Twists and turns

barrelmakersdaughter.com ♦ August 1, 2014 ♦ 1 Comment

We rise each morning thinking we know how the day will go. We check the calendar, the to-do list, the appointment schedule and off we go to face what we presume will be the day we anticipate. So often we walk through our day-to-day existence
wearing virtual blinders. But now and again, life has a way of waking us out of complacency and forcing us to re-assess who we are and what value.

Today will bring unexpected joy for some.  A call will come, and news will reach them of something wonderful, such as a promotion, a new baby, or an engagement.  Beautiful surprises such as these alter the course of a day, and often the trajectory of a life. Blessings like these help us to pause in gratitude for the extraordinary gifts life can bring and remind us to give thanks.  We are filled with positive energy,  and everywhere we go it spreads from us to others.  The joy that is in us blesses those around us, as happiness spills out through our subsequent actions.  A jolt of good news is a welcome interruption. It is easy to affect the world around us in positive ways after hearing such news.

But today won’t be a day like that for all. The call some receive today will bring devastating news–possibly job loss, divorce, injury, or even death. And there are those who today will hear the heartbreaking news of a loved one’s terminal diagnosis.  Those days bring us to our knees.  Why? How? What now?  There are so many questions that need answers, so much sadness, so much regret.  How do we go forward and find good in life when something so unimaginably cruel is happening to someone we love?  Obviously we rally around the loved one and support him or her in every way we can.  But beyond this, is there a way that we turn the anger and sadness into something–anything–positive?

I believe that the moments that break us can guide us to become even better people if we use them as wake up calls.  Life is so very fragile and far too short–it is easy to forget that as we race through our lives, until something forces us to stop and take stock.  We need to be mindful every day of who and what are our priorities in life and make sure we are living in ways that honor those priorities. We need to make a conscious effort each day to reach out to those we love with affection and attention–we must never waste the chance to give a compliment or say “I love you.”  We should never skip the opportunity to do a random act of kindness or to work a little harder than necessary.  We should always make sure to brighten the day of those we love.

Yet, we are all human and we will often fall back into robotic complacency in our fast-paced daily lives. It does often take tragedy to jolt us out of the stupor.  But using that as the opportunity to assist others and foster personal growth in ourselves is a way to make positive differences, no matter how small, in the world around us.  Nothing can undo the tragedy and grief we will all face from time to time–that is just a fact of life.  But using those events as catalysts for improvement ensures that something positive does indeed come out of the twists and turns.