I read words by Robert Fulghum back in 1991, and although it has been 28 years, the significance has lived within me. His message was about knowing the difference between a problem and an inconvenience. So often, we find ourselves complaining about the nuances of the day; traffic, the waiter getting your order wrong, the weather…. I could go on and on with this list. The reality is these things we complain so often about are just life’s inconveniences. How different our day will be when we accept the inconveniences of life. Let us work towards that.
Here are Robert’s words; simple, yet powerful:
“One of life’s best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem. If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire – then you’ve got a problem. Everything else is an inconvenience. Life is inconvenient. Life is lumpy. A lump in the oatmeal, a lump in the throat and a lump in the breast are not the same kind of lump. One needs to learn the difference.”
We only get one chance at this thing called life. Rock it!