What is life? Select the best answer.
A. Life is like a book told in chapters. If you never turn the page, you can’t know what the next chapter holds.
B. Life is like a garden. You reap what you sow.
C. Life is like a cup of tea, meant to be filled to the brim and shared with friends.
D. Life is like a boxing match. Defeat is declared not when you fall but when you refuse to get up again.
E. Life is like a buffet. It’s not very good but there is plenty of it!
The correct answer is …
Did you do a quick internet search for the answer before selecting? Or do you have a philosophical answer of your own? We did just that!
A quick search of the internet reveals about 17.5 billion (yes, with a “B”) answers to the question. Everything from the profound (A), to the prophetic (B), to the pithy (C), to the dark side (D), to the head scratching (E). The problem with these answers is that they don’t consider the whole of life and all the wonders it holds! Yes, you do reap what you sow, but what about all the steps necessary to successfully cultivate the harvest? Yes, life has some pretty defeating moments, but there are also times it can be uplifting and seemingly victorious! Yes, it is a buffet, but there are plenty of gourmet meals available if you take the time to select the ingredients and put the pieces together correctly. If you were to fashion your life after any one of these or the other 17+ billion choices, you would have a very incomplete life. Yes, there is only one life comparison that works for a full and fulfilling life over an entire lifetime. Our answer: F, none of the above, or other: Life is like a camera!
Life is like a camera: Focus on the positive, develop from the negatives. For best results, hold on with steady hands, and if things don’t work out as planned, take another shot at it.
Indeed, focus on the positives of life. Nobody wants to plan on defeat and go in assuming you are going to be knocked down. Approach life’s buffet knowing there will be something that you can sink your teeth into, even if it means becoming creative with the condiments. But you can’t assume that everything will be positive and that there will never be problems. That tea can slosh over the rim, or your friend might prefer coffee. No problem, you know how to fix that - you steep or brew another cup and go in to share again! And with apologies to the instantaneous output of today’s digital cameras, nothing happens right away. Life takes time to develop and then to consider if adjustments are needed for it to turn out as you planned. The harvest isn’t sown from magical beans merely scattered on the ground. There are so many steps that we devoted an entire blog post to cultivating life’s greatness.
Develop from the negatives is how we improve and grow. They say wisdom comes with age, and like wine and cheese, we get better with age. Experience makes life more interesting and fulfilling. From those situations that didn’t work out as planned, you get up, steady yourself and hold on, and then take another shot.
Life is like a camera: Focus on the positive, develop from the negatives. For best results, hold on with steady hands, and if things don’t work out as planned, take another shot at it.
Yes, we think that snaps a pretty good picture of how to approach life.
On the count of three: 1, 2, 3, Smile! 📸
This is so amazing! I love that y'all see--intentionally--the hope and heart in life, the p0ssibilities and not just the pain and frustration that is heralded as life by the world. Thank you for your words of encouragement.