Happy New Year!

“You can’t go back and change the beginning but you can start where you are and change the ending.”

~Unknown~

The above quote has been attributed to many people including CS Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain.  Whoever said it was clever indeed.  It’s really such a simple statement but it contains so much commonsense that it makes one go "Well DUH!" and slap themselves on the forehead with the palm of their hand.

It's also a very good introduction to my first blog in quite some time.  Things are going to be a little different from here on out because I'm a little different.  My faith in God is going to play a bigger role from now on because it plays a bigger role in my life.  If you’re not a person of faith, it’s okay.  Read anyway.  You may learn something or maybe you might teach me something.  I’m ok with that.

So begins a brand new day in a brand new month in a brand new year. - even more important, in our lives.  We wake up each morning with two choices.  We can either groan and take the attitude of “another miserable day” or we can be grateful for another opportunity to make a difference.  I have learned that welcoming a new day as a second (or third or fourth or 100^th) chance has made a difference in my quality of life.  I’m almost never in a bad mood, don’t feel depressed, rarely have a headache unless I’m coming down with something and I’m not as sensitive about things as I once was.

Our God is the God of second chances.  We will never reach a place in our lives where God won’t give us another chance to begin fresh.  He walks with us every moment of every day and waits patiently for us to reach out to him for help.

Have you ever watched someone walking with their shoulders slumped, head leaning forward and face looking down at the street?  Can’t you almost see the dark cloud of doom that surely must be hanging over their head?  How can anyone feel good with a posture like that?  It literally visualizes the feeling of having the weight of the world on your shoulders.  I mean, really, can’t you actually SEE the weights pressing down on his or her shoulders?

I challenge you – stand up right now.  Hunch down, bring your shoulders down and stare down at the floor.  How does it feel?  Do you feel powerful or weak?  Do you feel as if you can accomplish anything?  Smile.  It feels kind of weird – even a bit fake, doesn’t it?

Ok, now, straighten your back.  Hold your head up and pull your shoulders back.  Do you feel the difference?  Doesn’t that feel better?  Isn’t it like your mood improved almost instantly?  Now, smile.  It doesn’t feel weird or fake this time, does it?

I didn’t mean for this to turn into a lesson on how to get out of a funk but if it helps someone, then that’s cool.  I’ll leave it there just in case.  None of us are so strong that we can’t use a little help sometimes.  And none of us are so weak that we can’t regain our strength.

Anyway, my point is that we all have the capacity to be happy and to have a positive outlook on life even when things don’t seem to be going our way.  Just like what you’re going to wear today or eat for dinner tonight, your mood and outlook on life is a choice that you make every day.

As you begin each new day, think about what you’re feeling.  Are you feeling down and gloomy?  Do you feel the effort just isn’t worth the outcome?  Do you feel a sense of dread?  Are things going to happen today that have the potential to ruin the best of moods?  Probably.  Is there anything you can do about those things?  Probably not.

So where does that leave you?  It leaves you with a choice to make.  Are you going to let the weight of all that negativity bear down on your shoulders so that you crouch like an old man or woman who now stands half the height they once were?  It’s exhausting carrying that load!  So put it down already!

Stand tall with a straight back, squared shoulders and head held high.  Look at the world around you and be glad.  You just made a better choice.  Keep up the good work!

“This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it”.

Psalm 118:24