A little perspective…

Today is July 22, 2019. 3 months to my 40th birthday (eek!) 40 days to college football kickoff (Go Buckeyes!) 23 days until my kids go back to school (hallelujah!) I have a lot of countdowns going on right now; a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and months.

The thing I’ve learned about countdowns, calendars, and clocks is this – it’s all about perspective. I am truly grateful for every minute, every second that God gives me on this Earth. I consciously try to make the most of each day; this has become even more important to me as I climb toward 40. I’m not trying to wish the time away by counting down days/weeks/months. I’m just really, really excited about what’s coming!! And that’s okay. I have a matured perspective that allows me to live in the moment AND be filled with joyous anticipation for the future.

I recently heard a story that put an interesting twist on perspective. One of my clients took her family on a trip to Cancun, Mexico over the July 4th holiday. They were traveling with friends from college who now live in Arizona. My client mentioned that when she told people they were vacationing in Mexico, a number of reactions she received revolved around safety. Would it be safe for them to travel to Mexico? How likely was it for them to be mugged/kidnapped/etc? Don’t people get sick when they go to Mexico? My client had a wonderful response: “For every incident that takes place with a tourist in Mexico, there are hundreds of others who have no problem at all. Yes, there have been terrible things going on in the Dominican Republic recently, but what about everyone else who has been unaffected? No one talks about that. Interestingly, one of the friends we went on vacation with is originally from Mexico and his mother was terrified by the thought of her grandchildren going to school in the United States ‘where all of the shootings happen.’ It’s all about how you look at things.”

I really appreciated her perspective. I was honestly surprised that someone would view public education in America as dangerous. But when I stopped to think about it, it made sense – the media paints bleak pictures and that is how most people get their information. But my client was right – the squeaky wheels definitely get the grease. I was so impressed with her ability to see things in a practical, reasonable manner. She was not naïve to the potential dangers of the trip, but she chose to not allow fear to rule the day. They had a fantastic vacation!

Do your thing. Live your life. Keep it all in perspective.