Stuff happens.

I am not the only one. You are not the only one. We are not the only ones to experience stress, difficulty, frustration and painful experiences. What happens to me or you happens to ALL of us. There is no conspiracy against us. We are not the laboratory rats of the universe.

My age may be showing, but I do remember poor old “btfsplk” of the Lil’ Abner comics. (precursor to the now ancient ‘Beverly Hillbillies’?)

The bad stuff does happen to everyone, not just the “btsfplks of the world, and there’s really no one right answer to “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.” (Quite a catchy book title and a question about which more than one book has been written!)

As we know, but hate being reminded of,

• life is terminal,
• life is what happens while we are busy making other plans,
• the sun shines on both the righteous and the unrighteous, and
• we each experience the results of the choices we’ve made.

I remember reading from the philosopher Jim Rohn:

“It is not what happens to you that makes the difference of how your life works out; what happens to you happens to all of us. It’s how you respond to what happens to you that determines the major outcome of your life.”

And we do really know this truth, but sometimes we just feel like complaining!

And we do really know that our experience is indeed the result of our perception and our naming of it.

And we do really know that, just like everyone else, we are surrounded by beauty, abundance, opportunities, creativity, friendships that we can choose to focus on.

It’s our choices within our experiences that make our lives, our days, our challenges. And our choices determine how much joy and happiness we will experience.

So, do you agree?

Our struggles can serve us…

An interesting thought from spiritual author and teacher Marrianne Williamson: “In order to create their beautiful plumage, peacocks sometimes eat thorns. Hard, pointed, razor-like objects are processed in their abdomens and then contribute to feathers with colors and shapes unmatched throughout nature for their extraordinary beauty.” She continued saying…”So it is with us. Often that […]

What is enough?

What is enough? Saying that “I am enough” or that “I have enough” or even that “I’ve done enough” often sounds like I’m settling for less than I could be, have, or do. (And probably isn’t even the truth!) We could consider the option of replacing the word “enough” with the word “plenty.” Notice the […]

We also get some right!

Here’s one of my favorite stories from 6 years ago: Little Emma is 6 years old and in first grade and it’s the end of the first week. When Mom picked her up from school, Emma bounced happily into the car. “How was school today, honey?” Immediately and very happily, Emma answered: “I had my […]

Why are we comparing?

I bet you know someone(s) who is(are) brighter than you, is(are) cuter than you, or is(are) more creative than you. Then there are the folks who are on the other end of the scale who have less money, have more health issues, or have more dysfunctional family members. So what? What is the comparison for? […]

This new season…

September is such an invigorating idea! It’s back to school and time for some new projects. It’s unofficially the beginning of fall. And though fall is really only 3 months long, that’s plenty of time to look at the “clean slate” that it provides us. I invite you to join me and stop “doing” for […]

How did YOU spend your summer vacation?

Do you remember having to write about how you spent your summer vacation back in grade school? I do! Over the years my vacations had gotten shorter…from those couple of months to a week to three-day-weekends. Now from the view of retirement, I can take as much time as I want. I find that the […]

Can procrastination be good?

That last-minute panic as a motivator? Maybe…maybe not! Most of us decry it, deny it, or defy it, but still continue to see procrastination as the bane of our lives. But did you know..? Researchers now suggest that wasting a bit of time here and there can actually be good for us! When it’s used […]

Do these make any sense?

Ever wondered why some of these sayings don’t seem to really make sense? And how about…confirmed rumor, or unbiased opinion, or military intelligence? Each of these is called an oxymoron, which a dictionary defines as “a combination of contradictory or incongruous words.” Still another dictionary defines an oxymoron as a “wittily paradoxical turn of phrase […]

Are we there yet?

Vacations are a national tradition (as is this perennial childhood complaint!) I’m sharing some actual complaints received by “Thomas Cook Vacations” from dissatisfied customers. They have made quite the rounds on the internet. I think you’ll enjoy them as much as I have! “We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there […]