Veterans of Life

Life’s Like This — When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better. Life can be so unpredictable. Dreams that your life was built on could be dashed by circumstances beyond your control and leave you feeling depressed and without a purpose in life. There is no way to tell when and if your dreams may be fulfilled. The best we can do is to be prepared for the unexpected and to realize that life happens and that despite our best efforts to fulfill life goals, that sometimes our plans don’t turn out as we had hoped for. And when our dreams don’t materialize, we have a choice — do we give up on our dreams and spend the rest of our lives complaining about what could have been, or do we chart a new course, one that is full of hope for the future and that serves as a springboard for a new sense of purpose for our lives.

Fear of Change

Life’s Like This — People often change for two reasons. It can be either that you have learned enough that you want to change or you have been hurt enough that you need to. We all go through life where we have to face a multitude of challenges and decisions. Quite often, we make choices that affect our physical and mental well being, choices that we later come to discover were wrong and did not serve us well. We like to think the choices we make in life are the right ones and that we will have no regrets, but unfortunately none of us are perfect and so we sometimes are faced with the reality of the situation and find it necessary to make a change. The lessons in life are often the impetus that spur us into action, that provide the motivation to implement a change in our life. Sometimes, however, we are resistant to change because we fear the unknown, even when we know in our hearts that a change in our lives needs to occur in order for us to experience the personal growth that is vital for all of us.

Courage to Change

Life’s Like This — Some people simply drift through life. Their choices, when they can muster the will to choose, tend to follow the course of least resistance. Finding the strength to follow the right path or the courage to simply do the right thing seems to be the furthest thing from their minds. It is often much easier to choose the road with the fewest bumps and grinds to get to the destination we want. And when we do encounter rough patches, we often complain about them rather than looking at them as an opportunity for personal growth and character building. Often, when we do make that difficult choice, when adversity slaps us in the face, we get discouraged and want to quit. The true test of one’s character is not only the choices one makes in life but how one responds to the consequences as a result of those choices.