Lessons

Hot stove, burned fingers. Shove lawnmower with foot, slashed toes from whirling blade. Smile from stranger yields smile from me. Something done in anger often leads to mistakes that cost me shame, broken treasure or injury.

Lessons. Little ones and big. Simple and direct. Some subtle. Most evident but ignored.

Is the glass half full or half empty? The age old question that really is a friend to us. A small reminder that things are often better than we think. Same for gleaning cues for lessons beckoning our attention.

As the monkey said to Simba the Lion King:

“Ah yes the past can hurt but the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.”

At least we have a reminder of hurt that we notice. Whether we process that for good or ill is up to us. First we have noticed it, the hurt, so next we think about it; what does it mean? How can I use this information? Is there another meaning that holds danger? Or can I act with confidence on the information?

Processing the information in this manner provides for positive results. A wise man once said:

“Don’t worry about the things in life you have no control over. Instead focus your energy on the things you can change. Being positive and confident keeps us looking forward instead of looking backwards.”

Looking forward, being positive, living and learning from life’s experiences. Simba would do well!

These experiences accumulate to become our life story, our biography. Some experiences are handed to us by happenstance; others are provided by those who love us; still others are supplied by a generous nurturing society that wants us to succeed, for all of our benefit!

I found this quote on the internet the other day. It fits well here:

“Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It’s not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make. Period.”

Life is what we each make of it. We know that. Sure there are roadblocks obstructing our progress from time to time. Even those, however, are easily navigated by a positive outlook and a clear vision of where we want to go. Whether a person or a family or an employer or a nation, a clear idea of who we are and where we want to go is a sufficient road map to build a good life. The important part is making it so. We have to think about who we are so we understand the real ‘us’. And we have to do the hard work of thinking about what we want to become, or at least where we and our career, or family or company or nation want to be in the future. It takes work to think about these things. It takes work to make good things happen. But the outcomes are more easily attainable if we put our mind and will to it.

Another wise person shared this anonymous thought:

“No person has the right to condemn you on how you repair your heart or how you choose to grieve, because no one knows how much you’re hurting. Recovering takes time and everyone heals at their own pace.”

They don’t have to do the work. You do. It is a deeply personal thing. Like Simba, the hurts from the past do not define us; our hope and lessons learned and applied do define us. Where do you go from here?

Where do we all?  Indeed!

July 29, 2013