It’s really not so difficult to predict the future…
We know, for example, there will come a day when:
- The car won’t start
- The dishwasher breaks
- Our child gets a bad grade
- Someone will treat us unkindly
What’s more, in addition to these events will come more, and worse! This isn’t “negative 
thinking” rather being realistic. Nothing and nobody lasts forever. A car, like a dishwasher, is a machine made of many parts which in time will eventually wear out with use. While it is possible to extend the useful life of virtually anything, including ourselves, there is a time when it just won’t work anymore. What can we do when confronted with this type of situation?
As bright as our kids are, because of course, they inherit our genes; there will come a time when they aren’t prepared for an exam or any other life’s tests. We can’t always be there to catch them. What are we going to tell our children when they fall?
In our world, there are 7 billion “little-worlds” which exist in the mind of each human being.
Each of these mini worlds have what seem to be thousands of different situations all occurring at the same time which influence the emotional state of each individual. Are we going to get upset every time someone looks at us wrong?
What can we do when faced with these and other adversities which are sure to come our way?
First, is to know everything and everyone has a beginning and an end. As much as we would like for our things, and our loved ones, to last forever, the reality is they will not. Everything which exists as it is today will change to another state in the future.
Second, is to know sometimes the only way to learn an important lesson in life is to experience it. Though we would like to shelter our kids from adversity and pain, it is a necessary part of their personal development. When they fall, the best we can do is to simply help them get up and dust themselves off, rather than reprimand them for falling.
Third, is to know each person is in their own “little world” and we should never judge anybody for what they do or say. We never know what is behind the anguish which causes them to lash out against us. We never know if perhaps someone has experienced 
in one day; the car not starting, the dishwasher breaking, a bad grade from their kids and having someone yell at them or any combination of so many other things.
Life is an adventure of fairly predictable events which can be influenced and affected but not necessarily avoided or eliminated. Things will break, our kids will fall and people will yell at us, but when we expect the unexpected with an excellent attitude, we can flow freely instead of stopping short.
∞ Rob McBride ∞
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