Everyday life has plenty of challenges don’t you think? Just getting a family organised and ready for school or work is challenge enough most mornings. Lost socks, school hats, bags, car keys, making lunches, early morning training or practices, can push us to the brink, even before the day truly starts. In the scheme of things though, these small challenges are just that – very small challenges – even though they can put us in a cranky mood. Keeping life in perspective is very important for our sense of well being and happiness.Some of us of course, have far worse challenges to deal with and in many cases, the rest of the world is oblivious to what we are going through. It might be a serious health issue, a difficult relationship, a death of a loved one, financial difficulties or some other problem that is causing us to worry or be concerned. Being happy in the face of these difficulties is not easy and I don’t mean to make light of the challenges that each of us faces. Ironically though, it’s not what happens to us in life that determines our happiness, but how we react to what happens. Ultimately, it’s our attitude to what happens that makes us happy or unhappy. Abraham Lincoln once said:
Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be.
Every day we experience the highs and lows of life, the good news and the bad. Life can be like a roller coaster ride – thrilling, exhilarating, frightening, uplifting and depressing – so many emotions, all in the space of a short period of time. No one day is the same. Some days we run on adrenalin and others we rejoice in the contentment of life. The secret to happiness in life is to find joy, or opportunity or a silver lining, if you like, in all the situations that confront us. Granted this is easier said than done, but it'w worth the effort in the long run.
There is an old Chinese proverb that I love: Sāi Wēng Lost his Horse
Sāi Wēng, a Chinese farmer, lived on the border and he raised horses for a living. One day he lost a horse and his neighbour felt sorry for him, but Sāi Wēng, the philosophical farmer, replied to his neighbour, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
After a while the horse returned with another beautiful horse, and the neighbour congratulated him on his good luck. But Sāi Wēng thought that maybe it wasn’t necessarily a good thing to have this new horse. The farmer replied to his neighbour,” Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
The farmer’s son liked the new horse a lot and often took it riding. One day his son fell off the horse and broke his leg. Again his neighbour felt sorry for the farmer. But the old farmer replied, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”
When the military came to collect all the young men in the village, the farmer’s son couldn’t go off to war because of his broken leg. Most of the young men in the village died in the war. Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?
Each of us has the power to change the way we think about things. We can think good thoughts or we can think bad thoughts. We can think the best or worse of a situation. It’s up to us how we react to the situation. Experts in the field of human psychology and psychiatry, like, Dr Ross Harris who wrote the best seller, The Happiness Trap, tell us that we must acknowledge the negative thoughts that go through our mind and learn to defuse them. This may take some practice, but learning how to do this can be life altering.
Another author, Joshua Marine, has this to offer:
Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes
life meaningful.
As Easter approaches and Anzac Day on Monday, we should pause and reflect on all of those people who have made great sacrifices for us, so that we might enjoy the life that we do. The challenges faced by those who went to war and died, and the challenges faced by those who went to war and survived are indescribably horrid. The physical injuries and the emotional scars can last a lifetime.
It’s time to take stock of the positives and list all the good things in our life and acknowledge all that we love, if for no other reason than to celebrate the very freedom that these people died to preserve. As I shared on Assembly on Tuesday:
Although the war in which you fought took place nearly a century ago, your courage, your sacrifice and your patriotism reaches through the
decades and inspires us – even today.
life meaningful.
As Easter approaches and Anzac Day on Monday, we should pause and reflect on all of those people who have made great sacrifices for us, so that we might enjoy the life that we do. The challenges faced by those who went to war and died, and the challenges faced by those who went to war and survived are indescribably horrid. The physical injuries and the emotional scars can last a lifetime.
It’s time to take stock of the positives and list all the good things in our life and acknowledge all that we love, if for no other reason than to celebrate the very freedom that these people died to preserve. As I shared on Assembly on Tuesday:
Although the war in which you fought took place nearly a century ago, your courage, your sacrifice and your patriotism reaches through the
decades and inspires us – even today.We remember you,
We salute your courage,
We say in our hearts,
Thank God for your sacrifices.
Lest we forget.
We salute your courage,
We say in our hearts,
Thank God for your sacrifices.
Lest we forget.
Karon Graham
Principal CCPS
