Having the opportunity of visiting my oldest daughter and her family is one of the highlights of life that my wife and I enjoy. My daughter lives on the east coast and we have the opportunity of going to the beach of the majestic Atlantic Ocean.
Such was the case the other day when my wife and I and two of our grandchildren had the pleasure of walking out on a long pier and seeing the waves of the ocean rush to shore. On this particular day it was very windy and the waves were big and many were whitecapping way out in the sea. The fishermen on the pier weren’t having any great luck of catching fish because of the wind and the choppiness of the waves.
Even though it was a partly cloudy July day it was still very hot. There were several people on the beach on either side of the pier, some laying on blankets or towels on the sand enjoying the day, and some were swimming and loving the big waves coming in on them.
Being on the furthest point of the pier I had the opportunity of sitting on a bench and watching God’s creation. As I sat there I thought to myself how the ocean reminds me of people living in the world experiencing life as we make it. On some days the ocean is calm and smooth and everyone loves being around it or in it. On days like this one the wind was causing some big choppy waves allowing us to be around the ocean but being very careful how far we went out in it. On stormy days people aren’t allowed on the beach because of the weather conditions and the fierceness of what the ocean could do to a life if someone entered it knowing it was dangerous.
Our personal attitudes are a lot like the ocean. On some days we are the happiest people in the world and people want to be around us. They want to talk to us because we are smiling and being friendly with everyone. On other days we may have something bothering us inside and we are still friendly but the smiles have faded and our crankiness of self may be like the waves on a windy day. We think we are okay but the people around us see that we are up and down in our demeanor and shy away from getting too close because of the unclear message we are emitting.
Then there are the days for us that are stormy and no one wants any part of us. Like the beach being closed on the ocean because of stormy weather and the uncertainty of what the weather will bring if we get in the ocean people will avoid us like the plague.
All of us realize we have nothing to do with the weather and the effects it has on the sea but we all have something to do with our attitudes. We determine what kind of day we are going to have. Yes we are going to have trials to face through the day but it is up to us how we handle them. Winston Churchill once said; “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”
How is your attitude today about yourself, your family, your friends, the world, etc..? You are the only one that can keep a positive outlook on yourself and everything around you.
