January 2023: Life – Lessons and Loves

Life Lesson

My son hurt his shoulder wrestling. Instead of nights at practice, we will spend afternoons at physical therapy and he will not wrestle this year. Since he found out he will not be returning to the sport he enjoys he laments, “it isn’t fair” several times a day.

It started about wrestling but has branched out to anything. His brother gets to continue wrestling practice. His sister gets invited to a sleepover. The fact that he has to clean his room! And yes, this is often a normal response to a lot of things in life, not just for children.

How many times do you catch yourself thinking, “it’s not fair”? We may not always say it out loud but this thought crosses my mind all too often. And if we let it, it can ruin our outlook on life and keep us from living a full life.

There is so much that can be said about this. I could give you an incredibly long list of all the things in my life that haven’t been fair. And there are people whose list could quickly trump my list. But that is not the point. I wanted to share what I told my son.

“Buddy, a lot of life is not fair and that will never change. You cannot focus on what you think is fair. Instead, be flexible. No, you cannot wrestle and that stinks but let’s find something else you can do that you enjoy. When you don’t get what you want, what you deserve, what makes sense, what is good, what is right… do not get stuck in that. Some people get stuck and can’t get out. Some people hold on to all the unfairness in life and it turns them sour. It steals their joy. It keeps them from seeing what is still possible and in some areas of their lives, they stop living. I don’t want that for you. Life is unfair and it has nothing to do with who you are or what you deserve. Keep moving forward and look for what adds joy to your life. And even if you don’t have the life you wanted, you will have a life that is good.”

He’s 11, so he probably checked out pretty early on in my speech but maybe I needed to hear that as much as he did.

Watching

This month I am enjoying The Lost Kitchen on Discovery+. I love watching people’s stories. I love watching them be productive and successful. The owner of The Lost Kitchen had a rough start to her adult life but overcame her obstacles and created something unique and wonderful. For me, this show is inspiring and motivating.

For You

I created this phone wallpaper because I love it and want to share it with you!
Click to go to a larger image that you can right-click and save to your phone.