Notes From The Furlough: Day 35

Power is the ability to change yourself.

Please discuss. How does this play out in life?

I’ll start us out. Most aspects of life are out of my control. I’m sheltering at home, furloughed from work, social distancing, awaiting arrival of unemployment compensation, and—the ultimate affront—experiencing unseasonable cold and possible snow today, in early May! There is a lot I can bristle up against.

I can work up a load of righteous resistance, but it is unlikely to affect any of those hard realities. I can spout my displeasure and vent, and I might feel better briefly for the release, but it won’t change the situation and my unhappy emotions will regenerate. The only way out of the cycle is to choose to have a different reaction. When I elect to focus on what is working in my life, I empower myself to be happy. No one else can make me happy or grant me this power. It is something I must give myself. Today I gift myself the power to enjoy life, as it is right now, by changing my focus.

How about you? What power can you give yourself?