Sweet Lou!

Words have great power! Now and again, while surfing the "interwebs" (as my daughter Maddi calls it), I stumble across some profound words that were either written by someone then posted, or posted by someone others pay attention to, espousing some point made by someone else. Either way, the words strike me in a personal way on a visceral level, and I find myself quietly contemplating their effect on me. When those times occur, I either copy/save the image or copy/paste the words into a note saved on my laptop so I can access their wisdom when moved to do so. This habit has served me well for a long time.

Being a long-time Notre Dame Football fan, I was scrolling through the news clips and stories for the newsworthy happenings in South Bend, and I came across a meme that was attributed to ND's former coach Lou Holtz. The words are most assuredly not Lou's, but that fact that he is quoted with them carries weight, especially in the collective psyches of the ND fan base that spreads far and wide. The words immediately struck a chord with my soul, and I recognized in them a truth I had felt strongly about for many years. In fact, they embodied a personal mantra that has served me well through the peaks and valleys of life as I navigated adolescence, adulthood, parenthood and marriage. I have used the meme as the desktop of my laptop for many years. 

"Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to it."

In a nutshell, my amazement for these profound words leads me to surmise that the anxiety that plagues so many as they navigate their own journey through life can be attributed largely to a sense of frustration with things that have happened that prompted a negative reaction, BUT are happenstance beyond the realm of control. When a person allows themselves to experience negative emotions like fear, anger, worry or loathing in response to things they have no power of influence over, the problem increases in intensity like the Hydra made famous in the labours of Heracles (or Hercules, if you prefer) where cutting off one head creates three more. I have tried my best to face events that don't jive with the way I would like with a critical evaluation as to whether or not I had the opportunity to (a) not have it happen, (b) fix it now that it did happen, or (c) is it something worthy of regret? If the answers are a definite NO, then figuratively beating myself up over the event(s) serves literally no sane purpose. 

I guess it boils down to your base attitude ... is the proverbial glass half full or half empty? 

As a case in point, I was on a ride recently that I had planned for 75-80 km, using the Oro-Medonte Rail Trail in the OUT portion of the route. Once I got in the neighbourhood of Coldwater, I left the trail and turned in the direction that my trusty sense of direction felt was the heading back home. As I battled a bone-chilling and steady headwind, the seeds of doubt germinated that I was not heading where I intended, so I whipped out my iPhone, fired up Google Maps, and let technology lend a helping hand. Following the verbal prompts, the route seemed to be taking an unreasonable length of time to reveal familiar territory, and I finally convinced myself that a double-check was due. That investigation showed that I had mistakenly asked Google for assistance as if I was driving so it/he/she was taking me on the best route for that request, definitely not the best path when riding a bicycle. I had erroneously added 15-20 km to the route, and the sage advice of Coach Holtz echoed throughout my brain, leaving me with the simple decision of how I would respond to the mistake. I couldn't undo it, I really couldn't fix it, and regretting it would frankly ruin an enjoyable Saturday ride, so I shrugged it off as a learning opportunity and made my way home. Of course, the extra km's meant the travel time would be significantly lengthened so a quick text to Joyce was in order, lest she fret over why I was gone so long.

Further to the point, one of my pet peeves is the figurative car lot that forms almost everyday in front of our house, thanks to the apparent need of those on our street to own more cars than fit comfortably in their driveways. Listen, I get they have a right to take advantage of the city's By-Laws, but it makes it tricky to get in and out of our own driveway with multiple vehicles on both sides of the street. A couple  a weeks ago, it was particularly crowed and with a scowl plus muttered curse, I began my attempt to back the Tacoma in like normal. The going was slow as I carefully ... or so I thought ... navigated the labyrinth, but the telltale sound of metal scraping metal prompted a hasty foot to the brake. You've likely already guessed that my front bumper had rubbed against the side panel of my neighbour's hatchback. SHAZBAT! Correcting my mistake and completing the job with no other mishaps, I immediately informed my neighbour of my idiocy, all the while trouncing myself internally for not paying better attention. Kudos to my neighbour for taking the news in stride, obviously disappointed, but not in the least confrontational. We agreed that an estimate for damages would get done and I would willingly pay for the work. Ol' Lou's words crept into my thoughts again ... I couldn't undo it ... I could most definitely fix it ... I would not let regret ruin the rest of what was a gorgeous day. It will most assuredly be an expensive lesson, but the glass-half-full view is that the scenario will not happen again since I will double check all 4 corners of the truck on all future adventures in car lot land.

During the process of writing this post, it dawned on me that I had a very short list of situations at the ready to prove the point, conjuring a wide smile on my face. My ever vigilant wife looked at me with a curiousity befitting a playful puppy, and upon learning the source of my grin, quickly agreed that life was indeed pretty grand these days, with relatively little stress and woe darkening our skies. 

Or, was it our attitude had morphed into something that allowed for shedding the self-imposed pressure of dealing with day to day life?

Regardless of the reason ... although this guy suspects that it's likely a combo rather than one end of the spectrum or that ... we find ourselves gosh darned happy these days, content in our present situation, filled with hopeful eagerness at what the road ahead holds ... AND we keep Lou's advice close to our hearts!

#lifeisgood