Rolling With The Punches

I have spent a good part of my adult life training my brain to see the good in most situations.

When something "hard" or "bad" happens, I really do try my best to reframe it--and FIND some life lesson or positive that comes as a result of said hard/bad experience.

Sometimes this is easy. Like when the hard thing is gaining weight: Well, I'm fortunate I have enough food TO gain weight.

OR when the bad thing is getting laid off: Well, this gives me more time with my family AND I never really liked that job anyway.

But most of the time--and I mean MOST OF THE TIME--this is a difficult thing to do:

--Like say for example, when you get in a car accident and one of the other drivers leaves the scene.

--Or when your best friend is fighting an awful disease and has to bend metal with her mind just to tell you what's on her mind.

--Or when your other BFF has to have a bone marrow biopsy.

--Or when your other other BFF breaks her tailbone and loses consciousness just trying to use the loo. (sp?)

--Or when you get a headache--so strong--that you can't do what you're supposed to do without tears running down your face.

--Or when you get pinkeye and can't wear your contacts.

--Or when you miss your speaking engagement--the one you'd circled in yellow on your calendar for months.

--Or when your car breaks down 100 miles outside of Las Vegas, and it's just you and 5 of your kiddos. And it's NASCAR weekend, so all of the car rentals that seat 6 are booked. And you don't know a thing about cars. And you have to go to 3 mechanics and spend your savings to get a hotel and repair work done. (And if you were going to spend your whole savings on a "vacation," you'd at least like to have Dave and Jay with you, too.)

--And on. And on. And on.

These are the times when it's hard as hell (yes, hell) to reframe and find the positive.

BUT, I've said this before--and I'll say it again:

we can do hard

We can find joy--even in the sad/bad/frustrating times.

Now, that doesn't mean we're blind to life's struggles or enjoy suffering.

Not at all.

It just means that if we're going to live a life filled with peace, purpose, and fulfillment, we're going to have to learn to enjoy life during the good times and despite the bad times.

At least that's what I'm trying to do. 

How about you?

PS: For the record, this was just my last week.

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PPS: I know it's not bad thing to be "stuck" in a hotel, swimming in Las Vegas. I mean, really. It's not bad at all. I know that.

But, it was super hard for me to accept that I was missing my speaking event AND spending our savings on something I didn't want to spend our savings on. 

Until I got a grip, my internal dialog was non-stop, "What a bummer: there goes your savings--you know how long that will take you to replace? You're letting down so many people. Why didn't you get your car prepped for the long drive? Your poor kids don't get to see their cousins, etc."

So, I share these photos just to show that I did it: I beat my brain at the negative game. 

(BTW: Having kids helps--because they are so flexible. The kids never once complained during our 72-hour detour. Not once. So maybe there is hope. Maybe we are raising a group that's better prepared for life than us. Yay!)

  

Checking into the hotel.
Isn't that aquarium incredible?
(BTW: I'd never stayed in Las Vegas. Ever. Funny, no?)

Palm trees!
It was like a Samoa flashback for me.
Palm trees are just so cool. And they know it.

Day 2 in Las Vegas .
(At this point, we thought we were stuck for good--which the kids didn't mind.)

Breakfast w/ Bam.
(And our waitress was a Survivor fan. It was cool,
but I felt a little like last year's Homecoming Queen. "When were you on again?")

Swimming again. (We didn't see any shows. BUT,
we did see a woman lose her top in the water. That was a different kinda show though.)

Dinner.
We'd just learned the car would be ready in the morning. (Yay!)

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And if you're still reading, my blog turns 6 years old today. Yay!