A very challenging day for me began with the coffee maker not working. It just died. And things did not improve from there but I managed to overcome…for the most part. A challenging day but a very enlightening and successful one upon further review.

One son had a very good day with his music- no details needed here but let’s just say he was happy. And that is good to see.

The other son had a good game of baseball and he, too, was happy. That, too, good to see.

My wife seemed to have had a good day and was also happy. Very nice to see.

I would not say I was happy after all the issues I managed to encounter during the day, Tuesday, but I will definitely say that I am now happy that I managed to avoid most of the old responses. I simply took some breaths and bit the old lip and focused on the good, the positive. It really does work if you try hard. It seems to get a bit easier with each attempt.

There was much good in the day and it was a beautiful day given to us to appreciate and enjoy. I was quite proud of my sons this day and somewhat proud of myself. I realized how many things that tend me toward the negative are things that really are not important in the long or even the short run. They are just not worth the sweat. Breathe, breathe again, give it a few minutes and it is amazing how quickly it can all fade. Give it fuel and it will burn, sometimes way beyond our ability to control and then what is done, or said, is then done, or said.

So not a bad day- a test on restraint and control for me that I would give myself maybe a B-minus upon completion. Could be better and I will make every effort to make it so. It also could have been a lot worse and that is always the case no matter what happens. You know how that goes- never say that it can’t get much worse because it always can and sometimes does. But even that assessment sounds too negative to me and I will not venture there again my friends.

As I head into a third day I ask again for a renewed sense of focus on all things that matter and an ability to just “let it go” for all the things that simply do not. Learn to be able to tell the difference and I think that much of the turmoil, stress, angst, and bitterness in life will simply fall away. A lot of that is created by us anyhow so it is easily within our power to simply make it vanish.

I do think that it may just be possible; I do think that it can be just that simple. I will continue onward and send word from the frontier as I have it to share.

Though it is dark and rainy out there this morning this is an opportunity again, a day to shine for me.

Onward and upward my friends, onward and upward.