Scrap Your Trip Adds 183 Items + 183 S*A*L*E Items
Entry Filed under: New Items Added
We are all one.
I’ve often heard this saying and I never really understood it. We are all one? WAY too out there and "new age-y" for me.
But now I get it. We are all one…not in the "we are really just one person" sort of way, but in the "basically we are all the same person" sort of way.
My new therapist, (Tony got custody of our marriage therapist in the separation) did a workshop this weekend that I attended. She specializes in addiction, so there were a lot of people there with way more demons than me. (She was recommended to me. I don’t have any addictions. Well, maybe chocolate.) 
It was an extremely diverse group of people. Men and women. Grandmothers and teenagers. Black and white. Gay and straight. Lots of tattoos and piercings and even some dredlocks. To be honest, when I got there, I thought a couple of people were kind of scary.
But through the course of the weekend, here’s what I learned.
We are all wounded in some way. We all have anger and sadness. We are all afraid and blame others, but mostly ourselves. We all just want to be enough and for someone to love us for just being us.
So, by the end of the weekend, I didn’t notice the wrinkles or the tattoos or even the nose rings anymore. All I saw was another human being…just like me, who has things they are doing their best to deal with. And at the end of the day, all we want is another human being to really see us and love us.
I realize this is already getting long, but I want to share a really powerful thing that happened to me at the workshop. At the end of Saturday night, the instructors told us to get as many hugs as we needed before we left. I got hugs from several people, but then one from this young man I’ll call "Charlie". It was a really strong hug and it had a big effect on me.
The next morning everyone was talking about what had come up for them the night before. I raised my hand and said I had been overwhelmed with sadness when "Charlie" hugged me. I didn’t know when somebody was going to hug me like that again. Well, "Charlie" came over and sat next to me and put his arm around me. I was holding onto a pillow and I put my head on his shoulder and cried. And cried. And cried.
After a few minutes, I started to get uncomfortable, thinking of what he and everyone else must be thinking of me. But, I decided it felt good to have a shoulder to cry on and I didn’t care. So, I snuggled into him a little more and stayed like that until everyone was done talking.
Well, here is the amazing part. The next day when everyone was talking about what they got out of the weekend, "Charlie" said that his whole life everyone had supported him and he had never had the chance to be the support for someone else before. He looked at me and said "Thank you for letting me support you yesterday. It really meant a lot to me.”
I immediately broke into tears (lots of tears this weekend) and said, "You gave me the most incredible gift yesterday and now you are telling me I gave YOU one?"
We tend to do so much more for others than we ever do for ourselves. It’s easier for us to give than receive. But we are robbing others of the joy of giving to us. So, let someone do something nice for you. You never know the impact it may have on them.
Okay. Enough of that. Bring on the scrapbook supplies!
183 brand-new items this week, including "Gypsy" from Bo Bunny; "Victory", "California", "4-H", "Remembering You" and a Memorial 3-ring album from Creative Imaginations, "Santa’s Workshop" from Reminisce, "Camped Out" from Bella Blvd, Dazzle cardmaking stickers from Hot Off The Press, Bazzill flowers, EK Success stickers and three new outdoor albums from Karen Foster.
The SYT designers were also working on the following themes this week: Baby, Band, Birthday, Bowling, California, Canada, Fall, Fishing, Florida, Food, Georgia, Italy, Mexico, Music, Music, Nevada, Retirement, Snow, Thanksgiving, Track and Travel.
We have two custom papers – Custom School Scroll Grunge and Custom Wedding and two custom die cuts – a Custom Happy Birthday with Balloons and Custom Marching Band Jacket.
Click here to see all the new items: www.scrapyourtrip.com/11112009.html
We also have lots of way to save!
- Just order $49 or more and we’ll pay your shipping (US48)! Enter coupon code FREESHIP49 at checkout. Coupon code valid until 11:59 pm Eastern 11/13/2009. One coupon code per order, please.
- Overstock items are 25% off – click here to see: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/sale11042009.html
- We’ve discontinued over 350 SYT Branded papers – marked down 25% off – click here to see: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/papersale.html
- Lots of other items on clearance! Click here to see them all: http://www.scrapyourtrip.com/clearance.html
And remember, if you can’t find what you’re looking for, we can always make a custom title just for you! Click here to see all our custom options: www.scrapyourtrip.com/custom.html.
See you on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/ScrapYourTrip
As always, thanks for your business.
