We make choices every day. Some are more weighty than others. For example, should you eat ice cream with fruit or chocolate? That choice might actually be more weighty than you think! 😉 Ok, ok, I’ll move on from the Dad jokes (but I have six kids, so these creep in once in a while).
When life gets volatile and seemingly out-of-control, perhaps we should reflect on what we actually can control. In my opinion, anybody who looks at the current world environment would be justified in feeling scared. But in these darker moments, the inspiration of those who have experienced perhaps relatively far worse can help bring valuable perspective.
Resulting from congenital health issues, two of my children have hung on the edge of life in ICUs (Intensive Care Unit) more than a dozen times. A couple of times, vitals failed and life briefly escaped, only to be revived by the miraculous efforts of significant medical intervention. Yet, somehow, even while realizing the dire nature and uncertainty of the road ahead, whenever we saw other children equally fighting for life, we became inspired in the humble acknowledgment from those in similar circumstances that “we were in this together.”
Perhaps even more surprisingly poignant, however, was the seeming relief and comfort in accepting, nay, even embracing the health conditions that brought us to the ICU in the first place. The more we saw other’s situations, the more we appreciated ours. The more we looked outward, the more hope and inspiration it gave us. Contrarily, the more we looked inward, the more we felt isolated and defeated.
What we learned is that choosing our response to our circumstances shapes and reflects our deepest character. However you’ve seen it expressed (whether it’s the “glass is half full or empty” or “abundant vs. scarcity mindsets” or some other variation), one thing is certain – we have the power to choose how we respond.
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” – Victor Frankl