Hi Brandy, I’m in a much better place. School started and the woman who fueled this situation…wouldn’t you know it, her son is in my daughter’s class AND they sit at the same table of four. I was dreading this, but I acknowledged the feeling and didn’t obsess about it (progress!). She was very nice at visit the classroom day and I was nice, very uneventful. Don’t get me wrong, I crossed the street to avoid her this morning, but I’m sure she feels like she “won” and this is her way of being gracious and this is my way of moving on.

I’m making progress on mindfulness. I notice a change in my thoughts already. I did not get through Present Over Perfect, but I did start listening to Oprah’s series with Eckhart Tole, and I plan to read it once I’m finished. My mind doesn’t race and fixate over every last interaction that I feel went awry. I’m able to bring my thoughts back to “now.”

The situation with these women SUCKED. It was awful and traumatizing for me, very unfair and I trust the universe to handle it or not handle it. Not my concern.  I’m ultimately very grateful it happened. Time is so valuable and I don’t need to continuously invest in people who don’t respect me. If this hadn’t happened, I would never be moving toward mindfulness and NOW and fully appreciating the people I have in my life. I’m getting better at reigning in my racing thoughts, being aware that they’re happening and bringing them back to the present has decreased my anxiety. It’s pretty amazing.

Brandi, your help has been pivotal. While I received a great deal of support from my friends, this message board allowed me the anonymity to be truly open and receive honest feedback and advice, with great compassion and kindness. THANK YOU.

And as I said to Anita, I reserve the right to relapse and come back 🙂

Is there a place on Tiny Buddha where I can go to converse about about mindfullness and ego and get ideas and strategies?

K