What a Newspaper Article Taught Me About Life

February 6, 2009

Sorting through books my mom gave to me over 30 years ago, I recently found an article she apparently had clipped out of a newspaper. The newspaper had yellowed with age and its edges were ragged but the words were clear.

I telephoned my mom and asked her about the newspaper clipping. “Yes, that sounds like what I used to do,” she said. With the responsibilities and privileges of a family, mom said she would often place a clipping from the newspaper in a book or magazine she was reading, however, because of life she was continually interrupted before completing what she had begun.

Newspaper articles also catch my attention so I frequently grab a pair of scissors to capture ideas which I collect. Perhaps it is because that is what my mom used to do.

Of course, I do not remember reading this particular article. It begins with a simple question we answer every day, “What is Life?” This list of 16 sentences addressing the challenges and victories in life caught my attention.

Life is a challenge … meet it
Life is a gift … accept it
Life is an adventure … dare it
Life is a sorrow … overcome it
Life is a tragedy … face it
Life is a duty … perform it
Life is a game … play it
Life is a mystery … unfold it
Life is a song … sing it
Life is an opportunity … take it
Life is a journey … complete it
Life is a promise … fulfill it
Life is a beauty … praise it
Life is a struggle … fight it
Life is a goal … achieve it
Life is a puzzle … solve it

~Author unknown

The more I looked at the small, fragile piece of paper I knew it was a classic memory and a succinct story of direction for everyday living to share with others. My guess is that the time you spend reading this story is one of the best investments you can ever make in your life. Change your thoughts and change the direction of your life, if you make the choice to do so.

In a book written by Earl Nightingale entitled “Lead the Field,” he said “…thinking is one of the most challenging things human beings do.” It is easy to watch television and movies, because our minds receive information others have chosen for us, the viewers. We have the privilege of deciding what we want to receive and what we want to give.

Think about the stories in your life and select a story to share with another about the single most important lesson you learned from your experience. The story you share and give to another may be the best gift anyone could ever receive, whether now or in the future.

I thanked mom for one of the best gifts she had unknowingly given to me many years ago that I just recently found.

You can only give away what you already possess. Today is a good day to exercise your “giving muscle” and enrich the life of another with a gift that only you can give. Remember, practice makes permanent.

Angela Scott

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