TheMiddleShelf.com

Photograph: Roger-Viollet/Rex Features

Yes, times are rough, troubles subsist, and downsides are still there, and that’s just life.  But how should one cope?  Here are the questions I usually ask myself:  should I just turn on my Wii and hoola-hoop my way out of this nagging feeling?  Should I take a long, brisk walk? Read? Go shopping?

I had a recent bout of frustration, boredom and a bad hair day–all in one day.  Armed with options I have mentioned above, I chose to stay put and read. I reached to my old gray notebook containing all my favorite quotes and short articles.  I randomly picked a page to read.  Here’s what I read on that dreadful day; one of  my favorite inspirational pieces adapted from AccessChristian:

A young woman was complaining to her father about how difficult her life had become.  He said nothing, but took her to the kitchen and set three pans of water to boiling.  To the first pan, he added carrots; to the second, eggs; and to the third, ground coffee.  After all three had cooked, he put their contents into separate bowls and asked his daughter to cut into the eggs and carrots and smell the coffee.  “What does this all mean?  she asked impatiently.

“Each food,” he said, “teaches us something about facing adversity, as represented by the boiling water.”  The carrot went in hard but came out soft and weak.  The eggs went in fragile but came out hardened.  The coffee, however, changed the water to something better.

“Which will you be like as you face life?”  he asked.  Will you give up, become hard–or transform adversity into triumph?  As the “chef” of your own life, what will you bring to the table?”

What a good question to ask ourselves as we ponder what we will resolve in 2010.

In closing, I would be remiss if I don’t say Happy Christmas!  May the holidays bring you peace, fun, good food and good times with your loved ones–whatever it is that matters most to you.  In the words of Charles Dickens’ Tiny Tim: “God bless Us, Every One!”