All is well; even when it isn’t!

So far, February 2015 has been a not so sweet month as far as I am concerned. The second week of the month I dropped my phone and shattered it, and this past Sunday, it seemed for a moment my entire life was shattered when the operating system of my Mac laptop crashed. The computer I have used to create every issue of the Donalsonville News since my arrival in 2011 – 181+ editions – died! For a moment, I truly felt as if I had lost my very best friend. However, after regaining my composure and realizing back ups were intact and that life would go on, I yelled to myself – out loud – “All is well, even if it isn’t!”
When things go terribly wrong or when plans do not go as planned, it seems like the darkness gets a little darker; however, we always have a choice of turning on a light. We can choose to wither in the darkness or decide to step out into the light and grow. If we can fully commit to focusing on the light and to keeping our minds working in a positive direction, the light, and the hopes and accomplishments it can provide, can consume us and shine brightly into the darkness. This is my current philosophy of life and it is a work in progress. Bear with me and let’s grow together.
Stop worrying about what’s wrong and start thinking about all the things in your life that are right. Imagine your dream. If we keep thinking about what we don’t have or worrying about all the problems we do have, we will be too emotionally and physically exhausted to do anything about making things better.
I was watching a television program the other day and the speaker was talking about shifting negative thinking into positive acting. He said to put a empty photograph frame somewhere that you will see it all the time. Picture yourself living your dream and think about that perceived image displayed in the frame.
If we stay committed to our dreams and move away from self-pity and regret, we can change our world, but we have to stay focused on the light. We have to imagine ourselves living the dream. Imagine it. Do it.  Then, live it. If we prepare for rain and fully imagine ourselves living a wonderful life after the storm, we can prosper when it clears.
Life is full of opportunities. It is what we do with those opportunities that fully defines who we are. If we have the mind-set of mediocrity then a mediocre life is what we will get. When we dare to dream the impossible and believe that the impossible is a reachable destination, then our journey will be a good one. We just have to keep looking down the road and expecting great things to happen. We cannot do anything about yesterday, except to learn from it.  However, today, if we live every moment to its fullest, enjoy what we have and dream for the stars, a better tomorrow is inevitable.
I remember one day before I moved to Donalsonville I was driving to work and praying for guidance and direction. In the distance I noticed a bird flying in the sky. As it grew closer, I realized that is was a bald eagle and it was headed straight for me. It spread its majestic wings and landed in the median. I was absolutely consumed with a powerful feeling of amazement and hope. I stopped my car in the middle of Highway 84 and just marveled at the site. Right there in front of me was a beautiful bird and the symbol of our nation’s hopes, dreams and freedoms. Then it dawned on me. There are symbols and signs of hope all around us. We just have to remember, that when the darkness gets darker, all we have to do is turn on a brighter light and bring the good things -and the realization that all is indeed well,  back into focus.

Comments and impressions are welcomed and requested
at david@donalsonvillenews.com