Life -- The Echoes of Our Choices
Most of us are familiar with the old sayings: what goes around comes around; you'll reap what you sow; life is what you make it. However trite they may be doesn't take away from the truths they hold. I am not a total Pollyanna. I believe there are times when others do take away our freedom of choice, and there is not a lot to be done about some of it. Think of the holocaust, genocide, abused children, or the recession, or when someone robs another at gun-point.
Those are drastic examples, I know, but they do exist, and they help me make the following points. I get equally aggravated at the all-or-nothing philosophy, whichever direction it leans. Those who insist we have no control whatsoever over our own lives deny that we get to pick and choose in many areas of life. Those who say our happiness is completely and totally in our own hands are also inaccurate. (I think again of the examples above and many others.)
We absolutely cannot control our every circumstance, but we do have a lot of control in vital areas. We can choose the direction our thoughts and attitudes will eventually take, even in negative circumstances. And frequently, we can make wise decisions so as not to put ourselves into bad circumstances in the first place.
When we are in a bad situation or have made a wrong choice, there is much that can be done to turn it around.
When we make good choices, there is every chance we can keep heading in a direction of success and happiness.
The Echoes of Our Choices
I have done some soul-searching on a regular basis in order to make building a positive life a successful endeavor. I sometimes find myself in negative circumstance beyond my control, but I get to choose my attitude toward those circumstances. I get to choose whether or not I'll let them damage me beyond repair. I make mistakes, wrong choices, sometimes repetitively until I learn to take away the lesson and change direction.
During times of laying aside heated emotion and looking at myself with reality, I have come to see that almost every circumstance in which I've found myself as an adult can be traced back to a choice I did or did not make. I call the consequences, good or bad, the echo of my choices. However many others may be involved in our mistakes and our successes, we are ultimately at the root of them via our choices. This realization has shown me a number of things that I want to share with you.
1. The realization encourages me to take responsibility for my own decisions and accept the consequences, positive or negative
2. I no longer blame others when things go wrong, and this removes much of the anger I experienced as a young woman
3. I can smile at my successes and take credit for my share in them without feeling like I am bragging or being conceited--both of which were a "no-no" in my upbringing
4. The realization encourages me to grow by knowing the truth of the Serenity Prayer: change what can be changed, accept what cannot be changed, and gain the wisdom to know the difference
5. It takes away any envy of others; they have earned their successes, just as I have earned mine
6. I am more understanding of others when they make mistakes for having owned mine
7. I understand that what I give to life will often come back to me...so I try to give only the best I can
8. I now know that a bad choice can be changed, a wiser decision made to create a more postive present for myself and lay a positive foundation for the future
9. Echoes sometimes arrive on storms and but most times return to us via rainbows
Next time you stand on a hill or a mountain--yell, laugh, sing. These are beautiful reminders to make wise choices, because our lives today are the echoes of choices already made. What we throw out there is what will bounce back at us, so throw the good stuff.
I would love to hear your thoughts on my discoveries, and please, share yours!
U-Tip: We can choose our direction where it most counts, especially the direction our minds take.
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