“Life is 10% what happens to us
and 100% how we react to it.”
-Denis P. Kimbro
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of gratitude and grace. I had a very insightful holiday. In my family I have hosted Thanksgiving for the past eleven years, but this Thanksgiving was more exciting than past Thanksgivings.
As I prepared the Thanksgiving feast, with the chopping of celery for the stuffing, the cranberry sauce and the cornbread. I heard a rumbling sound coming from the room that is next to the kitchen, the laundry room. I rushed to see what that was, and I slipped on a pile of water. I landed on my bottom and realize that the pipes in my kitchen had burst and that some water had managed to come out of the laundry room. The discovery was a clogged kitchen sink and a flooded laundry room, my husband had to turn of all water until he figured out the problem. This all happened Thanksgiving morning when I was roasting a turkey and everything else. After we cleaned up the mess, my husband and I decide to go to the store to get some Drano, hoping to take care of the problem. We tried to pay for the Drano, but the bank card was declined. Immediately I called the bank and was told that some checks that were deposited had bounced, and that we were on the negative close to a thousand dollars. Lucky for credit cards we could pay for the Drano.
When we got home, the smoke alarm was going nonstop! The cause was a burnt Turkey! I started to laugh so hard that my husband questioned my sanity. He was worried I had lost my marbles. This was the first time in a long time that life reminded me how spontaneous, unpredictable but exciting it could be. In the end, everything worked out just perfect. We ended up changing the tradition and going to my parents’ home instead, due to no running water. Even if the turkey was burnt it was still delicious and the ham made it just fine. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving after all.
The problem with life is that you think you are always designing it to your liking, but the truth is that life will show up and arrange certain things to it’s liking. The thing about life is to understand that it can be amazing, then awful and then amazing again. The secret to life is count to your blessing (while you have them) and the amazing things it brings. Here are three tips to adjusting to life’s curve balls, with laughter and grace.
Affirm that life is amazing.
When you show life that you are grateful for it’s amazing things, it responds by bringing more of that. Count your blessings, even when things are falling apart. As my credit card was being rejected, I was grateful for my credit cards. As, the pipes burst in the kitchen, I was happy to discover that only that part of the house needed to be fixed. As far as the burnt turkey goes, the ham went unharmed and everything was delicious.
Realize that those curve balls show your resilience.
It had been a tradition in my family to host Thanksgiving for many years. I thought I was going to flip, when things seemed to be changing. I could not handle the idea that this tradition was going to be changed. I discovered that I did not fall apart, nor did anybody else. It was also nice to take a break from washing all those dishes. Again, another blessing in disguise. Know that you are resilient and will handle anything life sends your way!
Be present and relax during the ordinary.
So many times, we are looking forward to those special moments in our lives. Christmas, New Year’s or birthdays. Yet, we forget to live, and devour ordinary moments. We don’t practice being present we keep on projecting to a future that we are never guaranteed will come. It’s ok to enjoy these next festivities that are coming, but don’t forget to inhale the mundane moments with much joy and anticipation as you do those bigger celebrations. It’s those moments that we get more of, it’s those moments that shape our lives.
In conclusion, love your life no matter what stage. Know that nothing is forever because change is the sister of life. No matter what curve balls life has in store for me, I know that will also change and I will always prevail. Believe the same for your life and it will be. Until next time Believe. Change. Become!
NancyJ