As most everyone knows, the period from Halloween to New Year’s Eve is unusually stressful for the average person. The many reasons are obvious when you review the many events which take place within that time period. Add to those events the typically poor weather conditions, the state of the economy, several potential war fronts, immigration status, an emergence of an election year, and a dozen other concerns which can be found on the pages of any local newspaper and the possibility of stressors affecting the average person is almost a certainty.
However, when you look back over your past, you realize that these issues arise on a pretty regular basis, and we always seem to weather the storm. Perhaps we should pause for a moment and do a little “reframe” that will certainly assist us in coping with the current stressors as they arise.
Again, we have a generational gem to fall back on. This one concerns a young man learning a very valuable lesson from a grandparent … a firm foundation so many of us have utilized as we developed and nurtured our knowledge base.
GRANDMA’S CAKE OF LIFE
Young Jordan is telling his Grandma how “everything” seems to be going wrong in his life … school, family problems, severe health problems, etc.
Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake. She asks Jordan if he would like a snack, which of course he does.
“Here, have some cooking oil,” she says.
“Yuck,” Jordan says as he makes a face of disgust.
“How about a couple raw eggs?”
“Gross, Grandma!”
“Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?”
“Grandma, those are all yucky!”
To which Grandma replies, “Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! Life works the same way.
“Many times we wonder why things are the way they are … and we must suffer such bad and difficult times. And yet, down deep, we know from experience that in life, with these things all in order, they always work for the good. We just have to be patient, trust your higher power, whatever that be, and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!”
About Harry K. Jones
Harry K. Jones is a motivational speaker and consultant for AchieveMax®, Inc., a company of professional speakers who provide custom-designed seminars, keynote presentations, and consulting services. Harry's top requested topics include change management, customer service, creativity, employee retention, goal setting, leadership, stress management, teamwork, and time management. For more information on Harry's presentations, please call 800-886-2629 or fill out our contact form.