AGAIN!

The news is on again:  3 children, 3 adults shot in a school...again! Thoughts run through my mind: "Where is the NRA in all of this?" "Why can't our representatives get a stronger bill passed to make guns safer?"

Then another side of me starts to "argue" taking sides...hearing the black and white argument that one side or the other is "trying to take our guns away!" But then, thoughts shift, "if this were a car, would we try to find safer cars, safer features, more reasonable speeds?"  Remember when seatbelt mandates came in?  Oh my what a fight!

I know this whole scenario is about taking away our rights to have and bear arms but there is a bigger issue of how to keep us safe? Something needs to change!  This is a crisis like no other...again! 

Then I wonder will my little town in Wisconsin be next?  A thought I dread! How can we make guns safer without taking them away? Prayers and condolences go only so far...then we need action!

Please feel free to pass this post along!

Courtesy of Pixabay

Now What?

Have you ever noticed, looked back over your life and realized it was easy to figure out what you were to "do" with your life's journey?  You know, become a nurse, farmer, work construction, etc. but then time marched on and those jobs changed, retirement came and we now ask ourselves, "what am I to do now?"

It's amazing how many times my friends and acquaintances have said this to me lately. Twice in the past several years I was in this predicament myself.  I don't know if it is a lonely spot of the heart to be in but it definitely is a real spot to be in. 

Not knowing what to be "when we grow up" is a real existential ache for sure. Well, with my faith I had a little chat with God, and I meant it.  I talked with Him just like talking to a friend...I really was serious. 

Now, this past couple weeks I was thinking about the various things I was  "doing", actually minimizing them quite a bit.  It even included writing these short little posts which have brought frequent comments from folks who say the messages help.

So, getting in the car just this week the answer came clear as a bell:  "Keep on doing what you're doing!" See, we don't have to be locked into a schedule that sets us up at a particular time of day or week. 

So, what are we to do now? Doing small things, reaching out, helping others, being present, offering encouraging words...just keep on doing what you're doing!  What more can we ask?!

Sails

Have you ever had to "tack your sails"? That is a sailing term for what sailboats do when they get blown off course, redirecting the boat so at least it keeps going forward. It simply changes course a bit. 

Have you ever been disappointed, original plans gone awry?  Sure, we all have. I remember a work friend who came back from a "camping" weekend, upset that it rained, ruining all their plans! 

Well, we can be upset and then decide to go to plan B, C or even D! Another work associate complained one day because of all the "interruptions".  The nature of the beast in our work, however, was the fact that interruptions were the mainstay of what we did! 

Life is like that every day.That includes death of a loved one(s). Too often it could be real easy to sit, be sad and wish for the past for what was lost. However, that "course" only gets us going down a rabbit hole. 

This is when looking at a different perspective on how to live the day is "tacking our course."  Yes, it takes energy, willingness and an attitude that this journey will be better.  

So, that's why the picture of a boat tacking its sails comes in handy for me.  We don't have to abort our plans, we don't have to go into a useless rabbit hole of depression. We must keep going, though.

It helps to realize life is like that and then go to plan B, C or D.  There will still be excitement and meaning if we allow for those changes in our life.  We are not in charge! Some things we just cannot control; some things we can!  We can look at our own sails and how we will tack our own boat of life!

Courtesy of Pixabay