Life is scary and full of peril, says one. Life is dull and dreary, says another. A third one says life's a bowl of cherries, so why do I keep getting only the pits? Yet a fourth says life is bright and beautiful.
Well, which is it? How can several statements on the quality of life vary to such an extensive degree? Simple. T O C.
Timing, opportunity and choices. Think about it. What comments are often bantered about? "Timing is everything," "Opportunity seldom knocks twice" and “The end result of your life here on earth will always be the sum total of the choices you made while you were here.”
Okay, that last quote is a mouthful and not often bantered about, but think about its essence: Your choices are what gave you and continue to give you your life. Your past, present and future are representative of the choices you made and continue to make each day.
We learn about timing, opportunity and choices from a very early age. Remember double dutch? That skipping game with two skipping ropes being turned one after the other? It was all about timing. Granted your life did not hinge on whether you were able to jump into the middle of the two ropes, but it did rate high in the hierarchy of skipping! If your timing was off the two ropes slackened and jumbled together like a pile of spaghetti and you the unsuspecting meatball!
Opportunity is not necessarily a do or die moment. It also appears at a very early age. Think back to when you were in grade school and the teacher asked for volunteers for a special project. That was opportunity knocking. Some of the students recognized it and opened the door while others ignored it, and probably ignored it throughout their formal education.
The third part of life's equation is choice. The choices you make will most certainly determine the kind of life you lead. Choices are present around the clock. Should you set your alarm for six in the morning to get to the gym before you go to work or seven to get an extra hour of sleep? Do you want to eat cold cereal or oatmeal? Will you take the bus or the train to visit your friend in the country? What color shirt or pants will you wear today? Ten o'clock news show or read a book?
Each possibility, the timing plus opportunity plus choices that make up ones life is a continuum. This collective sequence will lead to another and another. By the time you're twenty, thirty, forty and so on, you will have experienced many collective sequences that timing, opportunity and choices afforded you. At the end of the day, this will be the story of your life.
It is said that hindsight is twenty/twenty. What, then, is foresight? The ability to use your knowledge and past experiences, along with advice from those far more experienced. Each third of the equation of life interlocks with the other two thirds. Think of a Venn diagram. The middle nugget where all three important parts overlap is your life. Remember, the prior four statements varied greatly. Each life was lived, but one surpassed the other three. Carefully observe that moment when you can jump in between the two skipping ropes, pay attention to the situation at hand and be vigilant in avoiding the repetition of poor choices. Mistakes are your education but making the same mistake twice is like repeating a level in grade school.
Be present, open the door when opportunity comes a knocking and solidly review the choices presented. You will be among those quoted as saying, "Life is bright and beautiful."
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