Monday, May 12, 2014

Monday Mayhem turned into Mabsoot Monday

Ahhh...Monday. (said with a smile)
 Or is it (groan) "oh, it's Monday again..."? (said in an Eeyore state of mind)

Most of society groans over Mondays rolling around again. Monday Mayhem seems to be a good title for the day's status.
  I am in the customer service business, and I have a repetitive type of conversation on a daily basis. I see hundreds of people a day, but they see me once. So, I have the same conversation over and over, but mostly because it's with a different person every few minutes. Mondays, the conversations often sound like this:
   me: "Goodmorning! How are you today?"
 Customer: "Ugh. It's Monday. So, not great."
  me: (striving to always say/find the positive) "Well, how was your weekend?"
 Customer: "not long enough"
Me: Well, did you at least have a good one?
 Customer: "yes, but now it's monday and I am tired."
Me: Well,  you're in the right place for a cup of coffee at least....

Sometimes that is the end of the conversation, or perhaps sometimes the conversation shifts to them asking about my weekend. But it amazes me how frequently I hear the very same response to the weekend question, with the response of "not long enough."
   We could all use a 5 day weekend and a 2 day week, could we not?? However, that is not the reality of the working world. And while at times, I could just as easily be saying I wish for a longer weekend, part of what I do is to attempt to bring smiles to those who are in desperate need of caffeine/encouragement. Monday, while not my busiest day of the week, is the day people seem to need a pick me up the most. I call it Monday Mayhem.
  My good friend, K.B., once told me I should write about why we should embrace Mondays. So, K.B., here is what I have to say to the Monday Mayhem and how we can change it to Mabsoot Mondays. (Yes, I totally had to use a thesaurus to find a good word for happy that also began with an "m" so as to continue my "M" theme. Mabsoot means: A happy person, which I find to be a fitting word to replace Mayhem).
     We should embrace Mondays because:
-It's a new day. We should get excited over this. Every new day is a new chance to experience new people, new interactions, and new experiences we have not yet encountered.
-New Opportunities.  With a new day, a new work week beginning, come new opportunities. Opportunities to grow as an individual. Opportunities to bless others. Opportunities to be blessed by someone else. Opportunities to be stretched in uncomfortable ways, perhaps, but what better way to shine our (or better yet...God's) strengths.
-We can be a blessing.  Instead of complaining that it's Monday, and the weekend is over, this is a chance (perhaps even one of the bigger days to do so) to make others smile. That in turn, will make us smile. (Try it! You'll be amazed at the difference you can make) We have an opportunity on Mondays when many walk around in a tired state of mind, to smile and encourage them. Often they will ask "Why are you so happy on a Monday?" To which opens up doors of becoming a blessing and sharing aspects of life/faith we could  not have otherwise perhaps.
-This is the Day the Lord has Made. I will Rejoice and Be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24) That speaks for itself. Monday is another day He has made. yes, it feels different because it's the beginning of a work/school week. But He has made it. I should rejoice and be glad in it.
-Smile about the good things over the weekend.  What if your weekend was amazing and you didn't want it to end? Oh, I've been there. I've been sad to say goodbye to a weekend and hello to a new work week. Trust me, you aren't alone on that. BUT, that being said, what if we choose to smile about the great things of the weekend, share with others about how good the weekend was, and let those moments continue to bring joy to life instead of dwelling on the fact that "it's passed" or "it's over now".  Just change the perspective slightly.  Let those good weekend moments bring good Monday smiles. Monday Mabsoot, if you will. A Monday happy person instead of a sad person. Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No. Try it.
-A chance to make a difference.  Monday's bring a chance to make a difference. Many of us go to church on Sundays. A Sunday service is a great place to soak in the presence of God and praise Him and learn about Him and fellowship with other believers. But we aren't supposed to walk out of there and then just go back to our routines. We are supposed to walk out of church and make a difference. Take what we learn and apply it. Share the joy we find in worship with others. Don't make it a Sunday experience only. Make it a daily, moment by moment, experience. I'm guilty of this, so I'm not preaching at you. I'm sharing with you that this is something I am learning myself. I get so "filled" at times being in church on Sunday, often times for that to be fizzled out by Monday morning because I'm tired or something on Sunday interrupted that beautiful joy or whatever the case might be. But, going into a Monday, I'm going into interactions I don't get to have during my weekend. A chance to make a difference. A chance to live out a calling of sorts. What better reason to embrace a Monday than that???

  In all honesty, I sometimes struggle with Mondays myself. I love weekends because I am home with my family. Monday means back to work. BUT I can choose to look at it these other ways and that can change a Monday mayhem into Masboot Monday. I can go from being grumpy to happy because I get....not have to but get to......  new opportunities, new chances, and moments that weren't there before.
   So, I choose to look at Monday differently.   Will you???
 Mabsoot Monday :) Happy Person Monday. Try it, just once, you may fall in love with it!

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