Life Decisions at 35,000 Feet

I saw a video this week where a man was talking about an experience his friend had. His friend was flying on a plane when suddenly both engines stopped. The plane starts going down, and suddenly everyone in the plane splits into two groups. The first group starts to pray and praise God. In the second group, all you here is a bunch of yelling and profanity. It felt like forever, but after a few minutes both engines started back up and they landed safely. Once everything was over, the man’s friend had time to look back at the situation and analyze how everyone reacted. He called it the choice of praise or profanity. He said that in every situation we have the choice on how we view it, negative or positive. I know we have all heard these types of stories or analogies before, but with the new year coming, it just had me thinking extra hard about it. Falling to your death and being stuck in traffic are two very different situations, but how we react in one is how we will react in the other. I’m currently reading a book that was recommended by someone I admire. A lot of people send out an email that lists their favorite books that they read this year. This book stood out to me and so I ordered it right away. In the book, he references someone who he called an “educator”. This educator made this observation, “The shape of our knowledge becomes the shape of our living; the relation of the knower to the known becomes the relation of the living self to the larger world”. What does that mean? The author explains that it means that how we attend to others determines the kind of person we become. If we see people generously, we will become generous. If we see people as cold, we will become cold. The book and the video have me thinking about how I see the world. How do I truly treat the people in my life? If I asked myself the question, how do I see the world around me? The answer wouldn’t reflect how I see the world, it would reflect how I treat the world. If I walk into work and I think everyone is crabby and short tempered, I have a short window to decide. I can be short with them, or I can start sharing some cheer. I can give praise to people, or I can give them profanity. It’s always my choice, that’s a tough responsibility, but it’s mine whether I want it or not.

Every year around this time I hear some people talk about a word of the year. I’ve always wanted to do it, but I’ve never been able to stick with it. I’ve always loved the words, intentional and strategic. I think those two words could solve so many issues in life. I think if you can come up with ideas and then intentionally take the time and effort to make it happen, we wouldn’t have any limitations. So, this year when I was listening to a podcast, I heard a word that I loved, and I think I’ve talked about this word before. The word is obsessed. It reminds me of the saying that the opposite of great is good. We don’t do great things because we become satisfied with good. I have so many things that I want to do that would challenge me and stretch me more than ever before. But, instead of being obsessed with it, I treat it like a hobby. I give it attention when I feel like I have time, but overall if it doesn’t get done, I don’t get mad about it. So, when the day, week, month or year is over I can look back and be happy about what I got done, but I still have lots of regrets. I got the bare minimum done, but I really didn’t make an impact anywhere.  What do I want to see twelve months from now? In twelve months from now I want to ask myself two questions, how do I see the world around me, and what was I obsessed with this year. When I go to answer those questions, I want to be able to say that the world is beautiful and kind. The world is full of lots of opportunities and everyday people take advantage of those opportunities and the world is a better place because of it. I want to be able to say that I had a few areas that I was totally obsessed with, and my life is completely changed because of it. It’s going to be an amazing, life-changing year!