The following thought was written by our friend Chris Wei. I really enjoyed reading it because no matter what life throws at us.... it's up to us to be happy or unhappy with it. It's up to us to choose and we will be judged by our reactions to situations. So I am working so hard to choose this... my attitude is great... life is great even though it's sooooo stinkin' hard! What do you choose? Something to think about for the New Year.
There are several people that I do admire so much though. They always seem to be positive despite the major trials they go through. There are many many people but I would like to name a few right now....
-Brian and Sandy Larsen.... Sandy has been so majorly sick for such a long time and no matter how she's feeling with her 102.5 temp or if she's throwing up, she still has a smile on her face and she's still more concerned about how others are doing. She has finally figured out that one of the meds that she was taking was the thing that was destroying her liver. She has gotten off of that and is feeling so much better now. But as I've shared, they just got in a car accident and now they're back to the drawing board. When I saw Sandy in the hospital the other night, she had such a big smile on her face despite the pain she was experiencing. And she was asking how we were doing instead of having the attitude "poor me poor me". And Brian... as you know, he is legally blind. But that doesn't stop him from accomplishing anything. He has decided to be a Chiropractor and after many many hours and years of hard work and studying and taking care of his wife, he passed his tests. The year that we lived in Roseville, I was very close to him and I never ever once heard him complain about how hard life was for him and Sandy. Even though life was throwing boulders at him, he was always willing to serve and always willing to do what he could to help us and others. These 2 are such a great example to me and I admire them both so much and want to be like them! They have chosen to be thankful for life and they have chosen to be positive, no matter what has been thrown at them.
-One last person I want to mention is Katie Lowry Call. Katie has been diagnosed with Lymes Disease and has mulitple other health problems on top of that. She has been in so much pain and is so sick all the time. She is constantly going to Dr.'s and what not. But no matter what, she still tries to check in on her friends and family and is always making some typical funny Katie Lowry comment. She makes me laugh so much and I love that about her. I love how strong she is! It would be so easy for her to crawl up in a ball and just want to give up and say I'm too sick to email people or I'm too sick to even care about anyone else. But she's not consumed with her own problems.... she's thinking of others first. Thanks Proct... You rock!
I guess with the New Years coming I am trying to look at my own life and what I can do to improve it. And this is something that I really want to do. I used to be thankful and never whine about stuff. But it seems as though that's all I do now... thanks Wei for your article... it got the wheels turning in my head.
Written by Chris Wei
Two statements:
A. Life is great, isn't it?
B. Life sucks, doesn't it?
...Odds are, at any given moment you will agree with one of the above statements. Also, at any given moment there is someone else in this world who will disagree with your choice, no matter which it is.
We might be tempted to sum up with "life is so flexible, isn't it?" Well, no; not really. It's not life that changes, but our attitude. It's not like "life" really is much different on a day when you're unhappy than it is on a day that you're happy. The general ingredients that make you consider yourself alive (as opposed to dead) are all pretty much the same. The real difference is, on one day you're choosing to be unhappy, and on the other day, you're choosing to be happy.
So the real choice of statements ought to be more like the following:
A. My attitude is great, isn't it?
B. My attitude sucks, doesn't it?
...And that's the choice that it boils down to.
Things happen. What are you going to do about it? Better question: what are you going to feel about it? Because let's face it, sometimes our ability to change what we DO is limited. But we're all in control of our thoughts (Je pense; donc, je suis. Right?).
2 comments:
insightful. reminds me of Elder Bednar and his constant use of "act and not be acted upon." or Pausch with, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand."
Thank You, Proct. That made my day. (It also made me cry a little) There are MANY days that I feel like giving up...but the reason I try to stay close to friends and family is because in my life, sometimes they are the ONLY things that remain constant and happy. And I do it partiall so that I WON'T go insane...so maybe it's part selfish motives... j/k Anyway, I've had a hard spell the past few weeks so I appreciate you thinking that I am a strong person. :)
I still would like to see you if you are in town...
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