What Do You Want the Story to Be?

So here we are, in the middle of a pandemic … it’s been 56 days since the schools in Saskatchewan closed … that’s eight weeks of social-distancing … 56 days (or more) without seeing extended family … eight weeks without seeing any friends … 56 days of homeschooling … eight weeks at home … 56 days of minimal travel and adventure …

It’s a trying time for many … some have lost loved ones they can’t hold funerals for … some have lost their source of income … some are trying to manage small children while working … some are still working, but in less than ideal conditions … the list goes on and on …

I’ve had my own challenging “moments” … with most of my tears resulting from feeling completely overwhelmed because I didn’t have access to my regular support system … my “helpers” … small problems really … 

Through it all though, again and again and again … I keep coming back to THIS (even BEFORE the pandemic, actually) …

WHAT DO I WANT THE STORY TO BE?

WHAT DO I WANT MY STORY TO BE?

We’re always “writing” or “creating” our stories … hour-by-hour, day-by-day, week-by-week … the hours and days and weeks add up to months and years, and before we know it, “our story” has been crafted … at first glance, I suppose, it seems that our stories are not ours to create … life just “happens” and we just take it as it comes … 

But with a closer look, it becomes clearer that we have a very important role to play in terms of HOW our stories unfold … 

It’s in the way we handle a challenge …

Or a loss.

It’s in the way we handle despair …

Or a disappointment. 

It’s in the way we handle our feelings of overwhelm …

There is ALWAYS a CHOICE … 

We can turn to “the light” or we can turn to “the darkness.” 

Sometimes it’s a hard, hard choice, and we get “sucked in” to the darkness for a few minutes, or a few hours or maybe even for a few days (or months or years) … I’ve definitely had my share of those “moments” in my life …

but we can still …

CHOOSE … 

We can give a hug or we can turn away.

We can stay present or we can live distracted.

We can “show up” or we can shut down.

We can try something new or we can give up.

We can stay or we can go.

We can speak softly or we can yell.

We can express gratitude or we can be bitter.

We can stay quiet or we can say what’s on our mind.

We can learn something new or we can scroll on our phones.

We can celebrate or we can wallow in self-pity.

We can eat foods that fuel us or we can eat junk that drags us down.

We can smile at someone or turn our head the other way.

We can go for a walk or we can binge on Netflix.

We can aim to do better or we can settle.

We can go or we can stay.

We can get enough rest or we can run ourselves ragged.

I get to CHOOSE.

YOU get to CHOOSE.

What do you want your story to be? 

Take the pen … and get writing … a page-turner … an edge-of-your-seat can’t-put-it-down story … 

one that inspires … 

one that encourages others …

one that you’re really, really proud of …