Ch-ch-ch-changes

This morning was a tragic morning. Charm and I were just sitting in bed, I was enjoying my lovely green smoothie and iced coffee.  The smoothie had chocolate protein powder, spinach, banana, and blueberries, so it was a deep beautiful green. We didn't have a care in the world. I adjusted the blankets a little too vigorously and somehow whacked my smoothie cup, which was sitting on my nightstand. My smoothie flipped through the air and landed on my very light carpet.My first response was, "Oh F^#k!"My second response was, "Oh well. I guess I should go clean that up...let's see, I need to grab some paper towels, and some OxyClean, oh and I can mix up the OxyClean in that spray bottle I never use, and then when I go grocery shopping later I'll get some actual carpet cleaner."Yup, I legitimately just started planning how I was going to clean up my mess, within 5 seconds of it occurring.WHO AM I?I have felt a big shift in my attitude lately and this morning really exemplified that shift. I'm not sure what exactly has caused this shift, although I definitely think yoga is helping. I feel much more able to observe my thoughts, notice them, and select what emotions I want to acknowledge.For example, this morning I felt both anger and surprise, and I yelled out and expressed those immediately. But as soon as that magical F word was out of my mouth, I realized that the damage had been done and it was time to move forward. How would I react? That's what I could choose. I couldn't choose to un-do the spill (that I later realized was also on my wall), but I could choose my reaction to it. And while I was mad for about two seconds, I ultimately found it funny and remembered how I cleaned the last green smoothie spill out of a white carpet - patience and elbow grease.This has been a hugely valuable lesson for me lately: While I cannot always choose what happens in life, I can choose how I react. I think I first started to notice this big mindset shift when I got stuck in Chicago a month ago. My flight was cancelled before I even woke up so instead of being mad, I called my airline to get rebooked and figured I might as well try to fly standby since I didn't have anything else better to do. Plenty of my friends and coworkers were upset for me, and while I appreciated it, I also spent the day sitting in O'Hare watching Gilmore girls on my laptop...so really, how much was there for me to be upset about?? Was it the way I would have chosen to spend that day? No. But was it the best option based on what was presented to me? Yes.I'm not perfect, and there are still plenty of times when I can't quite step aside and pick my emotions yet. But that is okay - and I know I'll get there. But for now, I am so excited to appreciate this change, and grateful for how much easier days have become when I choose to see the good.