Category Archives: Choices

Not Really Broken . .

31 Wednesday May 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, Contentment, Discipline, Faith, God, Happiness, Joy

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Sometimes, things are not really broken, we just convince ourselves that they are! In the last few weeks, for example, I bought two solar spotlights for use in my landscape.  First of all, I was thrilled with the relatively inexpensive price I had to pay to try these fixtures. Other costly lights I have, which required wiring and significant installation, have stopped functioning, so solar lighting seemed the idyllic answer to a frustrating lighting issue! I bought two of the lights at my big box home improvement store and within a couple days had placed them where I thought they would receive sufficient sunlight to stay charged and to illuminate what I wanted to. Well, the first night I saw no light emanating from either fixture, so I assumed that they hadn’t had sufficient time to charge yet. So, the second night, I again looked out to see only darkness. I was starting to assume the fixtures were just cheap, possibly without functioning batteries or defective in some other way. I would probably be taking them back to the store the next day! Then it occurred to me to examine the fixtures more thoroughly, which then provided the answer! The lights were not broken, they simply had on/off switches which I hadn’t yet discovered or switched into the right position! My presumption of brokenness was in fact incorrect. I now have two lights which work just as they were intended and were really a great buy!  

Many things presumed to be broken these days aren’t in fact actually broken at all! A lot of things are fine just the way they are and have always been. I would suggest that many people just don’t understand why those things are the way they are. Like my lights, some people just haven’t discovered all the facts about how certain things work or lack an understanding of the reasons for things being as they are. So, to them, those particular things or situations are broken and need fixing. But, not everything we perceive as broken is actually broken and not everything needs fixing. Sometimes, things are as they are because others want them that way, traditionally they work just fine that way, or because we just don’t understand them well enough yet. So, the real issue often is our perception, our lack of understanding or our lack of acceptance, and not anything really being damaged, flawed, or broken!  

Recently, I had a conversation with a dear friend over a casual, long lunch about my faith and how my belief in the Lord intersected with my life when it comes to specific areas. To her, it seemed as though my faith was intrusive and overreaching in that regard, prohibiting me to some extent. To me, the Lord is the center of every single aspect of my life, there isn’t a choice as to which area(s) I give Him dominion. I’m here for His purposes and His will, not my own, and that realization saves me from a lot of grief! Putting God in the center brings me peace of mind, contentment, and has truly eased insecurities, neediness, as well as lessening any dissatisfaction I have had with my own life’s choices and myself. I’m happier! My life is more joyful because I have given God this top priority and everything else here on Earth falls into place accordingly in a lower priority hierarchy. She manages her life in a much different way than I do, perhaps giving God a more limited role. She’s not broken either, nor does she need me to fix anything, we just do things differently!  

In a broader scope, a lot of people in our world are busily attempting to actively and purposefully change things which work quite well for a majority of people, because they don’t believe the same, accept such things as normal, or understand the traditions already established which have worked for so many. Rather than letting others live as they choose, being desirous to learn more, or opening themselves up to new ways or beliefs, they insecurely balk at what they don’t know about, choose for themselves, or in which they don’t agree! I have come to see this stage of life here on Earth as a detour on the way to the ultimate destination. I have come to see this place and this human life as part of my learning experience on my way to an ideal destination, so I try to keep my peace, stay content, and remain joyful regardless the constant tidal influences from others who are always trying to shape us and this life into their vision of what and how it all should be! I keep my eyes focused on the Lord, and all the rest becomes less impactful and easier to withstand! I know I’m not broken because I know who I am in Christ, regardless how others view me or esteem my life choices. All I care about is Him, what He thinks of who I am and what I do! If there’s nothing broken, there’s no need for a fix!  

Two Weeks Notice . .

24 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, Empathy, Escape, Family, Gratitude, Lessons, Patience

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For most jobs you want to quit, you are advised to give a minimum two weeks notice. It’s considered polite and professional, as it enables both parties to contend with the shifting situation of the working relationship. An employee leaving his or her employment is giving the employer ample time to deal with the change in staffing. And an employer has that time to prepare, to replace, or to alter their staffing needs to accommodate such a change, if necessary. But there is one thing for which two weeks notice already seems too long and much too generous, and that is for a cold! I and other family members have had a cold now for two weeks, as of yesterday. We’re all more-than-ready to give this pesky illness our two weeks notice!  

