KNOW YOUR ‘GOLD’ Do you know what your gold is? --Or who? No, I don’t mean your jewelry or other acquired possessions. I meant those which make life easier for you or which nobody can steal from you. Often enough we seem not to realize we hit ‘gold’ until something happens and we stand on the verge of losing it. We take a lot of things for granted, yes we do. I don’t know why it should but it just passes our attention or affection. We’re so deep in trying to make it chasing after dreams or goals ----or too absorbed in things which hoard our attention --- that we don’t notice at all. Well, I’ll try to figure out who mine are. (Oh but I’m going to exclude my family because they hold the top revered position in any list that we may want to do.) In random order, I’ll start with our neighbor across the street Mr. Noble. He is Mister Fix-It. He fixes our washing machine when it breaks down, gets my car running when it stalls, trouble-shoots the lighting fixtures when it bogs down, and other itsy-bitsy repair jobs. Then there’s also Gigi, the beautician at my favorite parlor. She trims my hair in just the right style I want, no instruction required. She does the hair of my daughters, too, and they’re content with her skill. There’s also this nice guy (security guard) who’s stationed at the main gate to our subdivision. Always wears a smile on his face when I go by and never fails to say a greeting or two cheerily-- helps to brighten up my day. So too is this ‘barker’ at the taxi terminal. I take my regular rides there to and from work. He calls (barks!) out to his riding clients (like me) and leads us to the right vehicle heading to our respective destinations. Every time he sees me, he steers me to the front seat of my ride knowing very well that I enjoy sitting up front. It’s the best seat inside the vehicle ‘cause in the back you’d be crushed tight shoulder-to-shoulder like sardines in a can. At the office, I’d include the office messenger-janitor Silver. Yup, that’s his name. Sweet guy – prompt to take the errands I send him to, come rain or shine; cleans up my space without any prompting; keeps me company when I have to work in the office late through the night; and makes sure I get my fast-food dinner without my asking him to. These people are precious to me like gold is precious to most people. There’s more but let’s limit it to just three or else it’ll take up a whole page. So what about you – know your ‘gold’? :-)
WHAT YOU CHOOSE TO DO WITH THEM IS UP TO YOU I get tough times and tough jobs and tough people at different points in my life. When it does I draw up a blank. It seems like everything comes to a standstill and can’t be nudged forward. Plus I seem to run out of ideas or resources or sure-fire tricks to make things better. Nothing just seems to work-- crazy huh? So I let go, let it ride, let be and hope that things will be better because I let it. Well, it doesn’t always work that way. I have learned that you have to choose to do something – do something and not do ‘nothing’! Letting it be is plain laziness and it certainly doesn’t improve the situation or relationship one bit. But then that’s just where the problem lies because trying to do something is just darn so difficult! I’m up against my own arguments, or of listening to that of others, and of my stubborn streak to hang on to my ‘comfort zones’. See? I’ve become my own ‘enemy’. To this, mom would always say “Honey, what you choose to do with them is really up to you.” Well, I didn’t learn that overnight. I had to force myself to think through the issues--- asked myself what I really wanted to do with ‘tough luck’. But I knew this one sure thing – I may be defeated by the circumstances around me but I certainly won’t let it defeat me! So to make a long story short, I decided to do what I could with what I had. My choice wasn’t perfect but it got things moving forward--- slow perhaps but getting somewhere. :-)
AKNOWLEDGE BUT DO NOT DWELL ON SUFFERING. Suffering or troubles come to us, like it or not, irrespective of age or wit. For instance, an injustice is done, tough luck persists, loved ones die, one loses a house in the fire, a marriage crumbles, you get fired from work, you find out you gave birth to a retarded child, or an accident dooms you to the wheelchair for life. Now wisdom tells us to just let it ride. Let the pain hit you --- you’ll hurt for sure. You’re allowed to do that after the initial shock but --- sooner or later you have to pull yourself together. Indefinite ranting is simply expelling lots of air and nothing more. Not always smart to go up against the tide, some problems are that overwhelming that fighting it would destroy you even more. Yes, but--- neither is it smart to dwell on your ‘suffering’. You let it ride but you don’t have to wallow in it. It can’t be your entire fault. C’mon, give yourself a break. This is a big wide world and this is a huge life with lots of things in it--- so much good can happen and also so much could go wrong at any time. Can you take a handle on everything just so it comes out right when it does? Never! So simply acknowledge the troubles, recognize them as part of life, consider them as part of ‘learning’, or look at it as ‘signboards’ steering you into another direction perhaps better. Acknowledging it is so much different from punishing yourself over your misfortune. Everything that comes to us, good or bad, is for a reason (though for a time I had some difficulty understanding that). Although that may be a hackneyed phrase—but a reason perceptibly lies behind it. We may not see it yet, but it will show itself at the appropriate time it does. Believe me-- we’re better off believing that ---because ‘troubles’ sure have a particular way of knocking good sense out of us. Can’t let that happen, can we? :-)
Ooops! here we are at the end of our chat. How about let's have it again next time? I'll be waiting here for you. Bye for now! God bless.
posted on Saturday, April 22, 2006 8:21 AM
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