Embracing Life - Come what May!



The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, and to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.~ Eleanor Roosevelt

​Who doesn't like an outdoor celebration such as a dinner party or wedding reception?  Careful attention is taken to select the guest list, color scheme, table setting, music, and food to pull the whole event together.  I especially like the uniqueness of style filled with personality - a little whimsical even and people reconnecting with old friends and relatives.  Laughter, good conversation, and good food set the tone for creating memories that we enjoy as past times.

 

It's moments like these that remind us to take time to enjoy life and stop sweating the small stuff!  Enjoy the beauty of flowers blooming, the smell of rain, the laughter of children, and the love and affection of aged couples holding hands. Breathe! Take it all in and settle in your mind that Life is about experiences.  Whether we encounter difficult moments or pleasant ones, both are needed to shape the person we are becoming.

 

I'm reminded of a story of a little girl who was given a life lesson by her father.  Her father placed 3 pots filled with water on the stove.  In the first pot he placed a carrot.  In the second pot an egg, and the third ground coffee beans.  He let them sit and boil without saying a word.  In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to his daughter, he asked, "Tell me what do you see?"  "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. 

Photo from Ainul Farina

Her father asked her to take a closer look. after which she asked what it all meant.  Her father explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity—boiling water—but each reacted differently.

 

The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened as well. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling water they changed the water making a good cup of coffee. "Which are you?" he asked his daughter. 

 

Encouragement: Never Give Up!  Dream big, Work smart, Love hard, and Forgive often.  Remember . . . Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% how you respond to it.