Monkey Face

The other day at work, several of us were talking about how people tend not to tell you that you've got spinach in your teeth or that you're dragging toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe.
I related how just a few months ago, I had a severe allergic reaction to a vitamin supplement I had taken at lunch. I was eating lunch with my regular lunch crowd. We usually start laughing over dumb things and get silly and rowdy. As I ate my lunch, I felt my ears burning. I was hoping that they didn't look as bad as they felt. My friends just kept talking and didn't say anything to me about my appearance. When my lunch hour was over, I had to go into the restroom to check out a mirror to see what was going on with my ears. Oh, it wasn't just my ears, my face was red as a beet. My hands, arms, and legs were getting all splotchy. Finally....my co-workers who weren't in the lunch room asked what was wrong with me.

Mike S., a very funny guy, said that he had an allergic reaction at the potluck Christmas luncheon. That was news to me. Guess I didn't notice. He said he felt something strange going on with his face and knew from experience that he was having an allergic reaction to something he ate. He jumped into his car and drove to the nearest drugstore to get some Benadryl. He said he happened to look in a mirror in the store and saw a "monkey face" looking back at him. His mouth was swollen out like a muzzle and his ears had gotten larger and stuck out from his head. He was embarrassed, but he really needed to stay in the checkout line to get the Benadryl.

Taking a Leap of Faith

Some thoughts I need to ponder at a time when I need to make an important decision about my work and lifestyle:

And then the day came, when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.- Anais Nin, Danish diarist

What leaps of faith are you willing to take? Trying new things can give you a real zest for life. Pushing beyond your comfort zone in a responsible way helps you grow confidence and creativity that you can apply to your everyday life. Do not let fear control what you do (or don't) do? While taking risks can be scary, doing nothing is a big mistake, as it produces nothing fruitful within you. There is a direct relationship between the things that we achieve and the effort we put forth to obtain them. To reach the fruit, you have to climb the tree first!