“Stuff happens. It is your response that counts.”
Things happen to us everyday. Some things are great, but for some reason we hold back our excitement so that others think we didn’t really care or it didn’t matter to us. Other times, bad things happen and we go right away to the deepest, darkest place we can imagine.
I am guilty of this at times, as I am sure many of you are. When those good things happen, what holds us back from rejoicing in the moment? Are we afraid to be happy? Are we conditioned to believe that we are unworthy of happiness?
How many of us fall into that martyrdom feeling when the bad things happen? What, am I the only one with their hand raised? I tell you, the past year has been rough. long hours at the job, car died and had to get a new one when I couldn’t afford it, and other minor setbacks, that became major because of my perception. That is the key, perception.
It is easy to fall into the trap when negative things happen on a somewhat frequent basis. When they do, even the smallest of things can get blown out of proportion. Before we know it, we find ourselves trapped in a paradigm of martyrdom. Once in it, even the good things are treated like we are waiting for the shoe to drop. We can’t enjoy the good moments in our lives because we keep looking for that bad thing to come.
Well, it is time for us to change our perspective. Or rather, start putting things in their proper perspective. We need to change the paradigm of “Whoa is me”. Only in doing this will we get to the point of life is great! So, how do we go about doing that?
Well, the first thing is to start taking stock of these things. One of the biggest measures when something goes wrong? Is anyone going to die? I think for most of us, the answer is no. Okay, so it isn’t life critical, so can’t be all that bad. Next measure is to look back over our life to similar situations and how they played out? Yes, we had a set back, but what happened next? Did we overcome it and move on? Hey, you are here and so am I, so I guess the answer is yes.
I look back over my life and I can see so many times where my life just plain sucked. Yet, here I sit in a nice modest home with a large yard so I can have my gardens and even room for an orchard. We fenced it all in so the dogs can just go out and run around on almost an acre of land. Yes, my car died, but now I have one that gets me almost thirty miles per gallon, so between the bike and the car, I am saving gas. We managed to get a pellet stove before the money runs out, so we can save on electricity. I will have my gardens again. I do miss growing things.
So I have a lot of positive going on in my life, but I have been holding back my excitement, because I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. The thing is, that shoe may never be there and it might even be just a sandal. So I have wasted all this time not enjoying what I have.
So it is time to stop letting stuff happen and always responding negatively. Rather than have things take control of me, I will let things happen and wash over me and on by. Life is like a river. We can either fight the flow, or go with it. It is time to once again embrace life and put things back in their proper perspective. How will you respond?
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.
I am guilty of this at times, as I am sure many of you are. When those good things happen, what holds us back from rejoicing in the moment? Are we afraid to be happy? Are we conditioned to believe that we are unworthy of happiness?
How many of us fall into that martyrdom feeling when the bad things happen? What, am I the only one with their hand raised? I tell you, the past year has been rough. long hours at the job, car died and had to get a new one when I couldn’t afford it, and other minor setbacks, that became major because of my perception. That is the key, perception.
It is easy to fall into the trap when negative things happen on a somewhat frequent basis. When they do, even the smallest of things can get blown out of proportion. Before we know it, we find ourselves trapped in a paradigm of martyrdom. Once in it, even the good things are treated like we are waiting for the shoe to drop. We can’t enjoy the good moments in our lives because we keep looking for that bad thing to come.
Well, it is time for us to change our perspective. Or rather, start putting things in their proper perspective. We need to change the paradigm of “Whoa is me”. Only in doing this will we get to the point of life is great! So, how do we go about doing that?
Well, the first thing is to start taking stock of these things. One of the biggest measures when something goes wrong? Is anyone going to die? I think for most of us, the answer is no. Okay, so it isn’t life critical, so can’t be all that bad. Next measure is to look back over our life to similar situations and how they played out? Yes, we had a set back, but what happened next? Did we overcome it and move on? Hey, you are here and so am I, so I guess the answer is yes.
I look back over my life and I can see so many times where my life just plain sucked. Yet, here I sit in a nice modest home with a large yard so I can have my gardens and even room for an orchard. We fenced it all in so the dogs can just go out and run around on almost an acre of land. Yes, my car died, but now I have one that gets me almost thirty miles per gallon, so between the bike and the car, I am saving gas. We managed to get a pellet stove before the money runs out, so we can save on electricity. I will have my gardens again. I do miss growing things.
So I have a lot of positive going on in my life, but I have been holding back my excitement, because I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. The thing is, that shoe may never be there and it might even be just a sandal. So I have wasted all this time not enjoying what I have.
So it is time to stop letting stuff happen and always responding negatively. Rather than have things take control of me, I will let things happen and wash over me and on by. Life is like a river. We can either fight the flow, or go with it. It is time to once again embrace life and put things back in their proper perspective. How will you respond?
My heart to your heart, one heart, one spirit.
Thoughts On A Cloudy Day 