Don't play with it

You die fighting the ripcurrent, not riding the current out. At least that's what the experts tell you as a method to survive a ripcurrent. The current is too strong to swim against or across without getting tired and/or drown, but you can ride it out and then get the chance to swim to safety.

As with life, we have ripcurrents that are dressed up as varying factors that you don't have control over - be it the weather, traffic, people, your job/boss, teacher, school etc. But you can control how you react to each given situation. There's always the choice to get upset, sad, angry, depressed, cynical, annoyed, etc. However, just as easily, there is always the choice to be happy.

Imagine going to an early morning appointment and along the route you end up getting caught in traffic. Now, the average person's first instinct is to get upset and fuel that emotion. Bad move, because now your mood is ruined. Most likely, when you reach your destination, you're going to carry that bad mood with you. So all of your interactions of that day, have a set tone from that one moment of being stuck in traffic. You're probably going to enter the appointment with an attitude and interact with everyone else the rest of the day the same way. Furthermore, you're probably now going to look for things to validate the world conspiracy against you. Imagine if you didn't allow the hype to happen. Instead, you realized your favourite song was playing on the radio and sang along perhaps. The traffic issue would most likely be forgotten by the time you leave your appointment because it's lost emotional energy beyond an "I'm sorry I'm late." You no longer feel compelled to complain to everyone you meet about the horrible traffic and how badly your day is going. You arrive at the appointment with a better attitude and more receptive to positive things happening for the rest of the day.  Ergo, the power of choice.

Back on topic...

At the end of the day, everything happens in the best way possible. You can make all the right moves. You can ask all the right questions... But in the end, nothing happens until the time it's supposed to happen. What's for you is for you. The people who were heading to the WTC the morning of 9/11, be it to drop off a job application, going to work, etc.; and were running late for whatever reasons probably felt annoyed and angry at that time. However, I'm sure they must've felt like they missed a bullet when the towers went down and they were still alive. Furthermore, if you didn't have a few cursed missed opportunities, you wouldn't have learnt a few lessons. Sure you were bitter at the time, but you understood after. Not immediately after, perhaps a few days, a few months, a few years even... but you understood. It all made sense.
You never really know, until you know, you know?

Always trust that whatever happens, happens for the best. This moment, all your life experiences, everything that has ever happened has led you to the moment you're in right now. Your future will be based on these previous and present moments collectively. It won't make sense now... but it shall. And when the right opportunity door presents itself, trust that prior moments throughout life will have prepared you to have the right keys to open it... (And even then so, I don't believe any opportunity can truly be missed...As my dad always says "What miss you, hasn't passed you")

Until then, choose to be happy, or at least aspire to maintain a positive attitude... and keep the faith.




Fall  down seven times, stand up eight.
Shelli out.