October 21, 2011 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

 

    As humans, we love guarantees and assurances.  Nothing reassures us or gives us a better sense of security than the certainties in our lives.  

   Certainties?  As much as we wish it otherwise, there are no certainties in this life.

   One could argue that death is a certainty, and in one respect, that is true.  However, look how much uncertainty surrounds death.  We don’t know what day, hour, or year we will die, nor do we know the age we will be.

   Further, we don’t know if our deaths will be quick, prolonged, painless, or painful.  We don’t know if the cause of death will be natural, old age, illness, accident, or natural disaster.  We don’t know if we will die alone, surrounded by loved ones, or in a crowd.

   That is a lot of uncertainty regarding something that we figure is pretty much a guarantee in this life.

   We can plan and prepare as much as we want for our daily lives, and future events, yet so many of the variables surrounding these plans are completely out of our hands, especially if the variables involve the weather or other people!

   Now before you give up in despair and decide that there is no point setting goals or anticipating future events so we might as well all sit like lumps all day, there is another certainty that we often overlook: the certainly of choosing our reaction to the uncertainties of life. 

   How you may react to the events in your life could be uncertain, but that you will react, isn’t.  Consciously choosing to react in ways that are healthy to our bodies and minds is an important step to flowing along life’s twists and turns.  Once something has happened, we can’t go back and change it.  That said, we can do our best, by our choices, to ensure that similar events don’t occur.  The better our choices, the better the events in our lives.

   Here something else we can be certain of…if you wake up one more morning, that gives you one more chance to make your life, and then the lives of others, and then the world, a better place.

 

Beth

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