Expect the Extraordinary

Can an idea change the way you live your life? I didn't use to think it could - so dramatically anyway. I've always thought of myself to be a relatively positive person, but when I heard this wisdom from a priest in his homily over the Christmas break, I really let it sink in. Now, this view on life is a motto that I live by daily. Not on my own, of course. I don't simply expect extraordinary things to happen for no reason. I expect them to happen because of Jesus Christ.

I truly do see a lot of things in a different light than I would say most people that I come across. I am honestly in wonder at the very basic functions of the human body - all of the chemical reactions and messages that have to go just right for me to bend my arm, all happening at an unbelievable speed. Anyway this new faith-based motto has really changed the way that I approach life. Do I fall into despair sometimes, of course, I'm human after all; but striving for true hope and faith that God is in complete control gives me such freedom to enjoy the pleasures that life has to offer. Are there issues in our world that seem hopeless and lost? YES. But that is only because we focus on things have been in the past and we become content with the status quo and for whatever reason decide that it's not worth fighting for because it's hopeless. Challenge: try. If there is something that you would like to see changed in your life, try. This is going to be a little preachy, but be the change you want to see in the world. Every day, we are presented with opportunities to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others - even if its something small. And actually, I believe those small, everyday things to be so much more important because they add up...QUICK!

Well, I hope that others can find a motto that can do for them what "Expect the Extraordinary" has done for me. God bless.

Leadership Escalator

This weekend I went to Washington, D.C. for the March for Life. First of all...WOW!!! Half of a million people gathered together to march onto Capitol Hill and in front of the Supreme Court to protest the injustice of abortion - towards babies and women. I'm going to go into an experience from the weekend, but first I just quickly want to encourage anyone who desires a culture of life for our country...there is hope and we are going to win with perseverance, dedication, and prayer. The tides are turning!

During our time in D.C. we had to ride the Metro in order to get around. We were exiting with a large crowd of people and I fell behind my group and so I was weaving between people trying to catch up. I got to the escalator and realized that the people I knew were at the front of the line about halfway up already. There was another escalator void of anyone that wasn't moving. I decided that I could catch up to them if I went up the one that nobody was on. When I got even with my group, our eyes met and apparently that signaled the competitive green light in my head and I started running up the escalator. The race was on and the people from my group also started sprinting. Well I got second place...I'm not disappointed...theirs was moving. Anyway, a little later on while we were on another bus someone was talking about it and mentioned the crowd of people that were running behind me - people who were not with our group. I didn't realize it while it was happening but apparently, I had provoked a whole crowd to run with reckless abandon up the escalator.
Now, here's the lesson that I'm taking out of this: our actions affect others. Brand new revelation, right?! Well, I just got to thinking how we can all find opportunities to lead others in our lives. Live out what you believe in your heart to be true and be in tune to how others respond. I've got room for improvement in both aspects. You never know how people are going to react. I was not trying to inspire people to sprint up the escalator, but they followed. Be aware of your actions and strive to make them worth following.