Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Where’s The Fire?

Where’s The Fire?
©Allen Merritt (2015)

Recently, I worked a conference at a large resort and casino. On the last day of the event the fire alarm for the entire resort went off just before 8:00 a.m. causing the first session of the day to be delayed until the source of the disturbance was investigated. This was for everyone’s safety, of course. Albeit a bit inconvenient when everyone is on a time schedule, I found it a situation pointing toward something good and positive. The reason I write about the incident is because sometimes negative things happen (or are disguised as negative) which are actually helping us go in a positive direction. In this case, the fire was a false alarm, so all was good in the end despite the inconvenience.

Now, fast forward three days later and I am driving down a roadway and notice emergency vehicles surrounding a car, which had somehow wound up on a high embankment and turn upside down in a tree. I admit I couldn’t help but wonder how in the world that could happen. Anyway, I kept on driving to find more emergency vehicles zooming by me. When I finally got to the grocery store I noticed a huge black plume of smoke covering the sky down in the same vicinity to where my conference took place. A fire had broken out next door sending everyone running and causing evacuations. Those fire crews contained that fire in about thirty minutes. One person was taken to the hospital. Wow! Negative energy all around and I was skirting the perimeter of it all.

In thinking about it, I find myself curious and somewhat inspired to explore possibilities. I think it is a given that with every negative there is a positive. It’s much like a coin. Every coin has a head and a tail. Every individual no matter their background, experiences or history deserves an opportunity to feel safe in whatever environment they walk into.

I suppose trying to live with a positive mindset is practice for being aware of and seeing more clearly when the negative situations are sneaking into the picture. Moreover, once identified there is a chance to see deeper into what we are calling “negative” and learning from it and moving out of the danger zone and toward safety.

It appears to me how this can cover many areas in life where we think what we are going through is the worst and most negative situation(s). Since hindsight is 20/20 (as they say) my positive point for this week is focused on looking back on why bad things may have happened at a certain place and time but led to better circumstances. How many of those situations can be turned around or were the cause of a turn around?

  • Breaking up with the person you thought you were going to spend the rest of your life with
  • Losing a job to find a better one more closely associated to your interest and skills
  • Moving from one side of the country to another to stave off being in the middle of a disaster
I believe that sometimes we are not acutely aware of why things happen the way they do; and, learning to embrace the moment and make the most of it by looking for the positive eventually reveals the true positive only later down the road.

I am sure many of us can relate to these ideas and situations. And it serves to remind me of a couple of sayings:

Be careful what you pray for, you might get it.
Thank God for unanswered prayers.

It goes without saying that while these sayings might indicate the importance of thinking clearly and critically about each event. It also is a reminder to be thankful for the good situations and any answered prayers. Maybe there isn’t any rhyme or reason for why things happen the way they do, but it is something to think about, especially as we spend our time bouncing around all these energy fields that wreak havoc on us. In any case, when the fire alarm goes off, we should take it seriously. Our intuitions are there to guide us to safety and toward what may be better for us. The good news is with every negative there is a positive. When you can generate more positive out of the negative then we are making the most of everything.

Where’s the fire!

Use it to your benefit.

Cheers!

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