When my husband and I were hiking this fall we cut through a local boys camp which was quiet and unoccupied. Students were back in school and counselors back at their year round jobs.
We hiked along the river and in a few minutes to our left I saw this bridge crossing the river. I walked over to read the sign across the top of the beam which read, “T.E. CROSSING”, as you can see from my photo.
We knew a little about this camp but not enough to figure out what the abbreviation meant nor where the path led. So in my little brain I started to make up some possibilities. T.E…let’s see… Tough Emotions, Tacos Everywhere…Tortellini Escargot…Tempter Eve. This is how my brain work, trying to make sense of something by guessing or filling in the blanks or ascribing a truth to an unknown I want to get a ‘handle on’ an uncomfortable riddle. I do this way too often in circumstances which are out of my control, in relationships which are damaged and when I feel insecure and lost. What I am practicing is: waiting with trust, watching with hope and taking one day at a time to love and serve others. Wish me good luck!
Questions to Consider:
- How about you…how do you handle the unknown, especially when it leaves you ‘out of control’?
- What new behaviors could you experiment with to keep your serenity?
- Who’s walking this journey alongside of you? If no one who could you invite?
startstrongfinishwell 
That stand for Trail end…that’s the way Cheley camps designate the boys & girls camps there.
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LOL…way better to KNOW the truth than to name it up! 🙂
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I mean…make it up!
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Love this.
Sent from my iPhone
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My inner dialogue:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
You see, I grew up in a world of adults behaving in ways that were very self-centered. As a result, they made series upon series of choices that were not only self-destructive but also disruptive to everyone in their sphere. I learned to not take my sense of self worth from their destruction, but rather focus on how to solve problems systematically and thoughtfully. I also learned that I get more from giving away my power intentionally – with limits – and, in so doing, empowering others. The key here is “with limits”.
The first thing they tell you to do when the oxygen mask drops is to take care of yourself first. If you pass out, you cannot help those around you. Preserve your sense of self and then do all you can to help those around you that can respond to the help. There are those that will suck all your power and return nothing. You can’t help them. They are on their own journey. Happiness is about the choices we make and learning to find peace with those choices.
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