For anyone not currently imagining me sat on a bench waiting for a bus, it was during such a Mr Gump moment that this came to me earlier. (Wasn’t waiting for a bus though *shudders*)
So many conflicting ideologies and theologies exist surrounding the paths our lives take, and whilst I engaged in a little indulgent people-watching moment it came to me that I don’t think we are floating around all accidental-like. The only thing missing from my small epiphany was the single white feather drifting past.
Had that actually happened, no doubt the bubble would have burst and I would’ve lost the moment to quiet amusement.
No feather, hence the train of thought remained. We’re not all in slow freefall, occasionally bumping into one another and crossing paths. I looked back to some of the ‘crossroad’ moments in my life, and from everything that seemed bad, there came something good. No, something better than before.
From failed marriages come wonderful children. From periods of feeling low, come the feelings of euphoria when your luck changes. From the bad comes the good, and the real trick is to learn how to recognise that.
Everything happens for a reason.
A chain of causation, a causal link, a sequence of events. Think back to a bad time in your lives and ask yourself this:
“If that hadn’t happened, where would I be now?”
It’s a matter of perception.
As I’ve hinted at in the past, I’ve been through some sh*t. I’ve been badly hurt in the line of duty – a few times – and the worst of those created a sequence of events which led me way down, and then way back up.
Whilst I lost a significant amount of time metaphorically stamping my feet and proclaiming the world is unfair, I’ve learnt to accept that fact; life isn’t fair, but it can be good. If you let it.
The most unhappy people I’ve ever met (and I’ve met many!) are those who won’t let things go and blame others for all the bad stuff in their lives.
They are bitter, and they will stay that way until the end.
Unless they don’t. Unless they learn to shrug it off, say ‘meh’ and move on with their lives.
I wasted my life looking at the top tray of the chocolate box and moaning that I didn’t like the coffee flavoured ones. I didn’t like the toffee ones, and all the caramels had gone.
Then I realised there was another layer, which still had all my favourites in. And they weren’t melted. And it turns out I actually really, really like the coffee ones after all!
So, as I sat there grinning to myself on the bench, attracting more than a few strange looks and possibly a concerned call to the police, I was reminded once again just how lucky I was and how good life can be.
And if you ever feel like all hope is lost (no pun intended), and you think you just can’t cope, remember:
Your record for making it through bad days currently stands at 100%