[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoLoyg3JKRQ]
I remember when I first learned the meaning of the word anticipation. Back in the dark ages (sometimes referred to as the ’70s), there was a Heinz ketchup commercial that used Carly Simon’s song. Given the music my mother listened to, I am sure I had heard it a million times before then, but it probably never occurred to me to think about the lyrics or what they meant.
Obviously, for anyone who has even glanced at this blog recently, anticipation has become kind of a mantra around here. But I am not the only one going through a significant life transition. There are people very close to me who are waiting on life-altering news of their own. Not that everything has to be about me, but this morning I realized that focusing on their transitions is a welcome distraction to my on perseverating brain.
The adoption process is progressing at its own pace. There is nothing I can do at this stage of the game but wait. The ball is very firmly in other people’s courts and there is very little that I can do to expedite that process. And the little that I can do, I won’t. Because that would involve nudging people who are doing extraordinary acts of kindness for us. So right now any distraction is a welcome one. I don’t really believe that sending a desire out into the universe will help make it so. But, I also figure that a little extra push never hurt anybody. [See how I carefully skirted any discussion of theology there?] So instead of spending my time envisioning what I hope my life will look like in a few months, I am focussing my attention on those I care about.
I was listening to a Freakonomics podcast yesterday on my walk on the most effective ways to get people to make charitable contributions. The bottom line is that people give out of self-interest. That self-interest can be big, like caring about someone who has a disease that you want cured. Or it could be just wanting that uplifting feeling you get when doing something good.
I see a parallel between the podcast and my own situation. I am wanting something to focus on so I may as well direct my attention to something good. Because in the long run, it will make me feel very good if things work out well for the people I care about.