Today was a very productive day for me. Although I woke up at noon, I managed to get a workout in, to go shopping at The Domain, eat dinner at a restaurant I've never tried (California Pizza Kitchen), and watch a free improvisational comedy show at The Hideout Theatre.
After the improv show, Kim, Rigo, and I randomly decided to walk home.
The Hideout Theatre is located between Sixth and Seventh Streets in Downtown Austin, Kim's apartment is on 24th Street. The walk was going to be roughly 18 blocks.
I've walked home from Sixth Street once before.
I went to watch an improv show at The Hideout Theatre, then we went to 24 Diner with some people I was friends with at the time. Because of how late we got out of dinner, there was no more buses to take us back to campus, except for the E-bus (it's a bus that takes people from Sixth Street to campus.) So, I led the group I was with to the bus stop. I didn't realize the location for the E-bus had changed, so we waited at the wrong bus stop for a while. Things happened, people got annoyed and impatient. One of the people I was with got really mad and decided to go to a different bus stop, one we had passed on the way. That person was being hard headed and was set on their assumption that a bus would pick us up there. This, in turn, got me pretty pissed off. So, in order for them to understand that they were wrong we all walked to that bus stop. Of course, there was no bus to pick us up. That caused us to walk to campus.
I was pissed off the entire walk.
I focused on all of the negative things about that experience.
I focused on the fact that I was wearing a dress and heels, how the humidity was making me all kinds of uncomfortably sweaty, and how my plans with different friends as soon as I got to campus would not be fulfilled.
Because of my negative, angry attitude I couldn't see any of the beautiful things surrounding me.
I couldn't appreciate the awe inspiring glow of The Texas Capitol at night.
I couldn't appreciate the gorgeously lit streets, the little shops I've never paid attention to, the restaurants I've never been to, the graffiti, the street art, the tiny star painted in a random mural.
I didn't realize how much I missed, how much I didn't realize was there, how much beauty the city of Austin was filled with on that walk back home, until tonight, when I had to make that walk back once more.
Tonight was different.
I was with two people I care about and absolutely love. I had an amazing day. I watched an amazing show, and it was free.
I was happy.
I saw The Capitol in a new way. I noticed the statues surrounding it, I read the quotes that accompanied them, I noticed the random rooms within the building that were lit, and even a plant on the window sill that looked like a creepy face.
I appreciated the beautiful cool breeze, that was cold enough to feel comfortable, but warm enough to not have to be shivering.
I noticed all the street art.
I noticed art within a hotel that I never would have never known was in it.
I noticed the fine details within murals that I pass on a daily basis.
I took in everything that nature was throwing at me.
I took in this beautiful city that I live in.
This experience led me to realize that your perception on the world is altered by the emotions you allow yourself to feel. If you're angry, you will never see the happiness that surrounds you. If you're happy, you'll notice all the beautiful details. It's all up to how you allow yourself to see the world. It's all based on your emotional state of mind.
If something angers you at the beginning of the day, your entire day will be cloaked with an unappreciative shadow and you won't see the good things that are happening to you. You'll focus on all the minor negatives, as opposed to the greater positives, and everything will feel like it's tumbling down.
But, if you don't allow yourself to be bothered by petty things, everything in your life will suddenly become brighter.
It's taken me this long to realize that.
But, it's never too late to change your ways.
-TBCG
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