By Shellie Miller-Farrugia
It started with my checkbook. How many times has my husband heard, “Where are my keys? I can’t find my sunglasses. What on earth did I do with the checkbook?” Now for you organized folks, this may be a foreign conversation, but stay with me for a few moments. So in the search for my checkbook, I got in the car and looked around…nothing. Retracing the day in my mind, I was certain it had to be in there. Opening the door behind the driver’s seat still yielded nothing. I went in the house and searched high and low with no paydirt. Deciding to check the glovebox, my search took me back to the car but, instead, to the other side. As soon as I opened the door, there it was! Tucked between the passenger seat and the center console, it took a simple change of perspective for me to find what I was looking for.
A friend recently asked on his Facebook page, “What is one of your regrets?” I posted about an opportunity I’d had years earlier to buy something for $50 that was now worth about $2,000. After my friend’s sympathetic reply, I responded that the same $50 in my retirement account has grown exponentially greater than my missed opportunity. For more than 30 years, I’ve held onto that regret, but in the course of a few sentences, I realized that I had been looking at the situation from a skewed perspective.
Is it your kids? How is your marriage? Is your job keeping you up at night? The way you’ve been looking at things, or the solution you’ve been thinking is necessary, may not be in anybody’s best interest. The way you’ve been seeing the situation might seem completely different if you just change seats. One thing I’ve realized through the many trials and triumphs that life brings is that the only thing that you can ever change is YOUR MIND.
Life was particularly stressful for our family recently. Returning home from a long day of sales calls and a variety of less-than-cheerful situations, my mind was preoccupied with the hours of work I’d yet to do on my computer. I headed for the door realizing that I hadn’t spent one moment appreciating the glorious, mild weather. Instead of waiting for the sun to go down while I toiled in the studio, my feet carried me to the back lawn. There, by the pond, was the perfect place to rest in the grass, watch our horses graze contentedly, listen to a soft cacophony of birds and thank God for the many gifts He’s given us….one being the choice to change our perspective.