Category Archives: Second chances

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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Growing Pains . .

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Change, Character, Confidence, Faith, Growing, Life, Opportunity, Second chances, Success

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Forgetting-50Don’t you feel growing pains when something gets wasted? Like when you buy a container of berries but forget to enjoy them before the mold sets in. Or if you lose that lottery ticket you bought, always wondering what might have been or maybe, and  more importantly, you hurt someone – losing their friendship which you valued highly. And all the waste beyond, lives, lost jobs, major losses which hurt beyond measure, we don’t even like to consider those. There is so much waste in the world, the possibility for regret is astronomical. But consider them all as growing pains….
The worst waste of all each & every day is that of our infinite potential as humans . . we linger it away or don’t accept it as ours to begin with by doubting our own uniqueness, our own ability & our own potential. We waste it, unaware of the chance we had to make a difference, to change a heart, to improve our journey or to grow vastly beyond where we now are. They are all growing pains…
We have talents, gifts, desires & hopes, all firmly dwelling within us, but we often become so disengaged from living with developing those as our goals, focusing instead on the past, or some hurtful event, or the pain of living each day . . we grow fatigued in the very process of growing & let the driving force of life become secondary to idling in the traffic of nothingness. Think of them as growing pains…
We often tell ourselves that in growth lies too much potential for pain, so we stop where we are, we give up on pushing ourselves a wee bit harder, we let our fears or our doubts take from us our forward drive! I urge you to focus on every opportunity you get today to call forth your own uniqueness, your own talents, your own passions & your own hopeful dreams! Don’t live in the impossibility of a void, but remember the possibility of all life around you! Don’t let the risk of what might happen on the way to what might be stop you from discovering the glory of all that you’ve yet imagined! Accept that with living comes growth, growing pains & change . . accept that as life, for with it all comes our ability to become the very best of ourselves!
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Do Overs and Second Chances. . .

13 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Change, Choices, Confidence, Conquering Fear, Faith, Lessons, Life, Second chances

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ChangeFlowersThere are always do overs and second chances & new opportunities. Who says you can’t have, be or do anything again or anew in life??  There is no end until we reach the end. We are only stuck if we accept that something is all or the end is truly the end before it really is. I can assure you, just because you thought something was meant to be, doesn’t mean it was. And just because you are certain, sometimes you are then proven wrong. There are always do overs and second chances.
When that happens, you move forward & find a new way . . and often the new way makes you realize the old way was just that, a way which took you only so far for so long. The new route is better & hasn’t as many ruts because you learned from what is now past.
When you have done your best where you are, with no regrets, your life deserves your best efforts now – focused on leading you down the new pathway! As I will attest, what lies down the new pathway, although at first uncertain & so different than expected, will soon become the sure-footed way you were surely meant to go all along! God often just closes those doors when He knows something you don’t. There is a reason & a season for different aspects of our lives, when the doors shut, look for the open one which brings you to new people, new places & new experiences!
That is your future, the rest is best left in the past where it belongs. You can look back & see the lessons which taught you what you needed to learn, but then leave the door closed & go eagerly through the open one . . for that is where your future lies! I have learned that through the open door all the things I left behind were never what they really seemed anyway. Often what we find when we close a door is that we should have closed it a lot sooner!! Go forward in life & be open to what you’ll find . . it isn’t fair to you to give so much energy to things & people & places which aren’t returning the time invested. The sooner you learn to see what doesn’t bring you adequate return for your time & energy given, respecting & honoring your value, the sooner you will want to move ahead, close the doors &  walk through the open doors ahead!
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