credit: pink sherbert photography via Flickr
In the quietness of frequent 90-minute, 3rd-shift commutes to work, I would talk to myself.
Peter, what are you doing this for? Is this job worth the sacrifices you are making? You have been to hell and back already, and you are literally driving yourself back to that dark place.
You know, there are a lot of unemployed people who would appreciate this job. You should stick it out. You have to help support your family.
For three months, this is the sort of conversation I would have with myself.
I finally placed a greater value on spending time with my wife, my family of pets, and my health, than I spent on working horrible hours, for lousy pay, with coworkers I have no connection with, and doing work I didn’t enjoy.
So, I quit.
I think bad experiences can teach us valuable life lessons by teaching us what-not-to-do. Think about it. As children, we learned a lot about life the “hard way.” We tried something new and brought discomfort upon ourselves. Our experiments failed, sometimes miserably.
Don’t stick your finger in a light socket. Don’t touch a hot stove. Don’t sleep with gum in your mouth. Don’t eat yellow snow.
As adults, we can make equally adventurous decisions that punish us with stiffer consequences, but the concept is still the same. And, sometimes bad things just happen to good people.
DON’T DO THAT!
Don’t eat donuts and pastries for breakfast, fast food for lunch, and a bag of chips for dinner. Don’t work for a horrible boss/company. Don’t hold on to bad friends. Don’t do drugs. Don’t drink and drive.
How much time do we spend on activities, events, or relationships that may provide us with instant gratification, but only serve to harm us in the long run?
Conversely, hardships, whether they are financial, physical, emotional, or spiritual are difficult to endure initially, but they give us an opportunity to learn and grow. We can become better friends, spouses, workers, community citizens in spite of our recent challenges.
It depends on our mindset. Will we choose to live passively and consider ourselves as sufferers? Or, will we choose to live actively and consider ourselves as survivors?
I hope you will choose to live your life fully. Go ahead, share your story of tragedy with the world, but be confident and proud to tell your story of triumph.
Be A Survivor!
After all, you can laugh now about the first and hopefully only time you ate yellow snow can’t you?
Be Kind. Be Thankful. Be Significant.
Peter
