Monday Motivation

Something fun to start your week

You’ve probably eaten trail mix.

It’s got peanuts (too many, in my opinion), raisins, M&Ms… maybe some cashews, almonds, or seeds. Perhaps some dried coconut. A lot of things can go into trail mix.

You’ll love some of the items…

And you won’t like others…

Well, I was thinking the other day that life is basically one big bag of trail mix. There are moments we love, moments that are OK, and other moments that aren’t the best.

I feel like we sometimes forget this. We naturally expect things to go smoothly, and if something goes wrong, we think, “How dare something go wrong??” We get all affronted and upset.

Or, here’s another classic: We think, “I’ll be happy when I get through this tough time.”

But that’s not life. Things aren’t going to go smoothly all the time. There isn’t some magical point in the future when everything will be M&Ms. Life is ALWAYS the full trail mix.

Yes, you can take steps to increase the number of good items and reduce the number of bad items in your trail mix. But no matter what, you are in the trail mix. Amid the M&Ms there will be nuts you don’t like, weird seeds, and some shriveled-up overly-salted raisins that, honestly, seem inedible.

Also, remember that everyone’s life is a trail mix. On social media, people often showcase their M&M moments. That doesn’t mean they’re living an M&M life. No one is! These folks all have a full trail mix of moments, just like you and me.

So the next time you find yourself facing a frustrating situation or trying to get through an annoying moment, just think “trail mix” to yourself. Because you know that after that situation, there will be an enjoyable moment ahead somewhere. Then something annoying again, then something good. And a lot of “OK” stuff in between.

This isn’t meant to depress you, but to free you. If life is a trail mix, we can relax into that. Instead of being surprised and overly upset when something unexpectedly goes wrong, we can think, “trail mix” and accept it.

And one last thing: Let’s not lose sight of the fact that life is a fascinating trail mix. Much more interesting than the trail mix in stores. There are lots of surprises and interesting things in our “being alive” trail mix. We are so fortunate to have this trail mix, even if there are some really inedible raisins in there.

Hopefully this is an idea that helps you… or maybe it just inspires you to enjoy some real-life trail mix. (There is a kind with peanut butter cups in it! Find it!)

Have a great week ahead.

~ Adrienne
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P.S. The cartoon below is 100% based on how I eat trail mix.