Daily Mood Quotes
Day 217 – December 9, 2011
Rebellion against your handicaps get you nowhere. Self-pity gets you nowhere. One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world – making the most of one's best.
~Harry Emerson Fosdick
Okay so, none of us are perfect!! We all have varying degrees of imperfection; some visible, some not-so visible, and all too many have spiritual handicaps. Even the person who can look in the mirror, and see a perfect physique, surrounded by all the riches of the world can and often do have inside them a vast wasteland of confusion and longing. Just look at the trail of "A list" celebrities that are emotional train wrecks. An emptiness despite the wealth, despite the superficial appearance of completion and fulfillment, people can still be unhappy, handicapped. So, yes in some way we are all handicapped.
The key is and the great journey of our lives is, to overcome those handicaps that we are born with, or that we may acquire over the course of our lives. The great battle lies not without, but within. Our attitudes about our selves and our possibilities can become either an ally and trusted companion along this journey, or they can be the potholes, snares and barriers that we meet along the way. Our attitudes about other people, our attitudes about ourselves, our attitudes about life and it's meaning are all under our control. Attitude is the mechanism of free will that does the real heavy lifting in our lives.
John Maxwell said, “Attitude determines success or failure.” In his book Attitude 101, he eludes to the fact that attitudes are learned and once they're acquired, not so easily changed. But he also says that they can however be changed with commitment, energy and a little faith. It may not be easy, but I believe its worth the effort. In the book, Maxwell mentions road signs in Northern Canada that read “Driver, please choose carefully which rut you drive in, because you'll be in it for the next 20 miles.” That could just as easily read, “Life traveler, please choose carefully which attitude you pick, because you'll be stuck with it for the next 20 years...at least.”
The point is, I believe that for every handicap in a person's life, the universe provides and equal and opposite gift. If you think about it some of the most noted people in history, have overcome physical, mental and emotional handicaps to achieve greatness beyond their more apparently gifted peers. If you read history (a passion of mine) Mozart overcame what would today be classified as ADHD and depression, to become arguably the most noted composer in history. Helen Keller, who was struck deaf and blind, understood and expressed more about humanity than most of us who can see and hear. In today's world Stephen Hawking, confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak, has helped science to unlock the mysteries of the universe. Although, I also believe bitterness has colored his conclusions about the spirit somewhat. I heard a saying on NCIS Los Angeles a week or two ago, I think it went like this, "Haters gotta hate." To be honest, I never felt sorry for someone so successful, until I read excerpts from his latest book. There is a palpable sense of abandonment that drifts through his writing. But, I am not a book critic and this is not a book review. Just my observation.
One more point John Maxwell makes that I agree with, “In order to achieve your dreams, you must embrace adversity (your disabilities) and make failure a regular part of your life. If you're not failing, you're probably not really moving forward.” It is one of my beliefs that all of us are presented with handicaps of one manner, or another and that they are all necessary catalysts that are there to help propel us forward on our great journey. When people let their disabilities stop them, instead of accepting and embracing them, they deny themselves a true and necessary guide to finding their bigger purpose and best possible self.
What "possibilities" will you discover today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
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