Turbulent Waters
When you’re in turbulent waters, do you tread or swim? When your life kicks up a little storm, do you hang around being buffeted by the waves, trying to stay afloat, or do you strategize, plot a plan and navigate to a new destination?
In my opinion, too many of us want to stop where we are and have a little tantrum. We want to complain to our friends. We want to commiserate over the bad news on the radio and t.v. We choose to stamp our feet, fold our arms and angrily declare, “How dare this happen to me?”
What short attention spans we have. The pendulum always swings one way and then another, yet we only see where we are and not the historical perspective at all. We don’t see where we’ve been and what the possibilities could be. Wasn’t it just a few short years ago that we experienced yet another downswing of the economy? Wasn’t it just a few short years ago that we had scandalous goings on by the names of Enron and Worldcom. How is this any different? We’re at war, you might say. Well, hello, when has humankind not been at war with each other? And before you say that until now we hadn’t been officially at war since 1991, I put to you that we have always been involved in some sort of skirmish, large or small, since the inception of our country. When it wasn’t this current Iraqi/Afghan thing, it was the thing in Bosnia and Kosovo or it was the thing in Panama or it was the thing in Grenada or it was the thing in… well, you get my drift.
A few evenings ago I attended a professional event in which the attendees were asked to share their thoughts around the topic, “Finding the Hidden Opportunities in Times of Chaos”. When it was my turn, I suggested we drop the “in Times of Chaos” part because I feel that we are always in times of chaos of some sort. Additionally, I believe we should always be looking for the hidden opportunities in every situation, whether it seems chaotic or not.
Basically, chaos is the turbulent water that life is made of, and it’s that turbulence which causes us to examine what we’re about and what we’re doing so we will make forward shifts. Nothing, not even we humans, can defy inertia in this dimension of matter, time and space. Scientists tell us that the universe is always in motion – shrinking, expanding, spinning, twirling.
Will you make use of the chaos to move your life forward? Or will you keep trying to tread water, exhausting yourself as you attempt to resist the inevitable changes occurring in your life. Chart a course, use the waves to your advantage and come to shore, my friend. I’ll be glad to meet you on the beach.
