Children playing...
Sailing...
Aaaaah, freedom...
A quiet moment to be still and take it all in:
the sun's warmth,
a cool breeze,
sand between my toes...
Oh, to bottle this moment, take it home, and pour it out over a stressful day!
When winter is too long, the days too short, my patience even shorter;
to stop, be still and remember the feeling of freedom!
a freedom to choose...
my response,
my mood,
my perspective,
my thoughts,
my disposition,
my words,
my attitude,
my actions,...
My emotions will follow based upon my choice;
and thus, I have the ability to choose my feelings.
There is a poem written in 1916 that sums up my sentiments well. I have often quoted it to my children. I have even set a few lines of it to cross-stitch and made my children memorize them.
One Ship Sails East
But to every mind there openeth,
A way, and way, and away,
A high soul climbs the highway,
And the low soul gropes the low,
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every man there openeth,
A high way and a low,
And every mind decideth,
The way his soul shall go.
One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
'Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.
Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
'Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
I don't need to escape my circumstances to find freedom. I have a choice, and I will find the beauty, peace, and joy in this moment!
Lord, help me to patch up my weathered sail and cheerfully greet the gusts of this day. When I lay my head down tonight, I want You to smile on how I faced the adventures. However blustery the winds may blow, I know You are with me and will guide me to a safe harbor.
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