Lovin' Life

I enjoy living. I mean, I really LOVE life-most days. I see life as an adventure in which you never know what might be just around the corner, but it’s probably exciting. I love it when unexpected things happen, when you go, “Whoa, didn’t see that one coming!” Like the time I got my gown caught in the car door and couldn’t get it out the day of my graduation. That was not funny then, but it’s definitely funny now. These days I really enjoying smelling things because I’ve had a cold for six weeks and with it went my sense of smell, so when I actually smell something I get excited. I like challenges because I like overcoming them. Please keep in mind that as I write this, I am in an extremely good mood. I just made it through a very long and challenging weekend during which time I wasn’t quite in the same frame of mind I am now. Please don’t think that I am a happy-go-lucky person who never struggles, because that isn’t the case. I’m a human just like you, and I have bad days just like anyone, but I do try to always look on the bright side. I call myself an eternal optimist, which actually has a double meaning. One is that I always try to see the good in any situation, and the other is that because I’m a Christian, I can be optimistic because there is nothing to fear in this life or the next. That’s the best part of living. No matter what happens, I know God is in control of it and nothing will happen to me unless He allows it and it is for my good.

I haven’t always enjoyed life like I do now. There have been times when I have just survived it. I don’t really know what caused the change, but if I had to take a guess I would say I finally stopped fighting the way my life was and accepted it for what it is. I stopped living for “someday” and started living today, because that’s all I really have anyways. I let God take control and now I sit back and enjoy the ride. I also unwound my tightly wound self a little and found the freedom of being spontaneous and easy-going when things don’t go the way I think they should go. I learned how to laugh when something I do turns out to be a complete disaster because it’s usually pretty funny. I think some people, including my previous self, take things too seriously. They think everything has to go exactly according to plan or else everyone will hate them and the rest of their life will be ruined. Hardly anything would cause that to happen, and especially not if you start dinner ten minutes later than what you told everyone. I admit part of me is still there, but I’m working on it.

In my opinion you can let life control you or you can control it. Obviously God is ultimately in control, but you can control how you respond. It depends on what lens you choose to look through. The same situation can look very different depending on where you are standing. If you come from the perspective that everyone is out to get you, then you’ll get mad when the car in front of you cuts you off. If you come from the perspective of giving the benefit of the doubt and realize that maybe his wife is having baby and he’s trying to get there, then it doesn’t look so bad. The choice is yours: What will you choose?