Fix Your Grin

In short, we have to allow for changes. We have to understand that not everything will go as planned and, in fact, not all plans will account for every obstacle.
There will be miscalculations. There will be setbacks. There will be the unexpectedness of natural events. Yet, there will also be days like this when the sun shines and the world awaits us.
So, fix your grin and be ready for it all.
There will be slips and falls and inaccurate assumptions too. As a matter of fact, there’s a word for all of this. It’s called life. Be ready to live it.

I think it is fair to submit that our expectations are based on biases; in which I mean, we see things one way. However, we often fail to account for adversity or opposition. And again, this is life in which case all one can do is adjust and adapt. We have to keep moving unless, like now, there is something so beautiful or awe-inspiring that we have to stop and take notice of a new day – or the sunrise and the blue sky. All one can do is at the end of each day, we have to face ourselves in the mirror and come to a constructive conclusion.

Nothing in the past will ever change. Facts cannot be recreated or adjusted to make for a more favorable outcome. Yesterday is gone and quite simply, neither you nor I can do anything about this because we don’t live there anymore. 
The past is unalterable. Yesterday is unchangeable and to this point, the only way to prepare for tomorrow is to take care of today. Right here. Right now.

I will pause to offer a little side note and say that I am not here to offer a daily affirmation. I am not here to decorate this as something flowery or positive. I have not come here to offer you a pretty cliché by telling you “today is a gift,” which is why they call it “the present.”
No, like it says in The Book, I have not come to bring you peace, but a sword.

I am here to offer clarity and rather that use a language that is soothing or calm – no, I have decided to prepare us the same as a soldier arriving at the front lines. 

There is a big world out there and rest assured, not everyone is a friend. Not everyone is looking to support your initiatives. Your agendas are yours. As for the other people in your life, their agendas are theirs and often – never the twain shall meet, which is fine.

We are not in need of anyone’s permission to succeed or achieve our “daily bread.”

I have not come to bring you peace but confidence. I have come to bring you the truth and the truth is that you (and I) have everything we need to be successful.
You are more than adequately equipped with ability, knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
As you are, you have all of the proper faculties to propose and create change. You have everything you’ll ever need to adjust, to achieve and to successfully navigate throughout the day.

I am here to bring you a sword and send you to the front lines of this so-called life, which at times is unkind. Therefore, I ask that you understand my intention both fully and wholeheartedly.
My intention is not to send you out as if to say behold, I sent you out as sheep among the wolves. No. Not at all. I am not telling you to be shrewd as snakes and peaceful as doves.

No. I am here to support the notion that you are capable, exactly as you are. You have the wit, the charm, the charisma and both the emotional and mental ability to endure. You have everything it takes to continue, one step at a time. Should your battles turn tragic, you have the ability to endure one second at a time. More importantly, you have the ability to live, which is more than simply existing.

I hear people say how they believe to which I am reminded; the devil believes too and still he trembles.
I have come to arm you with the strength. I give this to you so that should the social or professional battlefields turn cloudy – or should the warlords attack in the rain and the grounds you’re on become muddied and cold – in spite of your position, look within you, because you have everything it takes to stand up and succeed.

There are times when we need to charge. There are times when we need to tilt forward. There are times when we have to understand to withdraw. There are times when we have to accept the changes. There are times when we have to accept life as it is and rather than negotiate with the unchangeable, we have to adapt and look for places where we can take our shot.

In this life, you will hear a thousand different rejections, a thousand times over, and even then, expect more to come. 
I do not say this to prepare you for the threats of rejection. Instead, I offer this as a commonality. This is not unusual. In addition, I offer you to choose your investments wisely.
As an example, do not be overly concerned by the snarls and the growls from a so-called enemy. This is them. This is what they do.
Their growls and snarls are understandable. They have their position and you have yours.
Perhaps I might take notice if my enemy smiles at me because figuratively speaking, this means I might have something coming in the mail. Or, this could mean nothing and instead this relationship highlights that the wars in my head – and as for them, the wars in my head are filled with more casualties and projected losses than the challenges I face in real life. 

I’ve not come to give you peace, but a sword.
The sword is you because you are stronger than steel.
You are the heart. You are the will.
You are the way. But more . . .
You are the answer to your own riddles.

And while, yes, I agree. War is hell. I agree that the battles and the challenges we face are unique to each soldier. I agree that you and I have our own perception of truth and thus, there are times when we lose sight of truth because of the deception of our perception.
Therefore, this sword is designed to bring clarity.

Our focus and our determination are the stones to which we sharpen the double-edge of our sword. We have to understand. We have to note our surroundings and mindfully, we have to veer away from the trickery of emotional thinking. Therefore, we have to adjust, adapt and plan accordingly. 

To you who say that you are a pacifist, I am too. My wars are bloody yet no one ever dies. My wars have seen pain yet my scars and wounds are internal. Therefore, perhaps it is safe to say that my awards and medals of honor are more internal as well.
I know this all too well.
My wars have seen pain but alas, my war is over because I learned to use my sword to avoid battle in ways to justify peace.

Behold, I am not a sheep among the wolves nor do I need to be as shrewd as a snake and peaceful as a dove. I have everything I need. I have a heart which beats in my chest. I have a soul. I have spirit. I have the ability to stand, to tilt forward, to withdraw and to advance. 
None of this is hinged or contingent upon anybody else. As because this is so for me, this is so for you too.

This is why I’ve come.
To share this with you
So you can see . . .
I’ve not to give you peace, but a sword, which is knowledge; and should you learn to use it, I promise that you will never have to walk into battle again.

All you need is the word.
That’s you.
That’s me
And this is us.

So, fix your grin
and get ready to face the day!