The Three-Legged Dog

This morning as I drove to town I was amused to see in the rear-view mirror at one point, chasing my car for all he was worth, a three-legged dog!  It struck me quite funny at the moment.  I’m not sure if you’d call that stubbornness, persistence, or just plain stupidity.  But then it occurred to me, now there’s a dog that isn’t going to be limited by a handicap.  He’s not going to be cornered by his circumstances.  He’s going to get right back up and keep on doing his favorite activity, the thing that most likely caused him to lose his leg in the first place, chasing cars!  Maybe we all need to be a little more like that three-legged dog!  (And I don’t mean by chasing cars!)  What’s the difference, anyway?  Why is it two people sitting in the same backed up traffic can have two completely opposite views of the situation – one is irate, cursing the traffic, his car, the road, the system, his job, and everyone around him.  And the other, happily listening to CDs or talking on his cell phone, planning out his day and enjoying the “down time”.  What’s the difference?  Why is it two people can have the same terminal illness but view it completely different from each other?  One is blaming God and angry at the world.  The other is thanking God and doing what they can to make a difference in the time they have left on this world.  What’s the difference?  It’s all about the ATTITUDE!  We wake up every morning and CHOOSE what kind of day it’s going to be.  Plans change, circumstances change, EVERYTHING is subject to change.  How often is it a day goes EXACTLY how we planned it?  Well, pretty much never!  But if we choose to have a good day, no matter what, we will!  Again, it’s all about the attitude! 

Believe me when I say, I don’t have all the answers.  Nope!  Not even close!  But what I do know is that I CHOOSE to have the right attitude.  I choose to get back up when I’m knocked down and “chase those cars”!  I choose to have the positive outlook at life IN SPITE of the circumstances I’m facing.  And yeah, there’s gonna be days when I’ll forget, when I’ll be grumpy and look at the negative instead.  There will be days when I have the wrong attitude and fuss at the traffic or my kids or my husband.  And those are the days when I may need a gentle reminder from YOU, “HEY!  Remember the three-legged dog?”

In Health,