Now let me interject first that I am usually never sick! I haven’t had a cold or any communicable illness for several years now. I don’t suffer from allergies, and I have a fairly strong immune system. But somehow, I brought this pesky and brutally persistent cold into this house. It could have been accidental contact with a “carrier”, and after the past two weeks, I would be prone to consider anyone who passed this beast on as such, HAHA! It could have been that I brought this on myself by working so hard in my garden in early April, preparing the landscape for the new warmer season ahead. For two weeks, I pruned, raked, swept, removed, and amended the landscape after Winter’s wear and tear. Perhaps something I breathed in during a profuse blooming season such as this one, or just the daily act of breathing in dust and spores firsthand, left me susceptible to spores, germs, or whatnot! However it came to pass, I can assure you this cold has worn out its welcome by now! 

For two solid weeks, I have done nothing much more than cough, sneeze, blow, rest and whine. And my family members have been my echoes in those activities! There isn’t much more we have felt like doing, even missing our Easter Sunday planned activities, and now we have passed the point of being tolerant of this forced schedule any longer. We didn’t want to spread this to others, so we endeavored to do as little as possible with our healthy friends, family, and strangers.  I admit readily that I am a most impatient patient! In fact, my family members and I have often discussed this particular version of the cold, pondering how we could be so done in by it. We’ve wondered if it is the gift that will keep on giving much longer, as we’ve had enough of all the symptoms and the remedies! But we have also pondered how those with chronic illness persist over time, enduring what they must with patience. This last two-week period with this cold has taught me to be immensely grateful for being so healthy usually, and to not take that normal state for granted ever! It has reminded me how wonderful it is to feel good! And of course, it has given me a whole new level of empathy and sympathy for those who must contend with health concerns far scarier, more intense, and more physically devastating than a cold! After all, in the grand scheme of things, a cold is relatively minor and we can envision the foreseeable future without it!  

But officially, I have given this cold my two weeks notice! I want to sever our ties, and break free from its hold upon my body and my life once and for all. I have things to do, places to go … well, you know the story! Two weeks just seems like long enough for a pesky cold with all its attending details. I don’t want to blow my nose, cough, take medicine or rest any longer. Time to move on, and I’ve given it enough time in all fairness. We all have! Since I gave this beast to my family members, as I was clearly the first one sick, I have also endured the guilt and shame of having passed such a monster to them! My mother, who also got sick while fussing over me, has proclaimed this the worst cold she has ever endured! Now surely giving your elderly mother such a beast as this is not something in which a daughter can be proud?! Today’s the day, it’s two weeks later, I’m moving on and so are the members of my family. We’re severing our ties with this particular virus! Adios, au revoir, auf wiedersehen and a big ciao to this two-week lesson in patient endurance! We’re surely saying our goodbyes with our renewed gratitude and our heightened empathy, lessons learned from our pesky “teacher”.   

 

The Gift That Keeps Giving . .

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, God, Life, Maturity, Strength

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Patience is the lesson learned through many of life’s complications, trivial and more serious! It’s the realization that you’ll have to tolerate what at the time and at the moment seems intolerable, even if only for a short time! Patience is a fruit of our Spirit, found within us naturally, but surely requiring lessons and purposeful attention to developing! Patience convinces us to remain calm, to stay peaceful within, to consider situations purposefully, and to not react without first thinking things through. Patience accepts flaws and tolerates the imperfections of human nature and life itself!  

I try not to measure my patience or lack there of! As soon as I crow about my patience through something, it will invariably bring on a challenge or test which causes me to eat my words! I think God teaches us in the middle of our trials so that we know it’s not of our doing, but His! And if I am ever actually sufficient in patience, I will surely know that it is God’s handiwork in my life. It surely wouldn’t be all my doing! I still struggle, daily!

 

This past week, while finishing up the pruning and trimming of some trees in my yard, trying to clean up after Winter in preparation for Summer ahead, I was attacked by tiny black ants biting my feet! I was actually doing the last few things on my list early one morning when it occurred. The attack was annoying at the moment, but I brushed the pesky ants off and continued my work until I could get out of their reach. It wasn’t until later on, and especially in days to come, that I paid attention to the effects of their foray with my feet! The bites I received became highly sensitive to itching whenever they were touched or even brushed against. And if I actually forgot about the bites while half-asleep, scratching my feet mindlessly, I set off a terrible itch almost instantly! It was so annoying to suffer the side effect from that one brief moment in the yard for several days afterward. Even anti-itch creams took their sweet time to work on the seven or so inflamed spots on both my feet!  

