Lessons...

Well, the Junk Bonanza and Live, Love, JUNK! Retreat have come and gone.  It was an amazing, eye-opening experience on many levels.  For all of you that didn't have a chance to go, I'll be posting pictures from the show all this week on my blog.  But today I wanted to share my reflections with you.

When you organize an event, you just never know what unexpected things might happen.  Putting people together from all different locations and backgrounds, you always get some good and bad surprises.  But, one of the big lessons I've been focusing on this year is:

"When someone shows you who they are, believe them."  

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I have a really hard time with this one because I always seek out the good in people.  I always give them the benefit of the doubt.  So when someone that I assume is honest does something dishonest, I really struggle with the appropriate reactions.  When we were children we were taught how to handle these situations -- you seek out a parent or another authority figure.  But as an adult experiencing the same, you really have to stop and think about how you are going to handle it.  I had this type of experience on this trip and I'm still struggling with the repercussions.  It seems that we bend over backwards protecting those that have wronged us, which really makes no sense.  But, I want to stay true to myself and handle delicate situations with grace and professionalism.  I might not be able to change the bad in the world, but I can continue to walk my path as honestly as possible.

I hope you are staying on your path today.