LIFE IN BLOOM

Learning How to Flourish in God's Grace


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Book Review: The Noticer

We all need to be noticed.  And there are times where we can all benefit from a different perspective.  It’s with these themes that Andy Andrews writes the awesome book, “The Noticer”.

Andrews tells the story of a man named Jones- not Mr. Jones, just Jones, who sweeps through a town changing lives by imparting a valuable change of perspective.  Jones encounters different situations that have the opportunity to truly make or break a person’s life: divorce, poverty, an unsuccessful business; and easily and gently explains how that situation can be changed if the person’s perspective is changed.

This book is an easy read, yet a profound one.  I found myself reading it very quickly, then uncovering a valuable lesson or thought, and going back to make sure that I completely understood and benefitted from the lesson.

While some books that encourage a change of perspective can be rather preachy or condescending, this one is not.  It’s light and encouraging, providing useful advice in the same manner that a grandmother might provide over cookies and milk: you don’t feel as if you must adopt the advice, but it seems extremely beneficial and worthwhile to consider.

There are some religious/spiritual undertones in this book; however, it’s not an overwhelming undertone where one may feel as if they are being beat over the head with biblical principles.  Additionally, I found a light reference to some other books that had small biblical references.

Did I enjoy this book: 100%!  Would I recommend it to others: I would absolutely, without hesitation!  I would especially recommend it to those who have struggled with overcoming some of the different situations life presents us (and I think that would be all of us).  It’s not necessarily a book for children, but I would say that a mature young adult could enjoy and benefit from the story that Andy Andrews tells.

All that said- head out to get a copy of The Noticer- and maybe grab one for Mom for Mother’s Day as well.  It won’t disappoint!


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Understanding Where You Fit

Around this time last year, I wrote a post: “What happens when you outgrow your friends?”.  Ironically enough, I find myself asking the exact same question now.

As my life shuffles and changes, and I prepare for what’s to come, I realize that I miss the friendships that I had with people before.  However, perhaps the faulty logic for me comes from the fact that I had unrealistic expectations from my friends.

We’ve gotten older.  We live in different places.  We have different demands and priorities.  It’s completely unrealistic to use the college mold of a friendship to fit my real world scenario.  And if I’m honest with myself, we’re all different people.  Not necessarily in a bad way, but because of all the things that I’ve mentioned- age, different environments, different demands and priorities, even different experiences- my friends and I have changed.

Does that mean that we can’t be friends?  Not at all.  Some of the people that I cherish most are people who’ve lived their life completely different from how I choose to live mine.  However, through mutual love and respect, we’re able to maintain a friendship where each person is their authentic self .

However, as the title of this post says, I’m understanding where I fit in the lives of some of my friends.  Not quite a priority (actually nowhere near a priority), but if I ever REALLY needed something, I honestly think they’d be down for the cause.  But that raises a question: If I/our friendship is not a priority, should I be calling you in the event that I REALLY need something?  My thought is no.  And I say that because, if you’re placing a different value on the friendship/relationship than I am, the perceived/potential outcome of a situation where I need you is going to be different for you than for me- because your view of what’s important is different from mine.  Perhaps a better explanation might be like this:  Michael Jordan and I place a different value on $1000.  In the event where $1000 is lost or at stake, the outcome of that situation will be different because Michael Jordan views $1000 differently than I do, and because his view on how important $1000 is/how much of a difference $1000 could make is different from mine.

I’m digressing.  But I suppose that it’s possible that I have indeed outgrown my friends.  And while I still very much cherish the memories and the role that they’ve played in my life to help me become who I am, I’m done shouldering the efforts of keeping in touch and being aware of life updates.  While one could argue that having that role is where I fit in the friendship, I would maintain that even if that were the case, there should be some type of reciprocity.

That said, I’ll go forward from this with a greater understanding of my role in their lives, but also a greater understanding of the role of this friendship in my life.  I’m still blessed to be surrounded by people who care about me and love me dearly, even if it’s not those who I thought would be with me at this part of the journey.

Until next time…