Monday Tidbits

So upon a friend's recommendation, I have been reading "The Secret." I was intrigued after Oprah did two shows on it, but I have to admit my brain doesn't usually function this way so I didn't pursue learning more. I did watch a bit of it on youtube.com, and that is probably not the best way to start checking it out. So, I didn't track it down. But a good friend read it and loved it, loaned me her book, and I'm working on it. I know it's not for everyone, I'm not sure it's even for me, but I think it's worth checking out - but you have to go into it open-minded...

For those of you not familiar, it basically addresses the law of attraction, that what you put out into the universe is what is returned to you. For example, if you worry about your bills and debt all the time, you will get more bills and debt because that is the thought you are focused on. If you expect good things to happen to you, they will. If you expect bad things to happen, they will. Of course I'm completely generalizing, but hopefully you get the idea.

Now, I don't see that the "universal law" can apply across the board. I don't agree that my dad or my aunt asked for cancer. I don't see how people who have lost referrals or pregnancies have asked for that. I don't think our future children "attracted" being relinquished and placed in orphanages. I was re-watching one of the Oprah shows on it today, and she said that of course there are other "laws" and powers at work in the universe that account for so many of the bad things that happen in the world. Ok, I'll go with that for the sake of argument.

But, I am certainly ripe for a mindset adjustment over my usual approach to things, and I think when it comes to the adoption process this could be especially valuable. I read a couple of things the other night that really resonated with me and I thought I'd share:

Think of a car driving through the night. The headlights only go a hundred to two hundred feet forward, and you can make it all the way from California to New York driving through the dark, because all you have to see is the next two hundred feet. And that's how life tends to unfold before us. If we just trust that the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, and the next two hundred feet will unfold after that, your life will keep unfolding. And it will eventually get you to the destination of whatever it is you truly want, because you want it. -Jack Canfield

Also...

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

So I am really working on approaching things, particularly the next phases of this adoption, in this manner. Now if you hate the book or concept, please don't slam me. If you love it and I'm not doing it justice, again don't slam me - just trying to share a little corner of my minimally functioning brain...

Also, a brief movie review list in case anyone thinks they can trust my opinion on movies! Keep in mind, my attention span is not what it used to be. However, Anne at MN to VN has been kind enough to help me see the light - Adoptive ADHD! That explains me to a "T" these days! But since my work has been pretty quiet, and it takes a lot, and I mean a lot, to motivate me to tackle the yard or boxes in my house, I have been trying to catch up with some movies.

First of all, everyone in the world should have Tivo. I love my Tivo. Ok, I have more than one Tivo. And they're networked to each other. It rocks. To take that to the next level, Tivo has now partnered with Amazon to create "Amazon Unbox." I don't even have to get myself off the couch and into the car (or wait for the mail delivery with Net Flix) to rent a movie now - I can download it from Amazon! Oh, the joy!

So, rentals... Blood Diamond, I thought was pretty good. The Good Shepherd - I thought they made it way too complicated to follow, seemingly just to make it complicated (but that could have been my Adoption ADHD kicking in). Babel, I'm sorry to say, I didn't finish - I feel that I should have, but it just didn't grab me (again, the A-ADHD I suspect). Let's see... Little Miss Sunshine, pretty good. Borat - ok, I knew I'd probably hate this, but it was on sale and I was curious. I didn't finish it. Yuck. I'm not usually that easily offended, maybe becoming a PAP has just made me more sensitive to cultural insensitivity, or maybe it just wasn't my style of movie. But I didn't get too far into it. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood. In any case, I moved on. Turistas, better than I expected. I mean, it's a hokey horror flick, but it exceeded my really low expectations...

Can you tell I haven't rented anything in a while? I don't think any of those are new.

And then, today, I treated myself to my long-awaited Ocean's Thirteen. Ah, the boys. I love my Matt Damon. I run kind-of hot and cold on Pitt, but I do like him in this series, and I like Clooney. Don Cheadle, Scott Caan, the rest of the cast... I love the timing and chemistry these guys all have together. So if you have previously enjoyed the other Ocean's movies, I think you'll enjoy this one too.

I couldn't remember today the last time I'd went to a theater - realized tonight, it was for The Departed, also a good flick (see, my honey Matt Damon again!).

There you go, my movie reviews!

Also, I have been meaning to throw out a huge "thank you" to all of you in the blogging world - I have just found it amazing what this community is like. No matter what is happening, good, bad or educational, someone understands and will share in your joy/disappointment, etc. And, I've been able to connect with some other local families and families with my agency thanks to blogging. So thank you to those of you who have been reading and supporting me through this! The cats do their best to encourage me, but really, they're not all that excited about sharing me and the house with a baby guy anyhow, so their support is limited. hehehe

I hope it's a big week of good news for everybody out there!