Finally, the itching passed, after a few tedious days. But the whole event felt like the gift that keeps on giving for that time! That is the hard thing about being patient, it requires strength and perseverance over a set of circumstances which usually are not all that pleasant or fun, much less something we’ve chosen! Much like the bites on my feet, the event itself was not much fun, and the continued itch was surely unpleasant! Patience was required if I didn’t want to drive myself insane!  

Now, not all tests of our patience are so trivial. Not all tests are so short-term or so inconsequential to our lives overall. We often have to endure lengthy ordeals which eat away at our ability to stay the course! Emotions are usually the reason for waning patience! We just hate to endure what we don’t want to. And any discomfort, any pain, anything through which we process negative emotions, are the attacks we wage on our own fledgling patience muscles! We fight a barrage of emotions and feelings which encourage us to abandon our budding patience in favor of having what we what now, rather than enduring what we find difficult or even impossible! Patience is always a test of our will, our emotions giving way against our determination to persist with maturity against our own emotions! To be able to control one’s own emotions is a sign of maturity, as then one has more dominion over self! The more emotionally immature we are, the more reactionary we tend to be and thus, unable to stand strong against whatever our emotions dictate. Comfort, ease, need, desire, fear, insecurity and many other internal drives play upon our emotions. We hate to be uncomfortable, to feel deprived, to have unmet needs, or to suffer for any length of time! And so, we settle for less, choose an alternative, or give up on what we’re pursuing rather than patiently forge ahead.

Patience it is said is a virtue. It can protect us from emotional contests, willful battles, and serious mistakes which take us off course. Patience leads to more civility amongst people and prospers respect for others. It is only through our patience that we learn to be humble, to tolerate others, and to wait for what is truly meant to be ours. Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit because it enables us to deal with one another with more loving kindness and better reason, as each of us is unique and independent, it gives us more measured concern. It is required in life to keep us from falling into bad habits, from making hasty erroneous judgments, and from reacting without forethought. And most of all, patience teaches us the art of self-control, self-discipline, and self-acceptance, as our flaws and failings are a natural part of the human experience. And the more patient we are with our own flaws, the more patient we are with those of others!

Now, if I could just be patient about ant bites and other buggy assaults! 

A “Live and Let Live” Technophobe . .

07 Friday Apr 2017

Posted by in Change, Choices

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I clearly have one foot in the 21st century, and one foot securely in the stone age! I am a self-described technophobe. I love technology but I hate it! And so I am constantly in conflict with the driving force of innovation for our world! What am I to do when I cannot keep pace with technology because I never really have an ease about it, a clear foothold in it, and an ever-present reticence towards it?! I have an older phone, which isn’t smart. I have a simple computer network, with simple programs. I have learned what I know by using what I have but I haven’t kept up with the growth spurts of technology. I’m never in line waiting for the newest phone. I’m not interested in having a watch which does more than keep time. I like using an actual camera, even though I have the ability to take pictures on my old-school phone. And I’m content with basics when it comes to electronics because it usually means I can at least attempt to handle issues when they arise. I guess that’s the key, I have only ridden the technological wave so far without any motivation to find its leading edge!  

One time several years ago I recall hearing my siblings discussing their current technology for a few minutes, I presume it was about their smartphones or tablets. To me, listening within earshot, it sounded as if they were speaking in a foreign language! I couldn’t keep up with their discussion, as I didn’t know the meaning or reference of many of the words they were using! It really sounded like jibberish to my untrained ears. I am sure they were making salient and valid points, but they might as well been speaking in a foreign language. And I try not to enviously observe children these days, who clearly have an advanced ability and understanding about technology, years and generations ahead of mine!   

When I was more active on social media than I have been of late, I would often read posts about someone’s challenges with their present level of technology and wonder to what they were referring! I’m not a simpleton, I am highly educated and consider myself a quick study. But with technology, the terminology is so specific that unless you have a point of reference in which to tether yourself, you can easily be left behind! And unless you have a job or some motivation to have the latest, newest, or most advanced, you can easily be left behind! Since I am self-employed, I don’t rely on a company influencing my usage on the job. Because I am not particularly materialistic, I cannot foresee a time when I will stand in line a day or two in advance of some new gizmo’s release. I suppose I am comfortable with what I have even though I might be assuring my place in the prehistoric technological community! At least I’m not such a technophobe that I am anti-technology or paranoid about the rapid course of technological advancement in our society! I’m definitely a “live and let live” technophobe, even as I watch the ever-advancing wave of technology leave me in its wake!

