A Season to Journey

Lets face it we live in defining times and motivation and comfort are hardly visible on a daily basis at the moment so we pretty much have to gain perspective in every area of our lives. We are surrounded by threats to our existence, many of which are no longer directly within our control.  We would want to be positive and be ready for challenges in the norms of business, our childrens education and in personal relationships, but our expectation is that we will have a measure of control which will give us the opportunity to succeed when we need to meet the road, as it rises towards us.  But what if you start returning questions with answers that no longer fit into the mould of tradtional, or convenient or even comfortable, thus making you vulnerable and unsure of where you are menat to be and how you can get there.  Well this may very well be such a time in the lives of many people.  Looking for an easy way out of the things which were previously fairly simple to answer are now a more complicated solution and no matter how we look at it, the faith that we possess is about to be tested.  It may feel like you are the recipient of unnecessary stones being hurled at you from all sides, but perhaps it is the time to gather those very stones and build a wall to protect yourself. Maybe you have been fighting for so long and you have to accept that as much as you want a different outcome you have to let it go. We need to fight as hard as possible to not be controlled by people, money or past experiences despite the attacks we face and learning the art of responding to the challenge instead of reacting to the situation becomes a major key to thinking straight and finding a way to gain a different outlook.  Whether you are a quiet peson or one that has no option but to share your feelings it nevertheless remains a time of choosing to stay in control.   I believe that we should not live in guilt or be bound by so called "mistakes" that we have made. Find peace in what you are doing at the moment. Divide your time appropriately and try to give a 100% to a few important things rather than 20% towards everything.  In other words focus. Separate the things you can control (and there are more than you think) from those beyond your control. Make time to get fresh air and clear your mind especially during times of great trials because it is easy to sit and stew and worry about everything you face.  What about working on our relationships, especially the ones that matter - this would be a good time to focus on the important ones and not to let go of them at a time when close relationships are really hard to come by. We all need a little time of solitude to really give us perspective of what can and should occupy our time, focus and efforts.  Avoid bitterness even though it is very hard to do in practice.  When things are not going according to plan the easiest thing is to avert the blame and grow jealous and angry towards others that appear to be doing so well.  But remember they too may be going through a tough time so sharing with others and listening to their story may be encouraging to them and uplifiting to your own soul. Make some pancakes and do the symbolic flipping of negative thoughts into positive ones. Don't stop doing the positive things in your life that were good and fun and exciting, simply because it would seem that the mood has changed and that you should abandon those things, to "truly experience" the bad time you are going through.  Because remember every small moment of joy is a brush stroke on the canvas of life and the whole painting is always better than a few loose lines.  Together the hardest times can become the first chapter in the rest of your life.  As said by Mary Oliver "one day you finally knew what you had to do and began".