Life is not perfect. It's a fact that we all accept and learn to deal with right? What about the fact that it doesn't always work out in our favour? What about when things don't go our way, and life get's difficult? How do we deal with that hard reality when our plans don't work out like we want them to?
During one conversation with Dr. Manno in Haiti, I asked him how he dealt with hardship in life on a daily basis. If you don't know Haiti, things don't usually work out as planned if ever, and life doesn't cut you many breaks. His answer? It is a choice. Everything about you is a choice. The choice I make everyday is the decision to be content. Maybe things are not perfect, but every day is a God given gift and because of that I can make the choice to be content and at peace with life. He has a plan and he knows far more than I do. He knows how things will workout so why can't I accept that? I have to choose to be content, or otherwise I would be miserable all day everday, and that is no way to live life.
If you think about it, it is really true. I mean, no you can't change the circumstances that you are in, and you certainly can't change the people around you, but you are in full control of your emotions and reactions and you are in the driver's seat for your life. Being content is a personal state that you are in complete and utter control over, not something that environmental factors should be able to dictate whether or not you are at peace with yourself and your life.
This is decision most certainly not an easy task by any means, because emotions are directly linked to your environment, and directly affect how you feel. How we feel is often linked to whether or not we think we are 'content' or happy. But this is where the concious decision-making on your part comes into play.
If you think about it, maybe your plans aren't working out, but you are still blessed in life. You are alive for one, and there is always someone who loves you, whether it be a friend or a family member, and if none of those, God loves you. If you are able to read this, then you are blessed to have access to the internet, a luxury which so many people in our world live without. You have so much to be thankful for in life, and everyday is a new day, perfectly unmarred and ready for you to paint life into it. How can you not be content with that? Yes things go wrong, and maybe life drags you down, but remember how we said life isn't perfect? It's not! But that doesn't mean you can't choose to be content.
Emotions and feelings aren't supposed to be surpressed, but expressed and shown; being content is different than emotions. Being content is a choice, a tough one, but a choice.
Today I choose to be content.
What will you decide?
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