My life, like everyone, is chock full of change. every day, every second I wait for that next unexpected, often breathtaking moment coming my way.
Now grant you, some of the moments are purely not fun, some a total challenge, and admittedly issues that are challenging.
But I am going to share with you a story of a dear man I know. My friend is from Angola, and when he was around 12 was conscripted into the army there, and he stayed until 18,when having enough, stood up, shook himself off, and left. He traveled a great deal after that, ending for the most part, as I understand his story, in Brazil. There he made a life for himself, which most of us might consider to be a pretty harsh life. He lived in the streets, under bridges, and made his living creating beautiful jewelry and leather work, then selling them in the bazaar. In this life he was threatened, beaten, but also loved and receiving of love from others.
I met him through the grace of another friend, who meeting him in Brazil, fell in love and invited him back here to stay. A wild, romantic, and somewhat mysterious story they tell.
The other night, a group of us were sitting, chatting, enjoying, and someone asked him how he did it, how he survived it all. He said that he did not believe in feeling sorry for himself, that if he had a problem, he just asked for help, asked for guidence from God, He gave his fear over, and asked God to show him the right thing to do. and that is how he spends his life.
Well that all makes me think, what about us average joe’s, us, the one’s who just get up every morning for our next day? How do we manage adversity, those challenges that can bring us to our knees, or raise us to a height of awareness and acheievment we had not known was possible?
We lose jobs, homes, we have so much that we can mourn, little losses and big. Do we though, rather that mourn, place ourselves into those deep holes of need and depression that are so very easy for us to create, or do we also, give over our fears to God, to a power, consciousness higher that you and me?
So those are some of the reasons I look forward to every day and every new challange, I want to grow, to stand tall and to achieve.
Tilly Evan Jones 