A Thread to Guide Us Through ….
“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life”
It’s the new year. Many of us like to start planning how this year will play out for us as if we have some sort control over any of it. Often we reason that the things that are most important to us simply will not happen unless we begin now to make those things a priority in our lives and for the most part, this is true. We won’t reach our ideal weight or health goals unless we exercise and eat right. We won’t have that quality time we crave with those most dear to us unless we make time for it on a regular basis. We won’t attain the financial or professional goals we daydream of unless we set aside the due time and diligence toward that goal. So, we begin making plans. It’s good to keep in mind that the best laid plans always allow for flexibility. Life happens regardless of our plans and sometimes our plans are deterred. The important thing is to get back to our new schedule as quickly as possible whenever we have gone astray. In this modern, cushy life we live, it’s easy to forget all we are truly capable of. All around the world and even in our own country in by-gone days people suffer or have suffered greatly and make the decision to “carry on”. For example, I once heard from a friend who travelled to South America with a group providing needed medical assistance to poverty stricken peoples who had no access to such technologies and medicines as we are privy to. She said she saw a woman in the throws of labor who was sitting in a rocking chair being carried by fellow villagers down a mountain to one of their medical facilities. This woman had been in labor for two days without progress and the journey had taken a few days as well. She was running a fever by the time she received medical assistance and she lost the baby. My friend was absolutely amazed when she went to visit this woman the next day only to find she was gone. Despite her loss, this tribal woman had already begun her walk back up the mountains to her village. For her, “Life goes on.”
by Janelle Schweinfurth
- Victor Hugo