The M&Ms

The M&Ms

When I was about seven years old, if my dad had a meeting at night he’d often bring home three small bags of M&Ms for me and my sister and brother. For us kids, that was a really big deal. As soon as he handed us the treats, we’d go into the living room, open the bag and count our M&Ms. As you might expect, one of us would usually end up with one or two more than the others, and that left the others feeling less fortunate and a little cheated. As I grew older I realized that a package of M&Ms was sold by weight and therefore each of us kids had the same amount of chocolate but not necessarily the same number of M&Ms.

My view of life today takes a cue from the M&M experience. I truly believe that we all have within us the same amount of chocolate. It’s up to us to recognize and appreciate all that we are and can be. There’s no need to sit around and count each other’s M&Ms when we should be discovering our purpose in life and embracing our unique journey with trust and love.

“There is a simple memory aid that you can use to determine whether it is the correct time to have chocolate: any month whose name contains the letter A, E, or U is the proper time for chocolate.”
--Sandra Boynton (1953- ) American Writer and Illustrator

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Seeing Things Differently

Seeing things differently

So often we get stuck in one way of viewing situations or life events instead of trying to see things differently. It’s not easy picking up a different pair of glasses to get another perspective on or to find purpose or meaning in all things that happen to us.

Last week I was at lunch by myself and overheard a conversation between a man in a wheelchair and a lady. I don’t know what events confined him to a wheelchair, but I do know that he sees things differently than most in his situation. He obviously had turned what would seem to be a tragedy into an opportunity to help others. He was headed to Africa soon to teach children with disabilities how to make the best of what life had handed them. He definitely did not see his condition as a handicap but as an opportunity to make a difference.

I think there are countless opportunities for each of us to find a purpose in all things that happen in our lives. Many times we just need to take a moment, see things differently and know we can choose to make something good out of just about any situation.

“I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn her back on life.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962) American Political Leader and First Lady

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