This happens every day. Everything in your world is running smoothly. Your bank account is flush; your kids are over achieving, you just got a promotion with a big fat raise and a company plane. You are enjoying a Carmel Latte with that special someone. You look into her eyes and say what’s on your heart. “I’m ready to have a life changing event crash into my world and mess with my worldview. Today would be a good day; I think I’m ready!”
Chaos – a Welcome Change
Is that how you remember events that rocked your world? You were ready, all your ducks were in a row, and you welcomed the event and the ensuing chaos, with open arms as if it were a long-lost uncle bringing a truck-load of Benjamins! And a skid of ice cream, for your dog of course. It has all the makings of a film that would be a shoo in for best picture at the Oscar’s.
One moment, you are enjoying the good life sipping an Iced Carmel Latte, the next you are slaying a proverbial dragon. With one fell swoop, you bring it to its knees and dispense with it mercifully. The best part, you never spill a drop of your Latte, and your white shirt is still clean.
“Seldom do we get to meet the challenges that forever alter our lives on our terms when we are ready.”
Blissful Ignorance
We never even knew we were at risk. We meander around taking up valuable space, completely oblivious to our surroundings. Unfortunately, this is where we usually find ourselves, minding our own business when the unthinkable happens. We are going to work, both hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, or 3 and 9 depending on your generation, listening to NPR when someone blows through a stop-sign. Now our hood ornament is embedded into the side of a maple tree next to the initials of a love-struck teen, 150 meters down the embankment.
We were neither ready nor prepared. Those around us were fixated on the Golf Channel while we were too engaged in a winner-take-all game of Settlers. We had no clue, and we didn’t see it coming; that all changed while we are trying to steer that luxury automobile through the trees and into the forest.
The Battle Comes to Us
We knew the risks and were willing to take the chances. We never thought anything could happen to us. We were invincible. The last thing we remember was an EMT asking for the number to our next of kin.
What has the ability to destroy us, is now our at door. The battle is inevitable. It demands that we engage and the time is now. It doesn’t care that we made plans to take the family to Disney, or our spouse on a cruise, or even the Escalade in for an oil change. Everything will have to wait. It gets to decide the next move.
If you believe the adage, bad things come in three’s, this is just the first wave; more will follow. What you fear the most, happens. The spouse that stood beside us only heard the “for better” part and now has eyed the pool boy and shares his dream of hitting the big-league. Our patience wains, our frustrations mount, and our worldview is tested and found wanting.
What could happen next? Remember the promotion that came with a plane? It’s now gone. You now find yourself serving Carmel Lattes through a drive through window to a Facebook friend that bought your Escalade at an auction. You now report to a millennial that aspires to be a You Tube star.
All we expected was a little turbulence, a minor disruption. We were prepared for a tussle but what we received was an epic battle reminiscent of Lord of the Rings. If a life free from tension was the pinnacle, it is now a shattered dream.
Pearls of Wisdom
This week, I was given an analogy by a trusted advisor and friend to help me keep my perspective in check. It’s as follows: imagine a bucket of pearls, you reach into the bucket to grab as much as you can, clenching your fist and holding it closed tightly. Now with the other hand, scoop out a handful of pearls with your palm open. Which hand is holding more pearls?
His analogy prompted a follow-up question, “Do I live a life of abundance or of scarcity. Do I live in response to the abundance of what I have been given, or do I hoard what I have out of fear that is all there is?” Either I live free with an open hand accepting that I am merely a steward of talents and resources with which I have been entrusted or am I living enslaved with a clenched fist holding on tightly what is not mine to hoard. The choice is mine.
Thanks for reading, liking, and sharing,
Ivy is trying to borrow a pallet jack to move the skid of ice cream into the back of my truck. She wants to share it with a few hundred of her closest friends at the dog park.
Al and his faithful, and open-pawed sidekick, Ivy the wonder pup.