One of my best friends, Ashley, was in Grand Rapids, MI for a trade show the other day. So after work I drove to see her. I was so so so excited and couldn't wait to get there, knowing that the two hour drive to work the next morning was gonna be rough, but so worth it. On my way, of course, I blew out a tire. I know this doesn't sound like that much of a catastrophe, however, my car doesn't have a spare. It has an air pump, which I tried to use for about 20 minutes before I realized how large the hole was. This occurred in Ionia, which can only be described as the middle of nowhere. This occurred on Saturday at 8 pm, which means, all the tire and rent a car places were closed. :( I contacted AAA but they informed me that they weren't sure what they could do, besides tow me to the closest Walmart and wait til they opened in the morning. So there I was, sitting in my car on the side of the expressway, in the dark, waiting. I was beginning to lose hope and so did my grandparents, since they had already started driving to pick me up. They were so sweet for doing that, but luckily the tow truck guy took me to a small town tire company, who opened their doors to fix my tire for me. Thankfully, I was on my way two and a half hours later.
While in the car, I began to think about "Hope". It's heartbreaking how easy it is give up on something we desire so badly. Call it my stubborn personality, but over and over again, i refuse to give in to despair. As I always do, I was wearing my ring with the word "Faith" on it. In the car, I kept looking at it, determined to see my friend, trying not to think that it might not happen. After being away from Ashley for so long, I needed her presence. I missed her friendship. I have few friends like this but value them dearly. She has a way of making me feel like I can completely be myself, unguarded. She accepts me for all my flaws and has even forgiven me for them. We feed off of each others similar beliefs and I think are like to kindred spirits. We can talk about anything and that night we did. We talked about work, my life, her life, my sister, our faith, the difficulties of staying positive when others are not... Then finally we ended it by talking about our love lives.
This is not like other women. Many times, women only focus on their partners and all the drama that comes with relationships. For instance, while at work the next day this young 19 year old girl, was having problems with her boyfriend. She let it consume her. Now like many of you, I thought "oh it's just young love, she doesn't know any better, and they probably won't last anyway." How dare I lose hope for her relationship, when she was so willing to hold on.
Next I overheard some man at a table with his buddies say "I know, tell me about it. My wife is crazy." Ha ha It made me realize how love, or the pursuit of it, is the most heart consuming, mind boggling, all empowering act we face every day. It's everywhere: conversations, songs, poems, jokes, magazines, papers behind a smile or a tear, everywhere, everyday. How do we expect to experience the pleasure or pain of love while giving up hope?
Love doesn't make the world go around, hope does! Have hope in everything you do. So many people convince themselves that something can go wrong instead of reminding themselves how rewarding it can be when things go right. Have faith that everything will work out, exactly how it is supposed to. Now, I'm not saying that to reap the benefits hard work is not in order. I actually perceive the opposite to be true. I think anything worth having in your life is difficult to come by, but that's only to test where your heart really is. All I'm saying is that people need to hold on to hope and never let go. So just stop, I'm serious, STOP worrying about what others may think, that the timing is wrong, that it's not going to work out... but what if it does? Think about that, focus on the positive, so that at the end of the day, you can at least say you tried.
I was not always so optimistic. I would excessively worry about what could go wrong. Then I realized how unhealthy of a lifestyle that was. It wasn't until I slowed down, stopped obsessing about what I wasn't doing or didn't have and saw what I was doing and everything I was already blessed with. I took the time to appreciate beauty, everyday. I took long walks, to clear my head, and to just observe the awe of nature. Whenever, I feel negative, rundown or just "off" it's probably because I haven't taken the time to appreciate the simple things life has to offer.
Today, I took Cody for a long walk. It was beautiful outside, the leaves are starting to change, and I was listening to great music. I even saw a Huron catching a fish. I noticed that the cottontails were cut down to groom the path for the fall. Made me think that this is what people should do with their lives. Cut down the dreary, negative thoughts to make room for positive new ones. I love love love nature! This works for me and I understand everyone is different so just find what works for you.
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