thomas. He believes whole heartedly, that he’s the whole package…not with arrogance, but with confidence, and with that comes a better filter of what to care about and what not to care about.
Ask the question a few times this week of WGAF? before you find yourself stressing out or caring about something you shouldn’t.