Si, se puede!

I've always had a mind of my own. Even when I was a child, I liked to do things my way. I was the kind of bratty kid that adults HATE. Because we're too annoying to be cute and too young to have the Hell smacked out of us. I never listened, never followed the rules, and made it my life's mission to test boundaries and push buttons. Yep Campers, I was my mother's pride and joy.

Once, when I was 6, my mom was driving around with my sisters and me. It was a sweltering summer day in the 90 degree Florida heat. The two door, '82 Rabbit my mother had was about the same amount of Hot as Dante's eighth level of Hell and you could have boiled water on those seats. It was an inferno. And I, being the privileged eldest daughter that I was, was perched (smugly) in the (much coveted and argued over) passenger side window seat (YES!).

Like I said, it was stifling and, since this was the stone age and AC in cars didn't exist yet (at least not in my world!), Mama asked me to roll down the window. And, of course, being the perfectly angelic saint that I was, I replied with a flippant and indifferent "NO".

No rhyme or reason for it. I was melting just like everyone else. I guess I just wanted to push her buttons. And it worked. She was gearing up to whip me into shape with one of those withering looks that all mothers must master before they are allowed to graduate from Lamaze class, when. . . . a police cruiser plowed into us and sent us careening into a nearby Oak tree.

The accident was bad. My mom had to go the the hospital because the force of the crash had caused her to swallow some of her teeth. There was blood. And screams. And chaos. It was an ugly scene. But my sisters and I walked away. Unscathed. All because a bratty 6 year old told her mother "No". Had that window have been down, the force of that cruiser on the passenger side door would have caused me (and my sisters) to fly out of the window. We would have been killed. That "No" saved our lives.

Last year, I went on vacation with my best friend. We went to Stone Mountain and decided it would be fun to get on the Sky Mountain Ride. Now what this is, for those of you who believe in self preservation, is a "ride" where you're placed in a harness and then strapped to a string and told to navigate yourself around an obstacle course that's about 300 ft in the air. Did I mention you're only attached by a string?

This all seems REALLY entertaining when you're on the ground. Unfortunately, it sort of loses it's luster when you're actually IN THE AIR. In a harness. Attached to a piece of dental floss. Doesn't seem like much fun then. Seems REALLY stupid then.

I wanted to chicken out SO badly. I wanted to be a punk, tuck my tail between my legs, and live to fight another day. But I couldn't. Because she was DOING it. I couldn't be the wimp. I had already said I would do it. I had already said "Yes".

So I swallowed my fear (though I SO would have preferred to be swallowing just about ANYthng else! Chips. Cake. Fettuccine Alfredo . . .. the list is endless!) and instantly grew the biggest pair of cojones this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Then, I navigated that course.

And I LOVED it!

It was exhilarating and scary and wonderful all at once.

Sure, my heart stopped about every 30 seconds. Sure, I was scared witless the whole time. But I DID it. And that "Yes" turned out to be one of the most rewarding things I've ever done! I had a blast! (Later, I found out that she wanted to back out too, but didn't because of me. Go figure. )

So I started to think about the power of "Yes" and "No". I'd heard about this idea (Thanks Sylvia!), but never paid it much attention. But now. . . .

"Yes" and "No". Two tiny words that pack so much power. Have you ever stopped to think about how much our lives are defined by those two words. "Yes" and "No".

Our lives are a testament to the choices we've made. Thus, they are essentially shaped by those two words. They are formed and created by the things we say "Yes" to and the things we say "No" to. Whether it's our finances or our marriages, our jobs or the food on our plates, it all comes down to "Yes" and "No".

And neither is more important than the other. Because they are inseparable. They cannot exist apart from each other. For every "Yes" there is an implication of "No" and vice versa.

When I said "No" to being held captive and paralyzed in a marriage that was killing me, I was implicitly saying "Yes" to the life transforming power of freedom. And as I learn to say "Yes" to loving MYSELF more often, I am implicitly saying "No" to those things that shatter my self-esteem and exploit my insecurities. Saying "Yes" to me is, in effect, saying "No" to a lot of the foolishness that flat-out serves no purpose in helping me become the best Suprchik Leogirl I can be. (And moreover, stress and foolishness cause wrinkles! So NOT the look this Leogirl is going for!).

And one word over the other isn't the key to success either. Your life won't be roses and peaches because you always say "Yes" and it won't be miserable because you always say "No". Life is about balance. The right path isn't found by a string of "Yes"s or a string of "No"s. It's somewhere in the middle. And it's there, in that middle ground, that we find ourselves ready to make smart choices.

Sometimes we say yes, sometimes we say no. But the goal is to make good choices that lead us towards becoming the best versions of ourselves that we can be. It's about learning that our "Yes"s and our "No"s have POWER.

They have the power to create and the power to destroy. They have the power to challenge and the power to allow us to remain mired in mediocrity. They have the power to heal and the power to harm. They can save lives or they can end them.

Those words challenged me to experience something that scared me. And I walked away with the knowledge that I am stronger than I think I am. Those words have led me towards becoming more confident in myself and less willing to accept what isn't good enough for me. They've helped me discern who I want to be and given me the courage to become that person.

They even saved my life.

What will they do for you?

The power is yours.

Pics Taken: 04/19/09 Weight:197.2 Measurements: Waist(38"), Bust(40"), Hips(44.5"), Thigh(28"), Arm(15.5"), Gut(42'')