 

A Fissure of Interference . .

06 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, Confidence, Dreams, Maturity, Strength, Success

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Sometimes in life, we’re waiting for the approval or acceptance of others just to proceed. We give others a lot of weight in our lives via that choice to garner another’s approval and acceptance before we act or speak! By waiting on that opinion of another, we often water down our own talent, point of view, or performance accordingly. We become addicted to the verification which another person’s positive feedback, approval, and acceptance of our actions, words, thoughts, or beliefs provide. We often need that before we do what we think we should, what we’re compelled to do! Instinctively, we often know what we should do. We have talents, skills, dreams and ambitions which motivate our actions. But when we filter those internal drives through the perspective, experience, intellect and understanding of others, we create a fissure of interference for our own success!  We don’t need others to tell us we’re able, we’re good enough, we’re talented, or that we’re going to succeed at something! What we really need more than an opinion, a nod of approval or an avowed acceptance from another, is our own confident assurance in what we’re doing, saying, thinking, and believing! When we care too much what others think regarding our lives, we give away our own power to act and we become increasingly more insecure about ourselves!  

 

Wanting approval or being tied to getting acceptance from others is alright if we aren’t relying upon it. If it’s the icing on our cake of already believing in ourselves and feeling secure in our thoughts, actions, speech and behavior, then it’s more than okay! Especially if it comes in the form of compliments and affirmations of our successes! But if getting approval is our usual way of knowing we can proceed or that we should do something, then it’s just a reflection of our insecurity. We need to know how to do, to say, to be, to think, and to feel independent of others injecting their opinions, beliefs, and dreams into the mix! We are unique individuals, which makes it impossible for others to successfully step into our shoes, to know what is best for us in any regard. It is up to us to make the choices, to step forward into the unknown, that each new day represents, with confidence and self-assurance. We must accept the reality that we’ll win some and we’ll lose some, that we’ll be successful and that we’ll fail, as well as that we’re responsible for the way our lives turn out! When we’re children, others step in to make the decisions which we cannot, but when we reach adulthood, it’s up to us to securely accept the role of the manager of our own lives. 

Insecurity is the inner voice which screams, “I’m not ready!” or “Not yet!” or “Should I?”. Insecurity is what blocks us when we endeavor to pursue our dreams. It is the inner force which gives others more credibility when estimating our abilities or our success. It’s the inability to act unless or until others give us their permission or confirm our preparedness or state of readiness. What a terrible way to live, needing others to give us what we should be able to garner from within! If only we would believe in ourselves and give to ourselves the same level of credibility we seem to easily give to others!    

Learning to rely upon our own instincts, to accept responsibility for our own successes and failures, as well as being eager about the personal growth we’ll experience when we do is key. It’s often seemingly easier to give others the burden of our choices in life, as perhaps it will take the onus of accountability from our own shoulders if we do! But in letting others lead us in our own lives, we also miss all the opportunities we have for character development and for reaping the personal rewards of creating success! Step in eagerly as manager of your own life, in doing so, you will have to accept many things which aren’t perfect, all the failings which result from your own choices, and the burden of regret when things don’t go as you hope. But you also get the successes! You’ll get the esteem-building, confidence-affirming realization that you met the challenge, reached new heights, took a daring step, achieved a dream, and grew more in the process!   

Unwelcome Wind, Refreshing Rain . .

03 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Blessings, Change, Choices, Joy, Lessons, Positivity

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Just about the time I was going to complain about the winds which had picked up this evening, I noticed the fresh scent of rain in the air wafting in through the open window. I went outside to check, to my own disbelief, it was in fact, raining lightly upon me and all the world around me! Those winds were worthwhile as they surely brought with them those few moments of bliss in the form of a stormy weather cell! And that’s a lesson for life. Often what we endure brings us a reward, a lesson, or some result which is beneficial! Those winds enabled us to have the fresh, clean scent of rain falling. And even though the rain only lasted for a short while, it was delightful!  

