Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. Margaret Mitchell
When things don’t go the way we expect it to or wish it to go, we blame life’s unfairness and feel cheated and discriminated against. What we often fail to understand is that life offers everyone, without exception, an opportunity and it also poses challenges to each one of us, both of which help shape us and mould our character. That apart, the mere fact that we are alive is life’s greatest gift to us and we need to be both grateful and appreciative of this wonderful boon and must strive to leverage this reality to make a mark on this world.
It is true that a beggar, a handicapped person, an orphan, and illegitimate child, widows and widowers etc. would have a valid reason to ask why life has been unfair to us and presented us with a strike against us so early in life as compared to the apparently happy people all around. The reality is that even the most happy people have spells of disillusionment about the state of the world, rampant poverty, the inequality of wealth, their own personal and private problems like ill health or truant children or sibling rivalry or wealth related disputes etc. Even more astonishing is the fact that there are millions of people actually searching for ‘ happiness’ and pursuing varied paths from spiritual enlightenment journeys to experimenting with psychedelic music to drugs to sex and they even traverse the twilight zone of attempting suicide.
Look again at our own life and we should be delighted that we are spared the ordeal of the numerous types of people listed above. Our complaints if any, are miniscule in comparison and our blessings gigantic in reality. More insightful will be the realization that life has given everyone an opportunity and the freedom to pursue our goals with a few hurdles thrown in between to make us value our life more. Life chose us to be a visible tribute to the powers of procreation and progress; what we do with our life and how we make it shine and flower are completely left to us. Having given us the opportunity to play the game of life and having given us the broad ground rules of the game, one of which is that there would be new hurdles that we need to cross, life also gives us some potent powers like imagination, fortitude, guts, positive thinking and the like to help us play well. Life is under no obligation to change the goal posts to suit our individual needs.
If there are some who even while reading this post, have their own private miseries and grouse against life’s unfairness. They must be grateful that they have access to a computer, a net connection, literacy and above all the gift of sight which enables them to read the contents of this post and possibly take heart from it. What about the millions who wallow in their own miseries and self pity cursing life and fate with no hope of anyone enlightening them about the opportunities galore around them, which they can harness and elevate themselves from their own cesspool of misery and haplessness. Will you be able to use the opportunity life has given you to make a difference to those around you and attempt to enlighten the despondent and the failures that life begins when HOPE sprouts within ones heart. I have attempted to use my talents to share my thoughts; can you carry the message further?
Remember: “The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes.” Charles R. Swindoll
Try this:
- Name a person, an activity and a situation that really upsets you. Make a conscious effort to appreciate 3 things in each of these that actually benefits you despite the fact that overall you do not like it. Does this appreciation lessen your dislike for the person, the activity or situation? Also ask if your irritation, annoyance or dislike is because of you prejudice and irrationality?
- Find unique ways to enrich the lives of those around you. It could be simple things like sharing a SMS joke ( not the risqué jokes but something that is insightful), passing on an informative paper cutting, sharing an inspiring Youtube video link, engaging in a conversation with someone who is normally shunned etc. Experience the feeling of self worth that you suddenly perceive within you. You also realize that you have so many ways to enrich your own life and the lives of those around.
- Do also read the post in our weekly blog www.poweract.blogspot.com on the topic of LIFE – Love Inside Finding Expression
This post is courtesy www.actspot.com
You are also invited to visit our WEEKLY Inspirational and Motivational Blog www.poweract.blogspot.com
