Wounds

It was a beautiful morning here today.  I woke at about six thirty a.m., just as dawn was breaking.  We are in the middle of a minor heat wave with temperatures into the low nineties - hot, but not unpleasant. I slept well last night. Yesterday was a n easy day.

I met Ty and Tony at Goodies II for breakfast (our normal roost, the Hickory Pit) had several large parties occupying the tables, so we moved to Goodies II where there was more room. After breakfast we stopped for a walk through at Fry's Electronics.  I am contemplating getting a new printer, but right now I kind of want to take some time and let my cash accounts build back up.  From there, I ran a couple of errands and then came home.

At home, it was a lazy afternoon.  I spent it alternating between laundry and watching "Falling Skies" on TNT.  I like the show, but, for a variety of reasons, I did not watch it live during the last series.  I managed to capture them all on DVR and that consumed, pleasantly, the day. (I am actually sitting here on Sunday morning watching the final episode, only because sleep overtook me.)  I truly enjoy the show.

So, let me then shift over to the topic of the title: "Wounds"

I started thinking about wounds (of the psychological kind) last weekend. I found myself thinking about it as I lay in bed this morning.  Specifically, I was thinking about those self inflicted wounds that arise from how we choose to react to events.  Those times we choose to take insult, those times we choose to be upset, those times we choose to fight the flow of the what is. I often wonder why we do that.  I often wonder why I do it.

There is a real art to accepting "the world as it is". It is the constant struggle of expectations, but there is more than that. Sometimes we are wounded by life - we make choices and the results of those choices are not pleasant.  There is always a tremendous pressure to take the path of least resistance. To stop fighting for what you believe is right, to stop striving, to just go along and get along.

But it's not worth it.  We are better off to make what we feel are the right choices and, if they do not work out as we plan, to bear our wounds stoically.  It is not easy of course, but then whatever led us to believe was easy?

Is it better to view life as a constant struggle, a constant battle?  Or is there some other way we should view it?  We dream of peace, but peace is hard earned in life.  It requires focus, concentration, and discipline. 

So, I guess the sum of my thoughts this morning is that we should not wound ourselves - but we should also not be afraid of being wounded as we go through life. Do not take the path of least resistance.  Do not surrender.  Rest if you need to.  Recover when you need to.  But rise back up, get back into the game, and strive for the things that matter to you.  You have everything to win and nothing to lose.