In studying life, don’t we often find that what we endure produces some beneficial lesson or experience from which we can gain something positive? Even in the worst case scenario of death, loss, illness or some other tragedy, there are positives hidden amongst the seeming perils, hardships, stones and thorns. We just have to look for the hidden treasure of a benefit to reshape what we perceive as negative into something positive instead! And we can utilize this trick for small difficulties and significant problems equally.

I had started out by being annoyed by the wind picking up, as I had just finished creating two big piles of plant trimmings near the sidewalk out front. We have scheduled uncontained trash pickups every quarter, which enables us to put out plant trimmings as well as a lot of other items which won’t fit in our garbage cans. It’s a benefit our city offers, scheduled by the area of the city in which we live. In my area, we’re preparing for our pickup next week. So I was able to do a lot of Spring yard clean up in anticipation of this particular quarter’s uncontained trash pickup. The piles I made contain mostly pruned branches and assorted cuttings from plants in my yard. There are two piles of limbs, branches, as well as several trash bags filled with leaves. Unfortunately, the wind means my piles might blow around or shift from their present location! So I became a bit agitated at the thought of the mess I might have until I smelled the rain through the breeze that is!  

And now as I’m reflecting upon the change the winds brought, I can even still hear the thunder clapping outside a few hours later! It’s a pleasant surprise from what began first as an annoyance. The wind wasn’t entirely welcome, but along with it, was this storm cell offering up scents, sounds, and a refreshing change! I’ve learned to look for the benefit in things, in even the worst case situations in life. There is always something positive and beneficial to be found in everything, even in tragedy or great sadness or in our problems! It might require significant, heartfelt searching to find that benefit or to see the positive in something seemingly or overwhelmingly negative, but to do so ensures that we’ll have more joy and/or contentment in life! Instead of making ourselves miserable, especially over things we cannot change, we create more joy or at least don’t destroy our existing joy!

The wind was threatening after so much work creating those piles, after all, I worked hard to rake up leaves, bag them, cut branches off trees, then move it and stack it all at that spot in my yard near the street. But without the wind, I wouldn’t have had the rain tonight! So I welcomed the wind because it brought the rain and stormy weather. Often, without the negativity or the pain in life, we wouldn’t know how to truly value the blessings we have! Learning how to see life through rosier lenses is a gift for sure! It just takes looking past what at first seems to be less than rosy, positive or promising! Shift your focus and you’ll see everything differently, from a new perspective.   

What Is Normal?

25 Saturday Mar 2017

Posted by in Attitude, Change, Choices, Contentment, Faith, Hope, Peace, Strength

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What is normal? It’s the temporary state of being we enjoy until change happens, which it inevitably does! Normal is a current condition, a perception we have as to how things are. But “normal” is just fleeting, it isn’t sustainable, as normal will give way to a new normal very soon! It always does! So it’s best to not be too emotionally cemented to those seemingly normal facets of our lives in which we are most fond or in which we feel most comfortable.   

A good “for instance” of this is playing out right now in my life. I have lived a very long time doing certain things every morning in my preparations for the new day. My morning routine included washing, slathering, applying, and sealing. Now I have had to add a step of utmost importance, due to my new normal. I have had a few large skin cancers removed in the last year, so now I must routinely apply sunscreen and take notice of how exposed my body is, as well as for how long, underneath our vibrant, intense sun. Besides covering my scars, I want to protect the rest of my body from any more sun damage. It’s not hard, but it does require building up a new habit in my morning routines. The reason for the new steps is so important, I’m willing to make the new habit stick! Normal is not normal anymore, as there is a new normal for me. My new normal is to be much more aware of the effects of the sun, finally, after all these years! HA Better late than never I suppose. Now my new normal involves being stalwartly sun-aware and sun-protective. I will probably even become more of an advocate for sun protection for the sake of others too. I don’t want others to experience what I have had to in regards to their skin, so if I can help my loved ones and friends by reminding them about skin protection, I will! Normal only lasts until there is a reason for a new normal.

 

Perhaps we are to blame for giving too much emotional weight to our normal state of being so that when it changes or morphs, we don’t flow as easily into the new normal! I have a dear friend who is experiencing a change with her beautiful professionally trained singing voice after a mild bout of pneumonia a month or so ago. She is now unable to sing easily after having had all the symptoms of pneumonia, including a racking, rib-snapping cough. Her voice is hopefully only temporarily disturbed, but she resolutely and faithfully lives with this new normal right now. What choice does she have? This is the reality of things, and she has no answer other than to pray and have faith for resolution.  Perhaps the healing necessary to restore the quality and tone of her voice will happen in time. But there is a chance that it will not. She must accept either possibility and go on from there. That is the key to change and making things the new normal, even temporarily. We must go with the flow, as the adage suggests!

