Everything Happens for a reason....

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Added: Sun. Mar 27, 2011 1:14am
Posted in: Lifelong Learning

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Sometimes I feel like there is constantly a “cosmic” universe at play.   That everything happens for a reason and that “if” you pay attention, everything is connected.    For instance, when I initially injured myself, I was mad and sad at the same time… I was also very scared.   Many thoughts went through my mind, like the “what if” scenarios which is merely fear creeping its’ ugly head through things. In the days following leaving the hospital, I came across four different people (random strangers) that began to reassure me that I would heal completely, stronger and God was watching over me.   Four random strangers… Coincident?  I think not…. I believe it was a strong message to me trying to ease the fear that had settled in my mind.

 

Arriving home was difficult as my little boys and husband stayed behind… Again fear started to creep in my mind… I started researching online the absolute “worst case scenario” if my neck didn’t heal, what could happen.  I then came across a few different websites and one really struck a nerve.  It was about a 67 year old man that ended up fracturing his C1 vertebrae, in Florida of all places, and spoke about how he had overcome the break.  Essentially two different doctors had two different recommendations on the course of action for him.  One doctor indicated he needed to fuse his neck, the other doctor indicated that he wouldn’t need to fuse his neck but could be in a hard collar and would completely recover.  Crazy – the two opposite opinions.  How I came across the article?  Searching for “neck fusion”.  This amazing man, Sandy Scott (a link to his website:  http://growingbolder.com/30669 ) is one of the most positive people you would ever come across, has beaten the odds…. And is currently training for the Senior Olympics.   How do I know all of this?  I felt the need to get connected to him after I read about his ordeal, and now him and I speak now and then about how we can get through anything we set our minds to.  He has such an amazing spirit and at that moment, I needed to speak to someone that was positive about recovery that had the same injury as me…. And it happened! 

 

After reading about Sandy, I came across a UTUBE video of Joni Eareckson Tada; there was a movie done about her in the 70s.  She had broken her neck and now she is a quadriplegic.  Such an amazing story and true testament of faith!   She has set up a foundation that helps people across the world.   I emailed her website and indicated how from reading her story, I felt so very thankful that my situation did not end up worse.  I was very blessed.  The foundation then sent me a personal letter thanking me for sharing my story with them, and reading motivational materials to help during difficult times.   Which brings me to today…..

 

A couple of things happened, where the messages show through very clearly… I truly believe “we are what we think” and often read motivational materials, emails etc on a day to day basis.  I was reading a book by Joni Eareckson Tada and once of the main messages is that “God will not give you anything you can’t handle”.    I never realized that this message resonates within the bible (“where Paul assures us that our Lord will never tempt or test us beyond what we can bear – ‘And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work’ (2 Corinthians 9:8)”.    I then received a message from someone I had not spoken with in a long while, who also said that “God does not give us anything we can not handle”.   So true.  Every day we come across circumstances where individuals face such hardship yet they pull through.  Each situation is unique and no situation can be compared to another.  Because for the individual, it is all they can handle…….It is in those times that we must take action and reach out to help.   Lend a hand where we can or a shoulder to cry on…. We are here to support one another and give strength to one another to get through these times.  

 

Over these past few months, I have been really thinking that I need to slow down my life.   Our society really lives in a “rat race”.  Running kids around, going for fast food diners, barely having time to take a breath.   I felt like I had it cased before this happened, but now being able to take a step back, I am going to consciously slow myself/our lives down.    It is “today” that we need to be present.  We must enjoy every moment and savour it.   I often believe that people in third world countries are so much better off than us.   We recently received a letter from our sponsored child.   He wrote that his favourite past time is football and his weekly chore is carrying water to his home.  The tone of the email had a sense of continued graciousness.   This makes me realize, that it is really our society that is missing out on the simple pleasures, peaceful moments and the times to pause.  This message came through again for me on two occasions today, which leads me to believe I should stop and pay attention. 

 

The first occasion was when I was reading one of my daily Lou Tice emails (the winners circle network http://www.thepacificinstitute.us/v2/index.php?name=library_lou ).   Lou Tice emails are centered around the premise of the power of positive thought.    The article is at the bottom of my blog.   The second occasion was when I was reading a poem today – I just randomly selected a page:

 

Take Nothing For Granted (by Rochelle Lynn Holt)

Take nothing for granted: the sheer act

Of waking each day; fresh air upon your cheek;

Each effort expended on self or another –

Walking the dog, shopping for food, toiling

At home in an office or on the road.

Every moment is rare, short and full of glory.

Every word is magic, a story achieved through will.

Marvel at nature’s moods as mirror of your own.

Recall a sunrise or sunset, a flock of geese in the sky.

Care about parents or children as fragile gifts

Like petal on a rose, like song from one bird.

Praise the simple or complex – the invention of flight

Above clouds; the wheel; the bathtub; a rocking-chair.

We rise and fall in the moon or a wave,

In a smile or many tears. And being brave

Is to be alive as we give and share love

Always, only and ever to survive.

 

 

Everything in life happens for reason… The important thing is “pausing” and paying attention to the simple messages that show through J   So for me, I am going to hold onto all of the moments in each day, and take time to “pause” and enjoy every hour, every minute, every day .

 

 

Winner's Circle Network with Lou Tice - 3/24/11 - "Living a Wonderful Life"

 

If a Hollywood producer wanted to film the story of your life, would it be an Oscar-winning epic or a direct-to-DVD cure for insomnia?  

 

How well has your life been going so far? Have you been living your life to the fullest and making good use of your enormous potential? Or, have you been letting other people write your story for you, telling you what you can and cannot do, what your personality is like, and what is good enough for you?  

 

You know, your life could be a glorious thing - the kind of story Hollywood producers would love to film or novelists would love to write about. Because the truth is that living an exciting, challenging, satisfying life is not something that is reserved for people who have a special something in their genetic makeup, who are especially smart or good looking, or who were raised by wealthy parents who gave them every advantage.  

 

Living a wonderful life is a choice you must make at some point. It is also a commitment to grow into that choice - to make yourself into a star or a hero, no matter where you are starting from, no matter how long it takes, and no matter what you have to learn to do it.

 

By the way, being a star doesn't necessarily mean being in a Hollywood movie, and to be a hero you don't have to break a record or save someone's life. But you do need to have the determination and courage to discover your own special talents and gifts and persist in making the most of them.

 

 

 

Lou Tice

 

The Pacific Institute

 

www.thepacificinstitute.com