Life is hard. Everyone knows that but, oddly enough, many people think it should be easy. Many people are of the opinion that life is easy for the other person but "I got stuck with the dirty deal". You know, "the grass is always greener" on the other side of the fence, the other guy's putt always sinks while "mine always just rims the hole and rolls away". Well, it just ain't so.
A wise man I learned a lot from, Mr. Gordon B. Hinkley, said something like this, "Most putts don't drop, most steaks are tough, most marriages take a lot of work and compromise." He also said that life is like an old time train ride, which 99% of us don't know anything about. He explained it pretty well when he explained the ride to be full of jerks and jolts (not food and drink!), quite smokey with soot and cinders flying in the open windows when it was warm enough outside.During cold weather it was just plain cold, the rail cars being very often unheated Often the food provided, if there was any, wasn't very good and was quite expensive. The ride could be long, boring and uncomfortable, the seats being just wood or padded with hard leather and horsehair, which, after a couple of hours felt like plain wood.
The old train ride, however, could be marked with panoramic views and exhilarating speed when going down a slope. The company in the car could be very friendly and entertaining because often the some folks would pass the time with songs and stories. People, strangers, made the trip enjoyable, sometimes memorable! Ahhh, the trip, not just the destination, was and is very often a good enough reason to go.
Life is like that more often than not. Unplanned events, like soot and cinders, fly into our lives causing discomfort and often pain. Bumps and jolts make the going rough when we want it all smooth rolling. That doesn't mean this trip should be quit. Oh, no, not in the least. Believe me. I know about smooth and bumpy rolling.
February 3, 2007 was a life changing day for me. That was the day a little pine tree changed my life. My son, Jacob, and I were sledding almost all alone on a little hill near our home in Provo, UT, USA. I'll tell the whole story some other time. Suffice it to say that pine is tougher than spine and the tree was left standing there when the medical team carried me off to the ambulance. Since that time, I've been rolling everywhere I go; I believe you can figure out why.
Sometimes there are obstacles in my path that I cannot just step over. I have to figure how to pick up, move or get over the little bump - a shoe, a box, an extension cord. If I am going to get where I want to go, I have to take some time to clear the way for my wheelchair. Sometimes the task is too difficult for me. Sometimes it takes more time than I originally hoped for. Sometimes I need help. Sometimes I can get over the bump but it is painfully jarring.
Here is the point: when life starts feeling like a bumpy, jerky, hard ride you would like to get off of, remember that EVERYONE'S life is like that. No one is exempt. With that in mind, just be friendly. You'll find many others warming up to you, becoming friendly themselves As long as you don't have a hidden agenda but are genuinely friendly for friendship's sake, many people, perhaps even most people, will show themselves to be a lot like you: friendly with no hidden agenda.
Life is hard. Everyone knows that. When you show yourself to be cheerful and friendly, it won't matter so much how hard life is. You'll find that at every stop of the train there will be a couple of new friends either waving you farewell or continuing along your way, and often with a good story or a song!
My advice to you is: sing along and if you can't sing, laugh and clap in time, tell some funny life-stories of your own. You'll find the time and miles passing more smoothly toward your destination and the trip...ahhh, the Trip! That's Life!.
God Bless and may you experience Real Prosperity Now.
CamCv
No comments:
Post a Comment