Do You See the Change?

First Impression

For spring break this year my husband and I decided we should take a family road trip. We live in an area that we can choose a direction and we will find something amazing to go see. We decided that we should take our kids to see Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Now both of us have seen Mount Rushmore as kids, but we weren’t old enough to really remember or appreciate it. I saw Crazy Horse when I was seven.  My first impression wasn’t very good. I remember looking at this giant rock mountain and then seeing their sculpture in the museum of what it will eventually be and thinking “how in the world are they going to turn this into that?”

It took us a couple of days to get to South Dakota but we finally made it and we were ready to go see Mount Rushmore. Now any of you that have seen it know what I mean by WOW! It’s pretty amazing! My kids were so impressed with how detailed the statues are, I mean seriously you can see President Roosevelt’s glasses! We learned that it was built in 14 years, and a little about why each President was chosen. For more fun fact’s about Mount Rushmore click here.

After we wandered around Mount Rushmore we decided to go check out Crazy Horse. The moment I saw it I shouted “there is a face!” I guess I was the only one who thought anything of it because my kids acted like duh mom, of course there is a face. We pulled into the parking lot and my kids all got out of the car saying is that it? Where is the rest of it? When will it be done? To find out the answers to some of those questions click here.

See the Change

I have been thinking a lot about this. How many times in life do we compare one thing to another? How often are those things even in the same category? I was the only one who had seen Crazy Horse before, so to me it was so neat to see progress. For my kids however it was a mountain with one face on it. We had just seen Mount Rushmore, how could this even compete. Mount Rushmore took 14 years to build, Crazy Horse has taken over 70 years and will probably take that many more. It’s so easy to dismiss the value of something when we compare it to something else.

How many times in life do we compare ourselves to others, or others to ourselves? I’ve caught myself saying “I would never…” without knowing someones motives behind a decision. I’ve also been guilty of thinking I’m not as talented, kind, smart, or any number of things as so and so. Why do we do this to ourselves and others?

This past year I have made it a goal to give others the benefit of the doubt. If someone says something offensive I try not to be offended, if they do something that I don’t agree with I try not to judge. It’s been hard but has strengthened my relationship with so many people. The person I struggle the most with is myself. So that’s what I am working on now.

Be Kind to Yourself

I am sure some of you struggle with these same things. I would hope that you will give yourself the benefit of doubt. Cut yourself some slack. Do the best you can and move on.  These are the things I am working on and I hope you will too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you feel encouraged to work on being kind to yourself. Have a wonderful day!