Life’s Challenges

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the challenges we all face in everyday life. For many people today in this country and in the industrialized world, their attention is focused on “the economy,’ and when “the economy” will get better. For others, life’s challenges are centered more on the emotional and personal plain.

One thing is for certain though: no matter what your personal or financial situation, you are certain to face a continuing series of challenges in your life. It is unfortunate indeed that so many of us are ill prepared for these tasks. Chalk that up to a society that values success at all costs, and pays very little attention to the process of getting anything; results are what really counts. “Show me the money,” etc.

As I watch my friends and relatives go through the various challenges in their lives, I am also struck by how differently some people react to the events unfolding in their lives. Panic is the usual response, based totally on fear. It is so rare to see people look at the events in their lives as life lessons, and nothing more. If you share with someone an event happening in your life that most people label as “bad,” you are almost certain to get a reaction that’s a mixture of sympathy and pity, whether you want it or not. I think the lyrics from one of Rod Stewart’s songs goes something like this: “never ever live on sympathy…..” I couldn’t agree more with Rod’s sentiment here.

And if you share with someone events that most people consider “good” or “great,”, it’s even more dangerous: behind the smiles and “good will” lurks jealousy and resentment. My grandmother was a simple family oriented woman, not regarded as brilliant by most of her family. But she once told me something that has resonated more and more as time goes on: “when something good happens, tell it to the mirror.”

In times like these when so many people are brainwashed by the media to believe everything is so bad, her words seem more and more prescient and so wise. I live in a New York high rise that has increasingly become a post collegiate dorm (about 40%). But there is one neighbor on my floor who does not fit that demographic, she is definitely a long way out of college. We have always politely chatted when meeting in the hall or elevator. Yesterday she announced to me that her birthday was coming up. Before I could ask, she volunteered that she was going to be 94. I told her she could pass for 65, and I meant it; she is so sprightly.

I then asked her the obvious question, tongue in cheek: “what’s your secret?” She responded without skipping a beat: “I get up every morning!”

All the best boys and girls, enjoy the rest of this beautiful fall.