Step up...

...don't sit back

You may already know that teachable moments and amazing wisdom abound around us.

One morning I happened to oversleep such that by the time I was heading out the Recycling Trucks were at work. As I walked by one house, I noticed the really nice handwriting on their Recycling Bin - and admired it. Then I wondered about ours - and how much attention I didn't pay to the writing of our address. As I pondered on it, this topic hit me. Before I go on, let me quickly say that for Recycling or any other bins the only value I see in the writing of the home address is the legibility of the writing - not the quality or "perfection" of the handwriting - after all, it's not a handwriting competition.

Back to the topic. It just occurred to me that too often I (and I'm sure some of us too), sit back and let or expect things happen to or for us. The fact of life is that "life happens" however, we actually have a part to play in what happens and should play that part.

There ae definitely times that things would or could puzzle us or be puzzling. At those times, questions to ask yourself include: "What's my piece of the puzzle?" "Where is it now?" "Where does it fit in?"

We need to respond those questions with action - because holding on to a piece and not stepping up is setting yourself and everyone connected to you at that time up for failure - or at minimum a least than optimal outcome.

The flip side to this is that everyone has a unique part to play - in their and even our lives. There are very few people in our lives, if any, who are there for nothing...they are there for a reason, season and/or a lesson - or even for all three. Hence we also need to recognize and be respectful of that fact. Now that does not mean that we should sit back and twiddle our thumbs to see if they succeed or not. We also need to step up and support them. Stepping up could also mean that we move out of the way but not to become passive - rather be an active supporter from the sidelines.


Wherever you are, step up, do your part. You're there for a unique purpose.