Our perception of things can and many times does contribute to the way we live our lives. If one perceives life as a series of wins and lossess instead of experiences to learn from an individual can go through life feeling that they have failed. I remember, as a child, going up to my father and saying that I had failed at something. His response was that I had not failed but rather that I had gained a valuable experience. My father, very much like Zander, believed that life should not be looked as a win or a loss, but the things we learned from each experience. He believed everything brought forth something that helped us grow. The people we encountered, the places we visited, and the things we shared was what we should be thankful for.
I remember going on a vacation and my father losing his wallet. We were left with no money and no way to contact family. A man coming into the store noticed our downcast faces and asked my father what was the matter. My father relayed the story and before we knew it the man was offering us a place to stay for the night and gas money to get home the next day. We ended up staying for four days and had the best time on this man's ranch. My father, again reminded us that we should look at this experience as gaining a lifelong friend rather than cutting our vacation short. We didn't get to see the Horse's Tail waterfall, but we had the best vacation ever.
Zander makes his point in reiterating that we should look at life as one to be enjoyed, relished and lived to the fullest.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thanks for sharing. What a great story. As the Zanders mention, there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. In your case something wonderful happened despite the circumstance of a lost wallet.
ReplyDeleteI like your father's attitude. My mom had a similar one. She said that we should look at life as an adventure. The bad experiences we have help us to grow and learn. My husband and I met later in life after both of us having a failed marriage. We matured and when we met each other we knew exactly what we wanted in a life partner. We discussed this before we got married and now have been married 20 years. We often laugh at each other's pictures of our younger days and comment we would have never made it together if we had met back then, we were both so different. All the contributions we made and others made around us help to shape and mold us to what we have become today. We will continue to grow this way and laugh and learn.
ReplyDelete