Is Your Summer Half Over?

There's that old controversy 'Is the glass half empty or half full?'. It doesn't just pertain to attitudes; being an optimist or a pessimist. Many people are lighthearted and full of optimism; they see the good in us and themselves (that we can't always see). Others (and I know many specific cases) will be negative about EVERYTHING; the weather, the economy, their relationships, their health, and any other little thing that crops up on any given day. Is being an optimist in our DNA? I'm not a scientist (nor have I played one on TV, lol) so I really couldn't say, but I do think most times it is a choice. 

I can get up any morning to listen to the weather report and decide right then if I'm going to let the fact that it may be hot and humid outside ruin my day. Will my hair get frizzy, yet flat on top? You bet it will, although you would think that combination wouldn't even be possible. I have choices. I can wear a scarf or a hat or wear a headband. I can make the best of the situation and laugh about it with everyone else I see that isn't having their picture perfect day either. We are never truly alone.

If we start out our day with the mindset that it's going to be disappointing or a complete let down, then chances are we've already set the stage and nature (and life) will just take its course and follow. We always have a choice when it comes to our attitudes. I know there are A LOT of very real things out there in the world that I have no control over. I can't control how other people drive. I can't control when something will or won't happen. Just as I can't control when God is going to send someone my way at just the time when I need them most. 

I know one rather negative person who I always joked and said, 'Thier glass isn't just half empty, to them it also has a hole in the bottom.' They choose to look for the bad and then somehow make it bigger or worse. I don't know that I could live that way. It would be too sad and too lonely, but everyone has to make their own choices.

So, as I sit here at my computer and glance at the calendar I notice that we are past the half way mark in the month of July which could mean either ... your summer is half over ... OR you have half of your summer yet to look forward to with anticipation and thankfulness.

What's your outlook? Are you looking at Labor Day as being the end (of whatever that means to you) or are you looking at today as being the start of another great day full of opportunities.

Hmmm, I think I will be optimistic that today's humidity won't be TOO bad and look forward to all that is yet to come.

What's on your horizon for the next six weeks?

The BIG Question

Every day we face hardships, unwanted circumstances, and health scares. We often find ourselves asking the BIG question of 'Why?'. WHY did a friend have to die so young? WHY did your spouse lose the job they loved? WHY didn't you get the job you were more than qualified for? When we start asking this question it is usually because something has happened that we had no control over. We all like to know what our future holds and how we can be better prepared for the hurdles, but then 'things' happen that we simply don't understand. Then we feel a little lost. We feel insecure.

 

But what if we tried not to focus on the WHY? What if, instead, we focused on the bigger question of 'What should I do now?' There will always be things we have no control over; things that are out of our hands.

 

Any one that knows me well, knows that I love words. I love to write, but more importantly I love to hear what people have to say. Words can tell a story. Words have the power to lift us up and tear us down. When words are good I like to remind myself of them. I have a tattered piece of paper taped to the top left corner of my computer at work that says this ...

 

'To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Remember that 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.'

 

We can't always stopped the unpleasant things in life from happening, but we can control our attitudes and how we handle the circumstances. We can let them define us and dictate what direction we will let them take us in OR we can take a deep breath, take it all in, and decide what we want to take with us from the situation. My pastor recently said on Mother's Day that some women are mothers who choose to stay home with their kids, there are mothers who try to balance work both inside and outside the home, and there are mothers who had a lousy example of what a mom was when they were growing up. He also said that those last mothers don't have to let their upbringing define them. They have the choice of breaking the cycle and changing what the next generation looks like.

 

We will always ask WHY? But we can also ask 'What should I do now?' The choice is still ours.

 

When was the last time you asked WHY? What happened next?

What's Your Perspective?

This has been a rough week for many people. We're adjusting to life after the Christmas & New Year holiday. Many are adjusting to going back to work after some vacation time. Many children are back in school. And many are dealing with the effects that Old Man Winter has brought. Depending on where you live and what kind of weather you are experiencing could explain what is influencing your perspective. Many people are dealing with snow, many with bitterly cold temperatures, some cold/snow days for teachers and students, and many have to deal with a lack of heat.

I began my week by sending my daughter back to college and myself heading back to work; for me that meant packing my lunch, setting the alarm for an earlier time, and wearing thick socks and a warm sweater. The furnace that heats my office at work apparently decided it was still on vacation and didn't work for 2.5 days. I'll admit that I'm not used to being that cold. Where oh where are my hot flashes when I need them? I whined a bit and complained until I realized the back portion of the church where I work was 10-15 degrees colder than my office. That, in itself, helped me regain my perspective. It can always be worse. I have a job. I have thick socks and warm sweaters. I have a warm house to go back to. Many have it much worse.

Last night my husband jokingly said, 'Tomorrow's forecast is a high of 10 degrees and a low of 10 degrees.' I suppose that's when you have to consider whether your attitude will compare to a glass being half empty or half full. I chose the 'half full' approach and have tried to maintain it to the best of my ability. When I got to work the outside temperature was 3 degrees with a wind chill of -14. I complained to myself for about an hour until my son, who is a school teacher on the west side of the state, called to tell me he and his wife (also a teacher) had their 2nd consecutive snow day because their outside temperature was -7 with a wind chill of -29 AND they had snow and more on the way tonight.

The beauty about perspectives is that they are something we can control and something that can change in an instant if we decide we don't like them. Take the time to look at any situation and consider all of the possibilities and how things could be different; for better or worse. Consider your options and then consider what perspective would be most beneficial for you to take.

How are you dealing with the cold temperatures? If you're someplace warm right now try not brag to the rest of us, just send some warmth back in our direction.