Daily Mood Quote
Day 90 – August 1, 2011
We are each gifted in a unique and important way. It is our privilege and our adventure to discover our own special light.
~Mary Dunbar
Eleven years ago our world collapse around us. Everything we had worked for was taken away in an instant. At least it seemed like an instant, but was actually “a series of unfortunate events.” First our entire life savings was pilfered by our accountant and at about the same time, business dried up and our remaining clients went from paying in 30 day cycles to 180 day cycles. Then several of them filed bankruptcy at once, leaving us holding the bag for all the expenses. Oh by the way, the ne'er-do-well accountant also had misfiled our tax returns for several years. This was not a happy year for us. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't cover stupid. Actually naive would be a better word, we knew the business, we just didn't “know” business. Trust me there is a big difference between the two.
At the time, we made the only decision we felt we had. We went home after months of pressure from family to come home and be “safe.” What a grave mistake, we took the bait, “hook, line and sinker” (thank you Die Hard with a Vengeance). Needless to say, the family did not have our best interest in mind, they had their own agenda. It would have been better to face the fear than to run from it. We learned nothing by running, at least at that time. Well here we are again, different place, different players but the same game. In the movie Die Hard 2, John McClane (played by Bruce Willis) said, “How can the same s#$% happen to the same guy twice?” I personally believe that when you are faced with the same situation twice in your lifetime, it means you have something to learn from it. So, the question is, do we buckle under the pressure to run and move somewhere else to satisfy our “families” desire to have us safe and in their grasp, or do we stand our ground, work through the problems despite the fear and palpable uncertainty?
In the movie, Sister Act 2, Sister Mary Clarence (played by Whoopi Goldberg) said to her students, “If you wanna go somewhere and you wanna be somebody...you better wake up and pay attention. Because if every time something scary comes up you decide to run...y'all are gonna be runnin' for the rest of your lives.” Moving - running doesn't always yield the best results, if we can't make it here, then what is the guarantee we can make it somewhere else? Eleanor Roosevelt said, “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” In his classic Sci-Fi book series Dune, Frank Herbert wrote an interesting mantra about fear, “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” It has been my experience that fear has never made a good life decision. I'm not taking about “getting out of the way of a speeding bus” type fear, but long-term health and welfare decisions. What others think and fear only matters to other people. Not this time fear, not this time.
How will you stand your ground and face “fear” today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
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