Early morning post.............................

First let me share with you that the wedding was wonderful. A Greek wedding ceremony is steeped in ritual and tradition that I found very meaningful, and it has been about seven years since I have been in a church for something other than a funeral so that was also a refreshing change.

Random, I also discovered how it is that you can wear your highest heels out for the night and keep them on the entire time. Translation... Three cosmopolitans and my feet didn't hurt one tiny bit. Seriously the first time I did NOT kick my shoes off the second the dancing started.

And the food, some of the best I ever tasted. Of course after two cosmos I took three bites and was too full to eat my dinner. Tacky or not table twenty-three ask for doggie bags. Knowing the price of the food, along with the taste we could not see wasting it. Do you think this is why they put us in the way back corner?

Regardless we had a nice time and it was great to spend some quality time with my close circle of friends. This coming Saturday we have another wedding to attend (no weddings in three years and now two in two weeks?). This one is taking place in a park and will be night and day different from the Greek wedding, but I am looking forward to it just as much.

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A couple of hours ago (two AM my time), as I was waiting to see if the medicine had kicked in for our current hospice resident, I read the following sentence:

What others think of you is really none of your business.

What?

Read it again.

What others think of you is really none of your business.

WOW! I never looked at it from that angle before, but that is a pretty powerful statement!

We, the people, tend to be so concerned about what others think that we are rarely our true selves. Kind of like how table twenty-three had to first discuss just "how tacky was it" to ask for doggie bags at a wedding instead of just doing it. Or why we feel more comfortable walking into a room full of strangers AFTER someone has told us we look good, and our heels TOTALLY rock. Why our favorite things to hear are phrases like, "I see what you mean," and "You're right."

What's the problem with caring what other people think about us?

I think it becomes an issue when it keeps one from being ones self on a soul level; if what others think stops us from extending comfort or support to another because we are not sure of their response. God forbid you offer someone a hug to show you care and they think you're hitting on them. Right?

Trust me, there is nobody out there that should stop and think more than myself before just blurting out some thought, but how many times have you swallowed an expression of true concern because you wondered how it would be received?

It is a wonderful gift to yourself to be able to comfort another, and feel that you have made a difference in the life of another. Don't let ego take that away from you. Since we are all one, what you do unto others you do unto yourself. What you send out you get back, so do some self-nurturing today and perform an act of kindness towards a (perceived) stranger. And remember, how they receive it, is none of your business.