SURROUNDINGS

The other night, in a post-workout exhaustion, my roommate and I were lying dead on the couch flipping channels. We stumbled across the premiere of Lindsay Lohan's interview with Oprah as the opening credits were rolling (don't you love when that happens?) Now I'm not even going to begin to discuss the incredibly phenomenal job Lindsay's PR person is doing, because I could go on for hours. But seriously though! It takes a serious miracle worker to begin pulling Lindsay out of that immense pile of shit she's buried herself in. Yet within days of getting out of rehab for the FOURTH time, she's appearing on the Chelsea Handler show and sitting down with Oprah for a one-on-one interview. She's getting some love, friendship, and understanding from the queen of comedy and the queen of....well....the world. If that's not miracle working, I'm not sure what is. Okay, I'll stop geeking out. Lindsay Lohan, unfortunately, isn't even the topic of this post.

Right after Cate and I subconsciously decided we would be spending the rest of the night glued to Oprah's marathon of interviews (please hesitate before you judge me), Carrie Underwood's interview came on. I just love her, but who doesn't? She showed Oprah around her GORGEOUS rustic house right outside of Nashville, as I was drooling of envy the whole time. Although you might not be able to guess this just after my admission of my Oprah-overload, I really am not a fan of hers. She is just way too much person for me and she always seems to bring every interview question back to herself. However. She asked Carrie a question that sort of impressed me, although maybe it was just Carrie's answer that made the difference. Either way. She asked, "What word or virtue best describes what matters most to you?" (Well played, Oprah.) The way Carrie answered was just so simplistic and spot on. After pausing for just a beat, she responded, "Love. If you love somebody, if you love people, if you love your surroundings, everything else, all that other stuff will happen naturally. If you love somebody you're going to be honest with them. If you respect and love your surroundings, you're going to treat them right. It's all about loving people and just openness and acceptance and love".

GOD, AS IF SHE COULDN'T GET ANY COOLER. Is this not an awesome way to think, or what? And when you think about it in terms of your own life, chances are it's dead on. It's so logical that you think it almost goes without saying, but then she says it and a light bulb goes off. If you love your house, you're going to keep it clean. If you love the park you run through every night, you're going to hold on to that empty water bottle until you find a recycling bin instead of tossing it on the ground. If you love your significant other, or friend, or family member, you are going to treat them with respect. You will be honest and open, and make them a priority. And if there is not love, well....then you don't. It's as simple as that. If you love it, you will treat it well. Even on a greater scale. Think about how much of a difference it makes when you love the people you work with, or you love your professor, or you love that coffee shop you're sitting in while doing that work you've been dreading doing all week? Things are just better; your outlook is brighter. Things seem doable, maybe even pleasant. But if your office is dingy and drafty with horrible lighting, or you're fighting with someone at home, or the guy at the gas station was just an inexplicable prick, things don't seem that great. You get bummed and pissed, and your day just seems bad. At least if you're anything like me, this is true. Your surroundings and the people around are so influential on your happiness and attitude. This might not have been exactly what she was getting at, but that's where my mind went with it.

Maybe love isn't at the heart of everything you do. But wouldn't it be nice if it was? Wouldn't it be simpler? If you did all things with love? Not that this is an easy thing to do, by any means. It would be really tough. But I think sometimes you can choose to love. Now I don't mean you can choose to be IN love with someone, that's totally different. It's not even possible. But I do think that you can choose to change your outlook on things or people, and hopefully that results in a degree of love. Allow me to explain. Let's go back to the poor dingy office example. You HATE your work environment. You don't enjoy the people, you aren't fulfilled by your work, and your office just makes you want to cry. It's not totally out of your control. While you can't exactly change the people you work with, you could strike up a friendly conversation with that quiet person in the cubicle near yours, ask them to grab lunch with you. Add some flowers to your desk, light a candle, change the lamp. You might be surprised what it will do to you. I won't go so far as to say you will suddenly be in love with what you're doing, but maybe you won't hate it like you did before. You can't change your situation, but you can try to change your attitude. And that's the second best thing.