Every day brings its own unique challenges. Even the best of times bring the challenge of gratitude for all the good in our lives. As winds blow, they sometimes blow cool refreshing air and sometimes they blow dust. Other times, the winds are so tumultuous that they cause so much damage and devastation. And so it is with our lives. Life brings us wonderful and affirming moments and other times it brings us trials and tribulations. There is little we could do to control what happens in life even though we would like to think we do. It is like the wind; the wind blows where it pleases and brings with it what it may.
But the one thing that I have learned from my own personal life is these two simple things:
1. I cannot control the things that happen to me; BUT
2. I have complete control of the choices I make
Hmm, that is something to think about. Whatever our lives circumstances, we always have a choice. Even if our situation makes us feel like we don’t have much choice in the matter; we still have a choice. The beauty of life is not what happens to you but what you can do with what happens to you. Let’s say a working class man who has been struggling to make ends meet for most of his adult life gets a windfall of money and this could be through an inheritance or even winning a lottery ticket. Well, you would think his life will be greatly enhanced and improved because he no longer has to worry about money. We tend to think this way because money is believed by many to be the currency of life. In my humble opinion, money is certainly not the true currency of life. What money does is it makes a comfortable life possible. Well, let’s get back to the man who came into a lot of money. Now regardless of popular opinion that his life will be vastly improved, that greatly depends on what he does with the money and the choices he makes. If he makes wise choices, it could certainly be a wonderful blessing that could add to his happiness in life. But if he lets the money ruin his life, he could lose the most important things in life such as his true friends and his family behind the money. And even worse, he could lose himself, his very soul. So the money is not what will make the man’s life wonderful but it is the wise choices he makes once he comes into money that will make his life wonderful. This goes with anything. Some use their good fortune in life to not only add to their own experience but to the life experiences of others while others do the exact opposite.
I am amazed at human resiliency. You see some courageous people that turn the great misfortunes in their lives to produce so much good in the lives of many. I was watching the story of an amazing woman, Carmen, who suffered an extensive chemical burn at the hands of her ex-husband. She lost her face and a lot of her physical abilities, but the most amazing thing is watching how she made a choice to live a quality life in spite of her loss and she chose to forgive the man who has done such unimaginable thing to her. As I watched her story, I cried not out of pity but moved by her courage. And the one thing she said on the interview that resonated with me was that ‘life is a choice’. You see, even in the worst of your circumstance you can choose a positive life. Courage is not the absence of fear but our daring to face the very thing that we fear. Her story is featured under the title ‘The Face of Courage’. You can click on this link to find it http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/show_page/D4027. I promise you will be inspired!
I don’t know where you are and what you are experiencing on your life’s path. But whatever your life’s circumstance, you have a choice in the matter. You might feel like you are between a rock and a hard place but you still have a choice. So today, I encourage you to choose a life of gratitude! I encourage you to allow yourself to forgive. I encourage you to abandon your fear and embrace love. I encourage you to choose peace. I encourage you to be a positive force in the lives of all that are around you. I encourage you to make the most of your life because you can!
