Confronting Our Attitude

Life's Like This — To some, life is a breeze and for others it's just one head wind after another. Facing storms and challenges in life is simply, part of life. Many of us wish that we could avoid them altogether, that they would chart a course in a direction that steers clear of our personal lives and all the people we love and care for. But as we grow older and life unfolds, we quickly come to realize that the lessons and challenges of life are not for a select few — everyone must have their share of them to contemplate, to wrestle with, to try to make sense of, and to try to avoid again in the future. While it sometimes seems that others live lives that are free of many of the obstacles you or I are forced to confront, life does not discriminate — it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, the challenges of life are sure to unfold and must be met regardless of our wealth or social standing. How we meet the challenges we are confronted with will often dictate their outcome and the impact they eventually have on our lives.

The Power to Choose

Life’s Like This — Life can be either accepted or changed. If it is not accepted, it must be changed. If it cannot be changed, it must be accepted. So often we go through life fighting what seems to be an endless battle with adversity in our lives; adversity that can completely overwhelm us and leave us confused, uncertain and perhaps even angry with the challenge before us. We struggle to make the most of our lives; to find the personal fulfillment and happiness we want only to be knocked down by forces that seem beyond our control. These forces, or obstacles, are sometimes unpredictable and when they appear, we are faced with a choice. Do we accept them to be a reality and that nothing can be done about them, or do we make a decision to overcome that challenge by setting in motion our own personal force that can alter the effect of that adversity in our life. The decision we make is one that can be life-transforming. We can choose to resign ourselves to the hand dealt us in life, or we can choose to reshuffle the cards, and deal ourselves a better hand, one that will bring us the happiness we have been seeking.

Trials of Life

Life’s Like This — Every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there. — Maria Delgado. In life, we often go through a lot of trials, or what you might think of as emotional garbage or obstacles, that prevent us from finding the peace and joy we all long for. Quite often, we have no choice in the trials that we are faced with. While some of them can be a result of personal choices, many of them we have no control over. Sometimes we might wonder why we have to go through a series of trials in life; why can’t it be smooth sailing? It would be nice if we didn’t have to go through them, but without the trials of life, we would be missing those ingredients that are, in my mind, essential for personal growth. You simply can’t go through life without getting your hands dirty in the growing process. There are going to be mud puddles that you may need to step through, dirt you may need to crawl over, and fields of dirt that you have to plow through to experience the happiness you have longed for. It can be a messy path, but one that we need to endure to find true peace and joy in life.

Living With Hope

Life’s Like This — All too often, things we had planned or hoped to accomplish in life don’t become a reality. Dreams of ours that are made with threads of hope simply unravel and we are left wondering, “Is there any hope?”

All around us, people are in need of hope; the homeless, hospice patients, the unemployed, those that are lonely — people from all walks of life that are faced with circumstances, some beyond their control, that have nothing to cling to but hope. Hope is the belief that circumstances in the future will get better. Without hope, we sink into depression and despair.

 

Reflections of 2011

 

Life’s Like This — With each passing year, there is an opportunity to reflect on what has passed and what the coming new year holds for us. For each of us, 2011 brought unique and personal memories. For some of us, it had more than its share of disappointments and for many there were wonderful new experiences that brought with it memories to cherish for a long time. Life is a wonderful and unpredictable thing. Each morning that we wake up, we are faced with new opportunities and challenges. We never know how the day will unfold and the best we can do is be prepared to face whatever adversity life throws at us and to embrace the joy wherever it can be found. Unfortunately, we often dwell on the negatives in life and fail to be thankful for all the blessings we receive.