Is There Light At The End Of The Tunnel?

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.

I can see all obstacles in my way.

Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.

It’s gonna be a bright (bright)

bright (bright) sunshiny day.

It’s gonna be a bright (bright)

bright (bright) sunshiny day.

— Jimmy Cliff

Consider this: If that which you think is your Achilles’ heel is suddenly healed, what would you do? I discovered one day that if I gave my headstrong teenage daughters their excuses before demanding of them a task, they all reject the excuses and wouldn’t dare sully the project with mediocrity. They changed the narrative, which up till then, (they disagree) had been set in a predictable mold, to one where the outcome reflected their premium on integrity.

We have thrown up leaders from the pulpits and universities who have told us of a script in which we were and are victims. Yet, this too, must be marked with an asterisk. For if you accept any demonized image, or any damming subliminal plot of who you are, you will faithfully proceed to make your life a living hell, even as you are shouting,” Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”

Reality is a strange construct and whether it suits your sense of justice or answers your questions about, How could God…..?”, your efforts to escape a black hole, an unglamorous spot or cul-de-sac, are tied up in “how we see what we see” and our expectations (or others of us) when we internalize our frustrations, aspirations, or defiance.

The cure for being in the cellar is to Be Stellar. In other words, you and I have to be our best selves in the storms we encounter. Before long, we not only calm the storms but rebuild our confidence and reacquaint ourselves with only excellence.

When we get to that place, no man need gift us the keys to any luxury Benz, while taking bets among their aristocratic selves, about how and when we will self-destruct, selling the blasted car for a measly crumb. For, we would be armed with the charity of our own expectations, an unstoppable force.

We are only victims in a story or history if we deemed our best unworthy or our efforts a reluctant sacrifice. We may yet discover that we had been mistaken in our beliefs, assumptions, and expectations of what it takes to succeed.

If I say nothing is anything until you say it is you may be unduly alarmed that we are tethering on the edge of lunacy or dabbling in illusions. Where the hell do you think we have been all this while?

We change life by changing our minds. The things we come to believe about ourselves and the charity of our expectations, while embracing our integrity are the keys to transforming our lives and getting out of the cul-de-sac.

We have been through a lot, labeled ourselves this and that, asked of others a reasonable consideration. But we have to learn how to be victors, from inside our souls.