The weekend whizzes by with such speed that it is hard to believe that it truly was - well- a full weekend. It felt so much like a few hours, or a day was missing from it. I ran the kids to and fro, paid bills, organized closets, attended church, cooked meals, worked on work assignements that I didnt' finish during the week, and well- just mainly did a ton of the mundane things that make up -life-. There are days that are extraordinarily ordinary. OK, that is a bit of an oxymoron- but I am trying to make the words sound more exciting then the actual factoids could themselves.
I'm sitting here, watching Extreme Home Makeover. It never fails to leave me thankful for something I have inadvertently taken for granted. It continues to show people week after week that struggle in a way most of us have never had to. This week is a veteran that suffers from Gulf War Syndrome. He is now confined to a wheelchair and he struggles to care for himself and his family. I am acutely aware of how close I have come to being in a wheelchair with the medical issues I've had with my spine and I suddenly feel very thankful for the ability to support my family and to get around the way that I'm able to.
I sit quietly and count my many blessings, the ones of health and family, hopes and dreams that have come true and life experiences that I've been able to conquer. I put myself in a mind of thankfulness to fight off the negative thoughts that so frequently want to barricade us into a mindset lacking thankfulness. Our human nature tries to get us to solely concentrate on the negative. It drags us into a pit of self pity and settles on thinking of the things in our lives that we are frustrated and exasperated over.
I choose to be satisfied with life. I choose to be happy. I choose to take life as it comes and push forward- working to accomplish as MANY THINGS in life as I dream that I can do. I choose to dream. I choose to succeed. I choose to continue climbing even when I'm rejected, I fail or things don't go my way. I choose to try harder even when it feels like I've given my best effort. I choose to set even higher expectations and goals for myself than I have in the past.
I choose positivity. I choose to laugh too often (even when others don't like it) (smile). I choose to live OUT LOUD. I choose to GIVE MORE OF MYSELF than I think is possible. I choose to ALWAYS LEND A HELPING HAND to someone in need. I choose to BE AWARE of other's feelings. I choose to ALWAYS TAKE THE HIGH ROAD.
What are you choosing for yourself today? Life is a daily choice. Make your choices good ones.
