Is it an Adventure or an Inconvenience?

(Category: Peaceful, Easy Journey)

When something unexpected happens, does it become an inconvenience or an adventure?  This is a decision each person must make on this journey of life.  Will they allow this change in the path to bug them negatively or look at it as a new adventure?

Note: The inspiration for this article is from a recent sermon in my church.  It is a topic that I felt would be useful on your journey.

There is an old fable about a man who sat every day outside of his city’s gate.  He greeted each person as they came and went.  One day a family came by and asked him what kind of people lived in the city?  “We are thinking of moving here and wondered what our neighbors would be like.”

The man looked at them and asked, “What kind of neighbors did you leave?

Then family’s faces looked sad and the said, “They were the best.  They were kind and giving and so much fun to be with.  We hated to leave, but economics forced us to move.”

The man said, “You will find that the people here are the same.  You will love living here because of the great people.”

The family brightened up, thanked the man and went into the city.

Later that day another family came to the gate with the same question.  The man also asked them, “What kind of neighbors did you leave?”

The father answered, “There were the worst.  We couldn’t wait to get away.  No one was friendly to us and we felt so unfortunate to be living there.”

The man at the gate sighed, “I am sorry to tell you that you will find the people in this city to be the same.” The family turned and left the gate.

In a city, you will always find good neighbors and bad neighbors.  There are people that are wonderful friends and other you don’t want to be around.  There are allies and enemies.

The question that comes to mind is; “Why didn’t the man at the gate say that?” Because you will find in most of life, “What you see is what you get.” But that is not necessarily all that is there!

There is a sign at the entrance of a town near Ft Laramie, WY.  It simply states, "255 good people and 3 sore heads.” All towns will have good and bad people.

One family saw this as an adventure and one saw it as an inconvenience.  One left good people and the gatekeeper told them they would find good people here.  It became an adventure.

The other family left bad people and the gatekeeper told them they will find bad people here.  It became an inconvenience to them.

There are two ways to look at life, positive or negative.  You can either look for the sparkle of joy or the doom and gloom.  Pain will always happen in our lives, but we have the choice about how we respond to pain.

The following is an excerpt from a book by Barbara Johnson, who is one of the original speakers that help start Woman of Faith.  The book has a clever name; “Pain is Inevitable, but MISERY is Optional... so Stick a Geranium in Your Hat and be Happy!”

“For years I have been trying to convince Bill, my darling but melancholy husband, that how you look at life can either bring a sparkle of joy or a handful of gloom.  We cannot escape pain in our lives, but we have the choice of how we respond to the pain.

“One time we had car trouble and had to be towed from San Diego to our home, a distance of nearly 100 miles at a cost of $1 per mile. (Note: this is an old story, in this year, 2019, that could cost $4 or more per mile).

“I had never even been in a tow truck before, and it was really fun sitting up so high and looking down at all the little cars whirring by.  Being up so high, I could see everything perfectly, even our car being towed behind.

“But Bill didn’t think it was fun at all.  He didn’t think it was an adventure.  He didn’t think there was anything cherry about it.  Trying to lift his dark mood, I chirped loudly, ‘But think of all the gas we are saving!’ That did not help!

“For me it was a new, fun experience.  We probably would never ride that far in a tow truck again, so why not enjoy ourselves since we had to be doing it anyway?  But Bill didn’t see it that way.”

While Bill was miserable, Barbara was on an adventure.  Ask yourself, which would you want in a difficult time?

On the journey, people will run into difficult times.  How they react to those times is entirely up to them.  Will it be an adventure, a fun experience or will it be an inconvenience, leaving you miserable?  The choice is theirs!

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