Friday, January 28, 2011

When life throws you curves...

...you throw them right back.

I've lost count of how many curves I've fielded over the last couple of years. It would be easy to add them all up and conclude that life is a never-ending excuse to feel down.

But here's the thing: that would be a mistake. The point is, as challenging as life is, it's probably the one biggest gift we'll ever receive. My late dad used to say he woke up this morning, and nothing else beyond that mattered. He was right.

So for the next week as we contemplate curves and how they arrive in our midst, I hope we'll consider the fact that there are two sides to any curve. Whether we choose to focus on one side or the other is entirely up to us.

Your turn: What does the bright side of your curve look like?

15 comments:

Ciera said...

a smiley face :)

I find that my sense of humor keeps me going through the tough times and curves. Sometimes I forget and get down, but that doesn't last as long as it used to when I was in my 20's. I guess it's all about perspective.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

The bright side of a curve for me is when I have an epiphany... I remember when I figured out WHY I didn't like my MIL... It was so simple that I had to call a friend and tell her.. she was even shocked.I l-o-v-e those aha moments.

Serendipity said...

When everything looks bleak and suddenly from nowhere someone praises your work...that's when you see diamond in the rubble. That's how I felt yesterday.

JJ said...

You know, Carmi, I choose to see brightness on all sides of my curves. My late dad said the same thing as yours, but I did not understand it while he lived. I do now.

Yvonne said...

I totally agree! :)

darlin said...

Carmi, what an awesome post. It's so true that sometimes even being grateful for waking up can help us get through the curves life throws at us. I have so much I use to get past curves (or speed bumps as I choose to call them) when I'm feeling down and out. I use gratitude, meditation, sometimes humor, or I have great people to turn to and when all else fails, grab the camera and get out in the world and take some photos, see and experience the beauty which surrounds me.

Cheers, have a fantastic weekend!

Dawn said...

Okay....i needed this one.
Especially at this moment in a massive curve of my life.
I will try as hard as possible to grasp just the awesomeness of this life I GET to live.
Thanks Carmi.

Jules~ said...

Carmi your dad was so right. It is best to look forward and enjoy what is in front of us.

The bright side of the curve for me has so many joys. I miss my dad so very much.
*But because I spent day in and day out with him for almost a year, I have precious memories with him that I never dreamed I would have.
*As hard as it was to be without my husband and girls for that time, they grew stronger in learning to depend on one another and to see the strengths in themselves instead of looking to me to fix every small thing in their lives.
*Now having my Angel-girl to care for is getting me up and out and finding joy in the simple things. If she wasn't here I think I might still be sitting in a dark room staring at a wall of indecision.

I pray you and your family are doing well. God bless you today.

Cloudia said...

thank you for the welcome reminder, Carmi, and for your kind support; It means a lot!


U R a mensch


Aloha from Honolulu
Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>

21 Wits said...

Oh that is my line everyday...since I can remember too! What we choose to do with the rest of the day which is our gift is where the bright side enters in..and even your blog gives me a bright side to things...and all the fellow bloggers who happen by! Thanks Carmi.....! ;)

Alexia said...

It's been a very bleak week, and reading these comments was really helpful.
Thanks for starting the discussion, Carmi.

*disappears to look for curvy stuff*

Juniper said...

The bright side of my curve is the love of the people who surround me, nothing seems as black as long as I have that.

Hooked on Memes said...

The bright side of the curve for me is to think my grandmother who had five children and only one survived (my mom). She was a widow at 32, endured two wars and lost everything material twice. But she survived and died at home in bed at 96. My life is a piece of cake in comparison.

Martha said...

My curves are just like yours - it's a lesson my late father always taught me as well.

Thanks for stopping by Carmi and keeping the good old blog connections going. It's just like in real life how we so easily lose touch with friends.

Unknown said...

There's a bright side?

Okay, kidding. I'll be honest, though (as if I had time to be anything else): Life isn't exactly curved right now for me as much as it is _bent_ in several odd angles. I absolutely realize that life is a gift; and Carmi, I think you and I are both just religious enough in our own rights to appreciate the source of that gift. Right now, I'm lucky to even be seated here in a warm house with a wife and a daughter; the various miracles that have led up to this simple fact are proof alone of the existence of God.

But that doesn't change the shape of the road ahead. There are serious troubles ahead of us all in several directions, and even if we choose to go "off-road" and avoid the traffic, we are not assured of safe passage. I can be lucky today and give thanks to God that I've managed to make it through thus far, but our society is in such flux that for us to be capable of offering such thanks 5, 10, 20 years down the road, we will need to make serious and substantive changes in the way we think, act, and live.