Be Patient: You’re Closer Than You Think…

Be Patient: You’re Closer Than You Think…

“Every beauty and greatness in this world is created by a single thought or emotion… Everything we see today, made by past generations, was, before its appearance, a thought in the mind of a man or an impulse in the heart of a woman.” – Kahlil Gibran
“One Door Closes … Another Opens.” Revelations 3:8

Opportunity: When one door closes, another door opens...

This has been an incredibly challenging year for many people. Whether due to a job or business loss, the death of loved ones or divorce, mental or physical health issues, foreclosure, financial or family difficulties, the end of a friendship or relationship or an array of other distressing events, many of us have had a major upheaval or two; our patience tested.

If we stop for a moment and reflect on the year, I suspect we have all been through or been affected by more than we wish to disclose. It has been difficult, however, through it all we have put one foot in front of the other propelled by a certain inner resolve to push past the heartache and headache; to trust in a greater power or our own inner strength or simply to just not lie down and cave in to the pressure. If you have made it thus far, rejoice in the blessings and share your wisdom with others; every ray of hope we can give another helps us too.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr

The Mountainside: Mt Fuji in a moment of magic...

In Joel Osteen’s new book, “It’s Your Time: Activate Your Faith, Achieve Your Dreams and Increase in God’s Favor,” he shares a story about a hiking trip he took awhile ago. A sign up the mountainside suggested it would take 3 hours, Joel was concerned he might not make it all the way up, but another hiker came along and advised him to keep going because as he put it “You’re closer than you think…” Feeling inspired by the encouragement of a fellow hiker, he ambled up the mountainside in 10 minutes.
Yes, he didn’t realize how close he was to his goal. I enjoyed that story because it serves as an important reminder to keep the faith and press on. Indeed, our next opportunity, our next open door is around the corner. Wherever you are in your struggle, know that you are not alone and trust that something better is coming your way.

Frank Rich’s NY Times article on Tiger Woods aptly bids “farewell to a dreadful year and decade…” True. However, while I am glad to see the years 2000-2009 go, I don’t think the new millennium started badly. As the years went by, plagued by one global catastrophe after another, we unwittingly found our collective way up that dreaded path. Through 9/11, the wars, famines, floods, Tsunamis, food and water shortages, Madoff madness and Wall Street debacle, we had some bright moments; Capt Sully, President Obama, the growth of social media and other new technologies, advances in medicine and a growing social consciousness about the need for a sustainable planet where our carbon footprint mattered. This decade hasn’t been a total write-off. The next decade will surely have to make up for the losses with brilliance and abundance… We are all closer to our good fortune, our global re-direct, and it will be better.

“The roads are different; the goal is one. When people reach the goal, all quarrels or disputes that flared along the road are resolved … There all hearts sing in unison.” Rumi

The Early Morning Glow by Haneck...

Recently, I saw the new George Clooney movie “Up in the Air” about a traveling executive whose job entails flying all over the USA helping companies terminate staff; a job I always though was solely handled by HR departments. Clooney’s character is not snarky but the daily grind of sharing bad news leaves him commitment phobic and emotionally distant… The film was equally touching and depressing because it reminded me not only of the strife many are facing today, but also of the loneliness out there for folk who struggle alone in the morass of massive cuts.

Interestingly enough, Kevin Renick who wrote the song “Up in the Air” for the movie, introduces the song at the end of the movie during the credits, sharing that he too is unemployed, and that he hopes they use his song… that made me shed a tear; just the brutal honesty of it … even if it was just used as a tearjerking device; a deliberate conclusion to a sad story.

“Alone, all alone … Nobody, but nobody can make it out here alone.” Maya Angelou
“Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.” Jim Rohn

Flight: Time to Go Home by Michael B

As serendipity would have it, Walter Kirn, author of the novel “Up in the Air” wrote a piece – Digital Mistletoe – in today’s New York Times magazine in which he tells a poignant, beautiful tale of his period of loneliness, after his divorce, and how he met his current girlfriend through Facebook; he was saved from the “viral bummer theory” which often is the lot of those who spread their misery through the internet in a desperate attempt to connect with someone, anyone willing to wallow for a moment… We don’t have to make that viral bit part of our story. We can, like Kirn, have a better outcome and not get caught up in the web of our negative thoughts and beliefs.

While I believe that we attract what we believe and become, I also think our circumstances are shaped by far more complex conditions than our belief system. Armed with our DNA, our cultural conditioning and opportunities, we follow a blueprint mapped by our actions and consequences. The one thing we can do is maintain a positive attitude; an attitude of gratitude in all things. Sure, you might question the veracity of my suggestion that positive thoughts can affect outcomes … but imagine the alternative.
Would you rather embrace the darkness and settle for a pity party of regrets? What good would that serve? As Ryan Bingham, the key character in the movie – Up in the Air – says to the audience at his motivational presentation, why carry around a backpack filled with your burdens; your garbage? Let it go..

“To attract attractive people, you must be attractive. To attract powerful people, you must be powerful. To attract committed people, you must be committed. Instead of going to work on them, you go to work on yourself. If you become, you can attract.” Jim Rohn

Faith: Pigeon Point Lighthouse by Mumbley Joe

The hardships have touched me and my friends as well. Dee Dee is a close friend. She works for one of the major airline carriers and while she loves her job and the excitement of regular travel, she has observed how the cuts and furloughs put more pressure on people in her field of work. Esme, another close friend, is a realtor, a writer, and a mom who experienced a devastating loss this year – the death of a beloved child. Luz is in insurance. She is a single mom holding down multiple jobs to make it work and observes the increasing apathy in customers, who saddled by their own business struggles, have little energy to give to hers. Each of my dear friends, in her own way, represents a segment, albeit a growing facet of society, facing the seemingly unending demands of a shifting, sobering world. We have all, directly or indirectly, been impacted by the inevitable challenges of the last several years. I am confident though that things will get better; just like in Murphy’s law, I believe that everything that goes down must eventually pick up…

Yes, we are close to the end of an old year, the beginning of a new year, and the possibility of a breakthrough attracting good things we always wished for or imagined. Don’t give in or give up, you are closer than you think to an infinitely better year. Perhaps, if we can remember that success and failure, pain and pleasure, good and evil are all part of the human condition we might learn to treat ourselves and each other with greater compassion. Be of good cheer…. Exercise patience … the fog will lift and the sun will shine again bringing abundance and blessings to all. We are closer than we think. You are closer than you think.
What do You think? How have you weathered the global storm?

Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday Season; Merry Christmas and much success for the coming year!

PHOTO CREDITS:
Opportunity: Open Door ~ via Google Images
Mt Fuji ~ via Pixdaus
Glow by Haneck ~ via Flickr
Time to Go Home by Michael B ~ via Flickr
Pigeon Point Lighthouse by Mumbley Joe ~ via Flickr

Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank