Circumstances

Numbers 21-22 are wonderful lessons.

I read a commentary by David Guzik that encapsulated the lesson so succinctly. All circumstances we find ourselves in are usually open to more than one interpretation.

When we are challenged, the tendency is to focus on our current predicament. Short termism (I just invented that I think) is the bane of human existence because it ignores our blessings. The expression “First world problems” is another phrase that sums it up perfectly.

The very fact that we have these problems, tells a story of the blessings that led to it. Getting ripped off by a housing agent in London? Low water pressure in my flat here? Feeling low when my family isn’t here? Arsenal ‘bottling’ it and not winning the title? Golf game getting worse?

I’ve taken to stopping the negative thoughts and consciously recalling what led me to that moment and how blessed I am for another day. I had done this previously in Singapore as I drove to work, especially during my time in ICA when it was tough to summon up any positivity.

I would look up at the blue sky and just give thanks and it would always work and put a smile on my face. Try it.