We CAN Choose… (No, it’s not an April Fools joke)
It’s the best of times; it’s the worst of times. It’s the age of wisdom; it’s the age of foolishness. It’s the epoch of belief; it’s the epoch of incredulity. It’s the season of Light, the season of Darkness. It’s the spring of hope, the winter of despair…
Those words perfectly describe our world right now. They were written by Charles Dickens in 1859.
They would be correct at any time. The world has always been this way. There have always been wonderful, life affirming, exciting things happening as well as horrifying, sad, cruel things. And just as those people living 200 or 2000 years ago did, we have a choice; – we can do our best to be positive, contributing family and community members. We can be supportive friends, fair bosses, honest employees, trustworthy teammates and loyal lovers.
Or not.
Like most people, I’ve struggled at times to remain positive in the face of life’s challenges and disappointment. I’ve been judgemental and self-centred, and there was a period my life I poo pooed the idea that we can simply CHOOSE to be happy! I felt that there were SO many parts of my life that could be better, so many things to worry about, so much in the world to fear, that being happy was unrealistic, silly, inappropriate even.
And there was a time I was suspicious of the concept of gratitude. After all, there are so many people with so much more. There’s so much more to HAVE, so much more to BE…
But I’ve learned stuff, and writing and sharing those learnings reminds me of their power.
The weekly column – with odd extras thrown in – will again be called “A Tuesday Thought’ that will reintroduce the ‘Every Single Day’ series of a few years ago. It’s about simple things: – thoughts, actions and activities we can practice and prioritise every day, to make our lives that little bit better.
I won’t be trying to provide answers to the big questions facing the world that we have no control over but focusing on things we can improve here and now, in our own homes and hearts; – the thoughts in our heads, the habits, the everyday interactions with family, friends, co-workers and community. Things that can make a compounding difference; – like being fair, optimistic and ‘solution focused’ on the things we DO have control over.
Who remembers the old saying ‘Look after the cents and the dollars will look after themselves? Or the line in the movie The Castle, ‘It’s the Vibe’ Or the proverb “Before you try to fix the world, look in your own backyard’?
When we look after the little details, when we get the vibe right, most things work out better…
A big thank you to Niki Thomson for providing the great illustration for this blog.
Enjoy the rest of your week
Kimbo
