Letting go of FOMO

I remember when I first heard this acronym. I repeated it to a friend and she used in every sentence she could for at least 20 minutes and was super excited when someone said, "what's that mean" and the captive audience listened intently and they told two people and they told people and so on, and so, and so on. #herbalessence

I was born with FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). I probably realized this at age 8 when "Laura" stopped saving me a seat on the school bus and I was replaced by "Suzy". Come on!, that had been my seat for 3 weeks. I moved several rows back and was wondering what the giggles, whispers and plans for after school were all about. None of them included me. #poorme

These feelings continued well into my 40s and subsided when I began to work out of my home office. There would be no FOMO in an office for one. I began to do yoga where I met a lot of people whose mindset I was attracted to. There were introspective group invitations, workshops, juice invites after class and mind/body/spirit conferences that I soaked up like a sponge. This began my journey inward and I am forever grateful for the lessons and friendships this community so graciously extended to me. #namaste

I changed up my workout routine to a small, local gym, and ultimately began to workout at home. My FOMO was almost nonexistent until I logged on to social media and saw others doing things that didn't include me. It stung. I sulked. And then I remembered, I don't really like to be a part of a crowd; and the thought of a clique brought me right back to the elementary bus. Triangle relationships (where there are 3) had failed me miserably. The she-said-she-said was exhausting and I found myself feeling trapped with bait that I had set out for myself. #dayoldcheese

As I mentioned in my previous blog, I recently broke my leg. It has been 8 weeks since the break and I am just now starting physical therapy and can begin to drive. For 7 weeks, I was dependent on my husband to bring me my morning coffee, do my laundry and (GASP!) bring in my Amazon deliveries. Was I jealous that he was forming a friendship with "my" delivery person or did I just need an extra cup of coffee? Both. #nuffsaid

Enter my friends. The ones who are more than willing to help me whenever they can. I have accepted rides to my weekly meetings, goodies from a friend who introduced me to the yummy side of transitioning to a plant based lifestyle, and one-on-one conversations in my home with women who enhance my spiritual growth. I said yes when I didn't want to instead of wondering why others weren't reading my mind and banging down my door with casseroles that probably would of gone uneaten. #tribe

I have not missed out on anything. I have been to the movies, gone out to dinner, taken a road trip, spent time outside with my face toward the sun and none of it made it to social media. Nope, those memories are in my heart and forever etched in my mind. The only acronym that I'm using these days is GOD, and that my friends means Good Orderly Direction. #onepostatatime

Blessings,

Kim