Sh*t Happens... But you have choices!

It's true, sometimes in life, sh*t happens, but you have choices. You can choose to:

- walk around it
- walk through it
- or just stand there

These choices are available almost everytime we encounter an obstacle in our life.

Those who refuse to let an obstacle get in their way and just choose to "walk around it" are able to do so, because they do not let the obstacle cause them to take their eye off the goal. They merely stay focused on where or what they want to achieve and take a few steps to the left and push on forward. This is usually the best approach, but as I said not the only approach.

There are others who choose to just "walk through it" -- they come through the obstacle, but not without a smelly mess. However, going straight through an obstacle keeps you on course with no risk of taking you off track with the few steps to the side as described in the "walk around it" approach. Those willing to go right through the obstacle might come out a little worse for the wear on the other side - but no doubt having gained some valuable knowledge and experience along the way.

Finally, there are those who let the obstacle overwhelm them - they are paralyzed and can no longer see their goal. They "just stand there."

There will be times in each of our lives when the obstacle or situation seems so overwhelming that "just standing there" is all we can do initially; but the great thing is - in every new moment - we have the opportunity to make a new choice. We can decide to go ahead and "walk through it" - risking some muck on the bottom of our shoe; or we can opt for the "walk around it" approach, and show up at our goal, with a smile on our face - smelling fresh as a daisy.

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." ~Henry Ford

Our Own Reflection.

Wow! January 1, 2011.

As a child I could not see so far in the future and believe that it existed. I remember the days when I thought that 30 was old. Oh, to relive those days… but alas, one thing I have learned in all these years – is that you cannot live in the past. You must live in the now. Don’t waste time worrying about a future that may not exist and instead enjoy the present for the gift that it is.

I’m not going to deny that my past, the experiences, the choices, and the outcomes are all a part of who I am today – but they are not who I AM. A drop of water is not the ocean… but without the collective drops the ocean would not exist.

In all my years of living, and observing the lives of others, I have come to realize that our biggest challenge is recognizing our own reflection. Not just in terms of the visual reflection of ourselves, but the emotional and spiritual reflection of ourselves.

A balanced life is a harmonious life. A balanced life must take into consideration what I call the 3-D view – the mind, the body, and the spirit.

Looking back at the times in my life when I felt the most off balance one or more of these considerations were neglected. As a result my world got out of control – not always in a seemingly bad way – but sometimes even too much of a good thing is not a good thing when one you are neglecting an area of your life that requires ongoing “maintenance”.

We don’t declare ourselves as healthy and in shape, and then demonstrate the behaviors of someone who is not healthy and in shape and expect ourselves to remain in that condition. We cannot say that we are spiritual or religious and never incorporate prayer or meditation into our so-called busy lives. And we must continue to learn and expand our own knowledge in order to transform that knowledge into wisdom. The wisdom that it will take to see our own reflection.