Adversity

"When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." - Winston Churchill

Isn't that the truth? So much of the worries and problems in our lives are simply created by our ever-critical minds. Very few times do problems actually deserve the attention we give them. So, I tried to remember this the other day when an episode happened in my life that resulted in some big...adversity.

When adversity occurs in our lives, we have a choice. To worry or not to worry? To fret or not to fret. It seems to be much easier to worry and fret then it is to quiet that inner critic and be still.

However, worrying does nothing. Nor does guilt, anxiety, fear or any of those emotions that seem to suck us dry. That's easy to say when something happens to us and we had no control over it. It seems a lot easier to suck it up and move forward if it's not your fault.

But what happens when it is your fault? Plain and simple, you were doing something that you knew you shouldn't be doing. And better yet, it's going to cost you big time to fix the mistake.

Hmm. Usually I can hear the waves of anxiety and guilt come crashing over the horizon like they're looking for me. But not this time...this time I'm choosing a different path.


Yes, I am being served with a main course of bills and a small serving of humiliation. But with this episode  I feel like I've been given a gift. Of time. Of learning how to relax into a problem, to let go of the negativity and to simply come out problem solving. When something happens that changes our course, we simply have to stop, sleep on it, and then solve it. We have to put our butts into action, run errands, make phone calls, and overall just get stuff done. Basically we have to say to ourselves, "This could ruin me or this could spur me to become greater. To live with less and yet to appreciate more."

I read this somewhere the other day, "If you're feeling guilty, you're living in the past. If you're feeling anxious, you're living in the future. If you're feeling peace, you're living in the present." That's where I want to live. And this too shall pass.