Julie Swatek, President
Scrap Your Trip®
www.ScrapYourTrip.com
‘cuz life is a trip worth scrappin’®
http://blog.scrapyourtrip.com
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12 Comments
1. Suzanne M. Semke-Fox | November 11th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
Thanks for sharing so much of your inner self. You have helped me. I will keep on reading. Your sharings are amazing.
2. B | November 11th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Dear Julie,
I must be honest, I have typically quickly scrolled over the texts of your e-mails in search of only the newest scrapbooking ’stuf’. Today, for one reason or another, I decided to read your lovely e-mail. I had glanced through an earlier e-mail about a very powerful seminar you had been to and I was a bit jealous
. The seminar you speak of in this e-mail touched me in so many ways. Thank you for sharing such personal and heartwarming experiences. While many of us may not have the resources to attend these great life changing seminars, you have been self-less enough to share what you gained.
Lastly, I am curious about where this most recent seminar was. I would love to attend something similar someday.
Thank you again for amazing scrapbooking ’stuf’ and fun and more importantly for your selflessness.
Best,
B
3. Christie | November 11th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Wow, Julie…..you are raw with emotion and your incredible weekend did serve as a reminder as to how we perceive ourselves. We are so busy doing for others, i.e., family, friends, organizations, work and take such little time for ourselves. Yes, maybe at the end of the day, we are better for “giving” but it’s healthy to receive. How many times do people say, “oh, I love your hair”, and we say, instead of just thank you, “oh, it’s too short or I don’t like the color”. We have trouble accepting compliments, but here’s one for you. You are a very good person!
4. Carla | November 11th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
My custom paper arrived & it is fabulous! The football team & cheerleaders will be thrilled to see we’ve made a frame with their name & team name on paper! Customer service dept. rocks! Best service I’ve had on anything in a long time. Glad to know there are still “live” people out there willing to help the customer. Keep up the great work!
5. Joyce Heath | November 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Love your story! makes one think.
6. Angela | November 11th, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Christie, you are right, I hear so many women shrug off compliments. My grandmother heard me once when a lady complimented me on a dress I was wearing. I said, “Oh it’s just something old out of the closet”. She, in all of her 4′10 glory, waved her finger at me and said, “Don’t you do that again. When someone gives you a compliment you say ‘Thank You’. Not only is it nice of them to give you one, but by shrugging off their compliment, you are disrespecting them.” I never thought of it, but she explained that when someone gives you a compliment, they are giving you a gift of their self, so it should be accepted graciously. After that day some 30 odd years ago, I have always said “Thank you” when I get a compliment. As you get older, sometimes they get fewer and farther between so I will take what I can get.
Julie, I am cheering for you! Sounds like you have a great therapist! I’ve had lots of therapists in the past and to find a ‘gem’ is a gift. Good luck! And thanks for sharing.
7. Christie | November 11th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Angela,
Sounds like we all could become therapists with all the life’s lessons we have learned. It never hurts to share your feelings with strangers, because you find out you really have more in common than you think. We have all been down similar paths and we are connected in ways we never would imagine. It’s nice to know people like you are out there cheering on others. It feels good.
Take care.
8. Julianna Greene | November 11th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I love your e-mails! Thanks for sharing so much with us. I always feel inspired after reading about your latest experience. YOU ARE AMAZING!
9. Tanya A | November 11th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Most of the times when I sit down to journal I find it very difficult to open up. Thank you for inspiring me to step out of my box and share more than I have been willing to give.
10. Donna Harris | November 11th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
As you know, hugs are theraputic. But what most don’t know is that they are like vitamins……you take one vitamin each day to help you stay healthy. When you are sick, you need to take more than one, you take several to help you through your illness. That is how we need to look at hugs…..when all is well, we all need to have at least one hug per day. More won’t hurt, but at least one. When we are in distress, upset or stressed out, we need the one, but we also need several hugs per day to get us through our “illness.” So we must all receive ~ and be free with giving ~ hugs!! Glad “Charlie” was there for you!
Also, along the lines of Angela’s grandmother (comment #6), giving a compliment earns the giver a blessing from God. By the receiver refusing to take the compliment or “waving it aside,” is taking away the giver’s blessing! So say thank you and let the compliment stand!
Julie, God is doing a great work in you! Seek Him out!
11. Vero | November 12th, 2009 at 8:52 am
I never skip over your text just to get to the scrapbooking part! I love reading your e-mails. They are the first thing I open when I come into work, although I am seriously considering waiting until I get home because I’ve been doing too much Laughing out loud and crying at work when I read them….they are great……Thanks
12. Anita Peckham | December 4th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Am new to your blog site… will look around and see what’s happening.