Life Lesson# #456 ~Wait- a- Minute Vines

“Never say, “That won’t happen to me.” Life has a funny way of proving us wrong.” ~Dr. Anne Brown 

 

Life really does have a funny, if not odd, ridiculous, and bizarre way of knocking us off our feet. Bringing us down to size really.  My dad calls them “wait -a -minute vines”. I like to call them knock’em, sock’em creepers. I mean they not only take you out, but they also creep up and lay you flat out too. Unless you’re just a sucker for punishment, wait a minute vines typically are an ugly surprise. And if you haven’t guessed by now, I’m not a big fan of low lining, swinging, sucker punching, wait - a- minute vines. Not in the least. 

 

Life. Who knew, right?  

 

Truthfully, life’s one big ole cracked mug of burnt black coffee. It’s a real hot mess sometimes, right? But let's not be too dramatic here. Life can also be pretty sweet too. Especially when we mix in a bit of sugar or a touch of honey to our cups. Now that doesn’t mean every cup is gonna be bitter or sugary sweet either. Life is about finding balance. And as much as I’d like to say so, our goal isn’t necessarily to avoid every knock’em, sock’em creeper in our way either.  

 

Let’s call it like it is. Without difficulty, life is rather boring. Not that you or I need any extra hiccups or a monkey wrench in the works, but that’s how real-life lessons work. We can’t grow without the rain. It’s as simple as that. No rain, no flowers, right? Sure, too much rain and we're drowning. Too little and we’re dying. Again, it’s all about balance and finding our footing despite how hard those vines and creepers grab hold of us. 

 

Look darkness, heartache and calamity are going to find you. Affliction and misfortune, not to mention disaster and unnecessary headaches, are going to line up and make a complete shambles of your path. No question about it. Life is full of dire straits. I really wish I could tell you differently. But I can’t. My life is a prime example of things going badly, quickly.  I could give you instance after instance of times I’ve landed in both hot and deep water with no idea how I got there. I think most of us can say that though. Life happens. 

 

I don't know who said it, but man oh man are they right. “When something bad happens, we have three choices. We can let it define us.  We can let it destroy us. Or we can let it strengthen us.” Life is all about choices.  It’s also soberly full of bad people, terrible days and horrible things. I mean come on if you’re breathing, disappointment is gonna find you, one way or another. I just can’t say it any clearer. Bad things happen to good people. Bad people masquerade as good people all the time. And bad days, well they happen all day long, to someone you know every day. Maybe even two days in a row if life’s being unscrupulous about it. Again, life happens. Wait- a -minute vines ensnare and tangle us up all the time. No one is exempt.  

 

Now, you and I can sulk about whatever lemons life throws at us. We can get foaming at the mouth mad, throw a hissy fit, show off our drama skills, act out, unpleasantly and even be disagreeable and spiteful. Or as my hubby likes to say, we can be” butt hurt” about it. And we might feel or even be justified, but the real question is this. Should we? How does rotting from the inside out help our branches and roots grow strong? To paraphrase a quote, I recently heard. "It’s better to make orange juice with those lemons, and leave the world wondering how you did it, than to leave nothing to the imagination and offer up a glass of sour lemonade to the world" . 

 

Let’s face it. We’re all guilty of behaving badly. Afterall, we’re human. Don’t kid yourself. We all do and say stupid stuff all the time. We gossip, judge, mock and inflict pain on others simply because we can. Admit it or not, circling the wagons makes us feel better about ourselves, especially if our allies join the fight.. Irritation, agitation, resentment and rattling each other’s cages are all part of human nature. But they aren’t the sum of who we are. See, by feeding those parts of ourselves, we end up becoming ragefull goons. Let’s get real, being a goon is part of the sideshow, not the main attraction. Don’t ya think there’s enough knock’em, sock’em creepers out there already? Why self-seed anymore wait- a- minute vines yourself? 

 

This is the thing. We don’t have to ruffle feathers or drive anyone up a wall to be right. Nope, we don’t have to strongarm or browbeat anyone to look tough. And no, we don't have to snare and trap or ambush our fellow travelers to avenge or vindicate whatever wrongs we feel have been done to us. We simply need to learn to listen, be thoughtful and kind. 

 

We have a choice. You and I can either react or we can respond to an offense. I don’t know about you, but I’ve learned the hard way people do and say terrible, rotten things. Painful even. The hardest part is you’re not always going to understand why exactly. Who really knows? I’ve found more times than I can count that the guilty party doesn’t even know themselves most of the time. It is what it is. 

 

So, a wait- a -minute vine has gotten its hands on you. Someone set a trap. You walked into it. Not much you can do about it now, right? Well, not exactly. Simply stop obsessing about it. Let it go. If you hold on to the snare it’s only gonna drive you mad. You're responsible for you and your behavior only. So be sensible. You can react with anger, or you can respond with grace. The choice is yours. Really the biggest decision any of us make after the injury comes first in how we answer. Believe me. It’s no cakewalk. Everything about a wait- a- minute vine hurts. The most important thing we do comes down to this. Don’t give away your integrity or bargain with your character. You can’t get either of those back. 

 

So sit down. Take a deep breath and step back. Stay calm and center yourself. No matter how right you think you are, someone else is always going to think you’re wrong. That’s the truth. Whatever we think can't happen or won't, will. So, brace yourself for it. Life doesn’t care who you are. All you need to know is life is going to knock you off your feet. Period. Every last one of us will fall, come up short and make a million and one mistakes throughout our lifetimes. It’s a fact. And you know what else? We’re all gonna get smacked upside the head by one of those wait -a- minute vines too. So just remember...You can’t change the past. You can only move forward.  You reap what you sow, so be careful of what you plant. What goes around never fails to come around. And no matter what’s nipping at your heels right now, things always get better with time. 

 

“Never regret anything that has happened in your life. It cannot be changed, undone or forgotten. So, take it as a lesson learned and move on.” ~ Anonymous 

 

 ~Merida Grace