Oh, How Do I See it?

In so many circumstances, I am always challenged to decide to see things differently.  

Perception is what it is.  Every person is wired differently.  Different folks, different strokes, is what they say.  The differences in perception can come from culture, background and upbringing.  Sometimes, I believe, it is plainly just the personality.  One’s uniqueness.

Differences in opinion boil down to differences in perception.  Through the years, I have learned to do my best to look at the bright side of things.  It is from knowing that “all things work together for good” as the Scripture says, that kept me anchored despite the storms in life.

When my Dad passed away 10 weeks after Mama died, I felt as if the weight of the whole world  crashed down on me.

I come from a very close-knit family -  with very close ties from the grandparents down to the grandchildren.  Being the eldest in the family and a wife and a mother of two, I faced all the responsibilities that came with it; aside from the turmoil that I faced with my own family which had security and protection issues.  It took me months to recover from shock and grief. But I had to go on living and see “the light ahead of the tunnel”.

Under the circumstances, I chose to trust the One who was in control of everything.  “He’s got the whole world in His hands”, and therefore “I am safe”.  Some call it The Source, The Energy, etc.  I call Him God.

With the current downturn of the economy in our province, it is heartbreaking to know people have been let go from their jobs – their means of livelihood.  In my own community, I have seen too many houses for sale because the owners are unable to pay their mortgages because they lost their jobs.

I know too many friends who had to get survival jobs to survive as they were let go from their jobs as professionals.  But here’s the thing:  Thank God for survival jobs!  Thank you for EI!  Thank you for the Food Bank!

For several weeks, I felt so frustrated and angry at work.  I felt I was unfairly treated.  I was plain unhappy.  But it dawned on me, hey, I still have a job.  And it’s a good one, actually.  With the present economy, I am in a such a very good position.

With that perspective, I realized that that work incident which made me miserable, was a call for me to step up - to prove to everybody that I’ve got more to show, more to give.  I have become a comfortable, sleeping giant.  It’s time to wake the giant up!

I had to decide to see that there is a morale to my work situation and aspects for me to improve on.  I cannot go into details, but yes, my career has made a good turn and things look promising.  I am happier.  Everything is working out for my own good.  I am not saying that things are going my way – but it is certainly going the way it should, for my own good.  I see it unfolding.

When my family migrated to Canada, we had to start from scratch – literally.  Thank goodness for people with kindred spirits who helped us along the way.  It was a major adjustment on all sides – from the climate to people and culture.  I had to start with a survival job!  But it was in that survival job that I met wonderful people and learned priceless lessons.

Is everything bright and rosy?  Nah.  Manna falling down from heaven literally?  Nah.  But is everything working out for my good and my family’s good?  Yeah!  I choose to see it that way.  So does my family.  And we move on to living a full life. 

Moving on to the journey! 

“The meaning of everything is the meaning I give it.” – Neale Donald Walsch