Choosing the Best in the Midst of Life’s Challenges
Our choices make all the difference.
We all face life challenges. Unexpected events shake us to the core. You didn’t plan on losing a job, a home, and everything that brought security. As you ride in the ambulance, you feel the fragility of life. Without warning, someone you love leaves, and your heart screams in disbelief.
We can’t escape these jolts, and no one can prepare us for the impact. Over the years, I’ve recognized a more insideous errosion to inner peace and gratitude. Daily distractions and annoyances pile up like heaps of dirty blankets burying smiles and hope.
Before you know what has happened, you forget what makes every day worth waking up. As Henry David Thoreau laments, we begin “to live lives of silent desperation.”
Lumps in the Oatmeal
The inviting aroma of baked bread welcomed us to our favorite Italian lunch hangout. My friends and I could make a meal on that bread, crusty on the outside and soft and warm on the inside.
But today, well, the bread was cold. Annoyed, I mentioned this to the waiter and continued to complain. My friend and colleague looked at me. We had a difficult meeting right before lunch. Replaying in my head the less than friendly dialogue of the morning, I wanted — no, needed warm bread.
Linda broke the spell and brought me back to reality as she reminded me, as she often did,the bread was…
“Just another “lump in the oatmeal.”
Choices
You have a choice.
Do you let the mundane, the lumps in the oatmeal, overtake you? Or, do you embrace each moment with grace?
I grew up hearing the word grace in a theological context. Until recently, I never grasped the significance of the word’s meaning. The Merriam-Webster definition best describes how I now view grace — a disposition to or an act or instance of kindness, courtesy, or clemency.
Gracie’s Theme
Serendipity led me to this beautiful music written by Paul Cardall. His story inspires and demonstrates how our choices can influence how, or if, we share our gifts even in the worst circumstances.
Paul struggled with a congenital heart defect. As you listen to Gracie’s theme, the choices he made in life become clear. For the past two days, I have listened to and been overwhelmed by the beauty of his work.
Paul could have chosen bitterness or given up all hope. He did not. Instead, his story, his life, and his music bring a profound message.
More than anything, the notes and words remind me that we can shape our lives, our families, our workplaces into cultures of grace and hope. We can do it one act, one person, one moment at a time.
What will you choose today?
Excellence does not grow where hate, unbridled competition, and contempt surround us like a thick fog. Even in the darkest of places, one person can make a difference. We must choose to be a beacon or remain a pall of darkness.
More thoughts on life…
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Kathryn A. LeRoy — a relentless seeker of excellence, kindness, learning, and believer in the strength of the human spirit. My why — inspiring your potential to be and become your best.
