The Correct Gear

Have you ever not had the correct equipment for something? It can be so annoying!  Trying to do DIY and realise you don’t have the correct sized screws!

Do you remember those school days when you had PE and you did not have your PE kit with you, but you really wanted to join in that day?

 “Miss, it’s in the wash … can I play …please” you entreated with those puppy dog eyes, wide and oh so woeful.

 “I have flat shoes on” you explain with fingers crossed.

 “No, you can’t … no PE kit, no PE …”. 

“But why?” you protest.

 “Health and safety; it’s the rules, now go and sit on the bench and watch”.

Frustrating wasn’t it and so unfair, unless of course you were anything like me, and looked for any excuse to get out of PE.  At the time it seemed so unreasonable, so unfair, after all, you were just going to run around the field, and what’s wrong with doing that in your school shoes.  They are flat, aren’t they?”.

But you see it is not about having on flat shoes and joining in, it’s about having the right shoes and the right shoes serve a purpose.  Safety.  Safety for your feet, safety from slips, and safety for others. Imagine those little toes getting bunched up and the arch of the soles of your foot not getting the right support … oh the regret later in life especially when you have corns!  And what about the team, no good if you try to score a goal and your shoe goes flying along with the football, almost knocking Miss Unreasonable PE Teacher out!

Thinking about this simple scenario made me think about life.  Most of us face challenges at some point in our lives.  At the time of writing, I am facing a challenge that crops up ever so often. When I reflect on this challenge, each time it comes around I realise that I have not been fully prepared to face it and conquer it.

Sometimes we just don’t have the correct gear for the challenges that are standing in our way.

Some challenges or life circumstances can be tough, they can take you by surprise and it can feel like the rug has been pulled from under you.  We can feel so ill-equipped to deal with what life throws at us; overwhelmed, defeated, depressed, and not want to face another day. 

Debt, for example, even the word itself has a menacing, unsavory sound and feel to it.  Debt and the worries that come with it can feel like a dark consuming grip that wraps itself around you, squeezing out all optimism, hope, or sense of direction, immobilizing you. You can feel like you are drowning in it.

That was descriptive!  It certainly was you see I’ve been there, and it is not a pleasant place to be.

Sticking with the thought of debt for a moment, when we can put on courage to face it, look it straight in the eye, so to speak, something happens.  In facing our situations, moving from a position of fear to a position of hope, we start to see what we need to see. 

So, what do I mean by that, well, fear can be immobilizing, it can cause us to freeze, to flee, or to fight and therefore achieve nothing productive? We can clothe ourselves in fear and pretend it isn’t happening. Push those letters into the back of the drawer along with all the others.  Hide under the covers with the lights switched off when the bell rings are 6 am in the morning. 

But if we can clothe ourselves in courage and respond to debt from a position of determination to overcome it, a position of hope, a position of faith, then what starts to happen is light comes into that dark situation. 

Hope helps you to move forward and activate things that will improve the situation.  For instance, hope can activate you to speak to someone who can advise and coach you with a plan out of that situation, increasing your sense of hope.  You know what can happen next, you start activating a plan, no matter how simple.  If you have a realistic plan and stick to that plan at some point you will begin to experience a change; that mountain of debt starts to shift. 

Why? because light has come into that situation and light is powerful, it illuminates and irradiates darkness; darkness has no power over it.

Think about it.  When you walk into a dark room you can’t see where you are going, or you can’t see the detail of things, that’s for sure.  Switch the light on and the darkness is eliminated, and you can see everything.

It might seem simple, but you know it really is worth thinking about.  Don’t give up,