Lock-Down, Day 3 - It's a Choice

It is the third day of Lock-Down here in our country.  The novelty of this strange situation is starting to wear off and people are starting to get edgy.  Many look to the future and wonder how they are going to survive this lock-down for another  eighteen days! 

Life has a way to take us by surprise!  Would you in your wildest dreams ever have imagined at the beginning of the year that this year we would face an invisible enemy that would cripple the world on every conceivable front?

When we find ourselves midst difficult circumstances, faced with obstacles or experiencing a crises, it is easy to be overcome by fear and to become despondent.  However, despite the situation we are faced with, one thing remains.  We still have a choice.  No, it is neither a choice as to whether we could avoid the situation nor a choice of a different set of challenges.  It is a choice of where do I turn my focus.  Do I focus on the storm, or do I look beyond the storm at the faint rainbow in the sky, because there will always be a rainbow, no matter how little sunlight there is.  Apostle Peter wanted to walk on the water towards the Lord, and he did.  He kept his gaze on Jesus and he walked on top of the waves.  However, the moment he turned his gaze from Jesus and looked at the storm, he sank.  Why?  He went under because looking at the dark, stormy skies, the sheer magnitude of it and the howling wind whipping up the frothy waves, he started to doubt and fear took hold of him.  Despair grabbed hold of him and he could see nothing else, no way out.  He became a victim of the storm. Did he have a choice?  Yes, he did.  If he were to turn his gaze back to Jesus, the storm would no longer have been his focus and his downfall. 

Viktor E. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, said that the last of human freedom is to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances and to chooses one's own way.

It does not mean that the storm will disappear, or our circumstances will change, but it means that we will be able to handle it differently and we will be able to make better choices.  We are very rarely in control of all aspects of our lives and circumstances, but what definitely is in our control is our reaction to these events.  When we take control of our attitude you inevitably open yourself up to more creative thought processes. Instead of finding excuses, you find solutions and you become more energized.  This results in better self-esteem and doors to new opportunities seem to appear. 

What is going to be your focus for the next 18 days?  What will you choose?

I leave you with this quote by Charles Swindoll:

"Life is 10% of what happens to you

and 90% how you react to it."