Our inability to accept unavoidable change is what makes us miserable. We hold onto our “normal” states as though they are promised! Life is ever-changing and that often means a shocking, sudden change is possible! So the sooner we accept change, the less struggle we make for our own lives. Going with the current of change with faith, hope and trust enable us to face normal one day, and the new normal the next. Surely it isn’t easy, it requires great strength to face a life-altering moment with such bravery and such courage! The other option is to make our daily lives miserable from then on by focusing on something we cannot do anything about. We then strip all the joy, peace and contentment from our own lives. Acceptance is the key to change, and change makes anything seem normal in time.   

The best way to view normal is something presently floating along with you on a current, your destination is unknown, the constancy of the current is not guaranteed, but that is the way it is right now, indefinitely. Later on, or on some other day, there might be a completely new normal.  The current state of something familiar to us might have changed. It’s only when we give our present normal reality and state of being some cement shoes or root it too deeply into our souls that we have trouble when the inevitable change occurs! Trust, have faith, and hope in spite of it all!  

Overcoming, Not Status Quo and Easy Breezy . .

20 Saturday Aug 2016

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, Confidence, Courage, Discipline, Faith, God, Growing, Lessons, Life, Maturity, Opportunity, Positivity, Self-Esteem, Self-Respect, Strength, Success

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We aren’t here to live a life free of problems, but rather to motivate, to inspire and to elevate ourselves and others around us through them. We’re meant to rise to the occasion, to learn, to grow and to mature within to be able to take on more problems as well as to develop our abilities to handle greater challenges ahead. How do we do that if we and those we nurture are encouraged to hide from our problems, or worse, kept purposefully from them?? Problems seem to be now viewed as problematic, the very ways in which we challenge our status quo in life now have taken on such a stigma, we often want to escape instead!download

 

 

Facing our problems is the only way we know how strong and tough we can be as the “overcomers” we are meant to be! Hiding, denying, ignoring, backing away, settling for less, or creating safe spaces only cripples us within. We must accept challenges as part of the continuous growing cycle we are always in, we must experience lessons and tests as the ongoing way in which we mature and develop ourselves in life’s perpetual classroom. If we were to live life sans problems, challenges or tests, we would never learn about our own inner strength, our fortitude or most of our abilities. Status quo and easy-breezy doesn’t really teach us about ourselves, nor does it develop within us the appreciation, acknowledgement or awareness of our metal, our own persevering spirit or our maturity as time passes. Overcoming gives us that. When we overcome and mature through things, we develop more self-confidence, self-esteem and self-worth. Of course, all of that is God’s gift to us, through His gift of love within us to begin with. We are meant to be overcomers because God made us to so. In this world, we face daily challenges and must learn to rise to those challenges to become more. There are infinite opportunities each new day for us to become something more and someone greater than who we are today!   Positive-quotes-about-problems-solution-quotes

 

Even if we ourselves created some of the taxing problems we are now enduring through accidental or purposeful choices, we must accept the responsibility we now face for extricating ourselves from the constraints those problems represent. Problems always offer us a chance to be overcomers! And that is always a more inspiring and uplifting response rather than denial or flight. God is with us as we endeavour and pursue the ways to move forward, through and beyond our current issues and problems. But we will not learn how to make our way if we choose to always make our way safer, easier, and problem-free. Accepting problems as the necessary learning experiences they represent is always the best way to keep our peace in this world. Doing otherwise makes our journey more miserable and our role as problem-solver less rewarding.  

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The Thrill/Agony of Life . .

08 Monday Aug 2016

Posted by in Attitude, Choices, Courage, Inspiration, Lessons, Maturity, Patience, Quitting, Second chances, Strength, Success

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Yesterday was truly the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” at the Rio Olympics! There was a horrible bicycle crash when the leader in the women’s race went down and laid immobile on the side of the roadway on a very steep, winding and rainy descent. She ended up breaking three vertebrae in the lumbar region of her spine. It almost appeared as though she had died as she lay there motionless, the accident was so horrible to watch! Offset that with the world-record shattering swim of Katie Ledecky and another gold for Michael Phelps, both of the American swim team; or with a 41-year old gymnast still competing in her 7th consecutive Olympics, seemingly defying aging just because she can! 

