Life can be challenging sometimes and, probably like you, I have always struggled to deal with stress. However, I’ve recently been thinking about something that seems to help me have a new perspective – What if I was not even here to deal with these things? Let me share an example:
What if my Father, instead of being so mechanically inclined that he was asked to be an aircraft mechanic in the “relative safety” of the beaches of Morocco during World War II, was instead an infantry soldier that made the ultimate sacrifice? Positively, there would be no me.
What if my wife’s parents hadn’t moved to Orange County just as she was preparing to begin college in San Diego, and that she needed to move along with them and came to Orange County for school where we met? Probably, there would have been no us.
And what if over our nearly 36 years of marriage raising two great kids we had not had a relatively healthy life that allowed me to step out of my corporate life and pursue this last 13+ years of a search consulting and community service life? Possibly, there would be no “this story”.
Whether it was positively, probably, or possibly not destined to happen, the only reason that we are here to deal with the good and the stressful is that our lives are the beneficiaries of a one-of-a-kind set of choices and circumstances – every one of us is a snowflake like no other. Our lives are what they are because of something…whether you believe in divine providence, karma or even just total randomness, we were dealt this hand and it is ours to play.
While it may seem trite to say that challenges are really just opportunities, when I think about how fortunate I am just to be here dealing with mine, it makes it a little easier to avoid taking myself too seriously. Here’s wishing perspective for us all.
Thanks for sharing time with me; as always, I welcome your feedback. Please feel free to pass this message along to others who may find value.