Challenge

Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.--Joshua J. Marine

It's really time for a vacation.  I've been getting really cranky lately and feel myself burning out. I've dealt with several many different stressful situations recently...nothing  earth-shattering  or life-changing...just those petty little annoyances that generally just are brushed aside, but when compounded one right after the other, may lead one to believe that the Universe is out to get them.  Of course, we know that is not true.  The Universe doesn't GET anyone; we get ourselves. 

We all have to go through personal challenges at one time or another; that's the nature of life. Our lives would be pretty empty without the challenges we face every day.  Whether they be financial or family problems...relationship or careers...or perhaps just burning ourselves out as I have done.  Everyone will experience their own challenge at some point in their life, and how you react to the challenging situations that crop up in your life has a lot to say about you and your character, about whether or not you have what it takes to persevere and weather any storm that may come your way. 

"The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong."-- Thomas Carlyle

We can't always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we  react to it. We have to be able to look at these challenges not as a time to shrink or run away, but rather as a time where we are able to grow and become stronger. Challenges are a gift, a learning tool to help us grow. The more we are challenged in our lives, the more we get to learn about ourselves. If you never had to face any kind of situation that tested you, you would never know just where you need to make improvements in your or where you already are strong. It is those hard times in our lives also help us to appreciate and show gratitude when things are more easy going.

Don't get me wrong.  In no way am I comparing the obstacles that I faced this week to the major challenges that many of you are going through today.  Gosh, I've been through it; I know what challenge is. I've lived through abuse...physical, emotional, and sexual; I've lived through addiction. I know what it is like to be hungry. When I first moved to the city there were days that I was so hungry that I would just lie across the bed and sleep. I was too proud to say I had failed...and I didn't fail.  Look at me now...and look at how the challenges in my life have helped me to grow. And even today, I continue to face challenge...the challenge of fibro and dealing with pain everyday.  And hubby who suffers from a terminal illness...now in remission.  And when I find myself asking Will this be the day?, I shake it off...and remember....All any of us have is today.

Gosh, this post certainly took off in its own direction.  How it ended is was not my original plan.  Amazing how things can change.

Don't Quit

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

--Author Unknown--