It may come from a really good belly laugh courtesy of office randomness.
It may come from a run. In fact I went for my first outside run of the season last night. It was amazing! (yes, I'm a fair-weather runner).
It can also come from watching someone do something awesome - and having this incredible feeling that you're so proud of them.
I'm not sure if you know my friend Amy (aka NonMom). If you haven't checked out her blog, you should. I've known Amy for almost 7 years. Maybe this says something about how to cultivate friendships. We met volunteering! We had an awesome time.
When I met Amy I was not at my finest. I was in a tough place - I was living with my parents and at the tail end of some post-partum depression - and trying to figure out my career choices. Add in a very busy baby, money stress, and feeling fat ... and I was not too fun.
And then I met Amy. She's awesome online. She's better in person. You don't really have the option of entering a room with her and not being swept up in her excitement for whatever is going on. She very definitely has a professional side don't get me wrong. But Amy, she talks in exclamation points! How she managed to see my crazy fun side the day we met is beyond me. But, man am I ever grateful she did. And that joy - it spreads online.
Her tweets - positive. Her blog - positive. And when she has something negative to say you listen, because it's not mean or bitchy. It's honest and thought out - and not at all mean spirited.
So AMY.
She happened to get me involved in a little project. She has named it #NateLuv. It's all to do with a show called Burn Notice. I'd never heard of it until Amy told me about it. And she has gone so deep into this project it's amazing me.
As a fan of the show she has started helping one of the actors, Seth Petersen, establish a Social Media profile. And you guys, she's ROCKING this project.
The thing is, there's nothing in it for her. She's not doing it for money. She's not doing it for recognition. She's doing it because she thinks he's awesome.
I get it. There are shades of Juliequest in there (yes, we talked about it). And I remember during Juliequest how awesome I felt. I wanted other people to get it. And they did. And, well, this inspires me.
You can read about #Nateluv (Nate is Seth's character) on Amy's blog. And, if you want to follow him on twitter, (
As for Seth? Well, the guy cracks me up on twitter. I'm impressed that someone who is an actor and has agents and has a career and is generally pretty awesome has made a point of thanking Amy publically for all her work.
See - the more awesome you push out the more awesome you get back.
PS. i don't have any pics because I'd have to ask Amy - and she doesn't know I'm writing this.