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If this teaches us anything, it is that daily life mimics the microcosm of the Olympics. One minute, we’re in our rhythm, enjoying the ride and then we’re flat on our backs (literally or figuratively), having experienced something truly random, shocking and devastating. Or we might be working daily towards some truly big goal, not sure if we’ll make the grade and capture the prize for our efforts! Yet, one day, if we commit to something, we surely will make either the goal or the changes in ourselves which occur in our attempt the prize we gain!   

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Perseverance, effort, commitment and training our minds, bodies and hearts for success are key. Whether we have a major setback, such as that bicyclist’s fall, or a great success, like Michael Phelps and the American swim team, we need to remember that life’s constant lessons continue as long as we breathe! We shall have great days, bad days, days when the sun shines on us and days when the dark cloud overhead seems eternal. But human beings are resilient, meant for unlimited potential and capable of so much more than we ourselves can even imagine, as long as we don’t give up on life when the going gets tough, or when we have known the agony of defeat!  

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An Intervention!

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Blessings, Choices, Freedom, God, Maturity, Self-Control, Strength, Success

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Sometimes as kids, we got caught up in the wrong things or got headed in directions which our parents knew were not good for us. We didn’t know the peril we faced, or we just risked it anyway to have our fun or gain our rewards. But our parents realized or feared that we would suffer in the end if we continued on that course. Perhaps we had already gone a significant amount of time in that misdirection before they intervened or before they were aware of how dangerous our future would be if we continued. But like all parents who accept their responsibility as guardians and caretakers, they stepped in when they spotted trouble ahead for their children. It is their duty as parents to watch over and protect those who they believe are vulnerable, in need of more maturity, unable to yet make the right choices, or are not yet fully aware of many of life’s realities. Surely we don’t always agree that we need their intervention in our lives, after all, don’t we all like to think we know best for ourselves what is best for us? But even as we mature into adulthood, our parents or others who are more aware of what is happening, often come to our rescue by way of an intervention if and when we falter in our choices. It is the role of family, community, and the inherent support structure of human beings. We are all closely intertwined and connected because sometimes our actions affect others whether we think it, know it or believe it!

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When many of us unite in dangerous behavior because we make bad choices collectively, whether purposefully or through our own ignorance of the inherent dangers to ourselves or others, we put others at risk too. So often, what we’ve done, even for a significant time, might now require a sudden or emergency intervention. And so it is in our nation right now. For too long, those who either don’t know the best direction for America or are making flawed choices on purpose, have been enacting policies which are taking us all down a harmful course. Through their elected roles as the fiduciary for the people, they have spent us into significant risk and a dangerous debt in the trillions of dollars, among other missteps. And so, someone has to step in and intervene. Someone or some “body” has to be more disciplined about the choices America has been making through our elected officials. We are dangerously close to a tipping point of no return! Unfortunately, many haven’t yet caught on, but fortunately, many have! Our federal government is broken as a system right now. It has become far too corrupt and those serving the people – often for decades at a time – have become a part of the corruption, feeding and self-prospering off the people rather than making decisions which serve to prosper all the nation. So the part of this interwoven, reliant community we call America, which is on heightened alert to the dangers ahead on this continued course, now are responding to the group of citizens which aren’t yet awake to the perils, are willing participants, or are complacent about the possible dangers we might all collectively face if we don’t right ourselves from this course we are now on. It’s a corrective response we now must make and take for the sake of our beloved America, much like a parent intervening on their child’s behalf, rather than continuing with the status quo! We cannot continue imperiled by such corruption and such abuse of power at so many levels of government, even if all of us have yet to understand that as our condition. 

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With such freedom as this country espouses, there is great personal responsibility required to maintain it! We must all do our part to see that we enjoy prosperity, but that we also understand that along with it, there is a need for self-discipline, self-control, and a self-impetus to create our share of the prosperity. Now not everyone will believe that others know better at this juncture. But this righting of America’s course is an imperative many are willing to endure for the betterment of all and for our future generations, just like the 3% of the colonial America population who stood up to face the oppressive British imperialism which sought to prevent our becoming a free nation. We should all willingly stand vigil over our freed nation to ensure that it remains exactly that! I believe we’re about to have an intervention for our own good in November 2016! And I pray that God will continue to bless this nation by enabling the willing among us to make America one great nation again, and to make America America again!  

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