Look beyond your current situation

a brighter side to it. There is always some benefit that can be derived from our experiences even the bad ones.
This means that no matter how bad a situation is, we should always be hopeful. We should always emerge a situation wiser and victorious but only if we are humble and patient enough to walk through the situation.
I have heard people say “Upenyu ivhiri” meaning life is like a wheel. This means there are good and bad days and together the experiences make up life.
It also saves to show that at any given time, there is part of the wheel that suffers friction with the road rough or otherwise. So it is with our lives.
The tendency however is to complain bitterly when we encounter a rough patch in life. We complain and the more we focus on the situation the more and more we complain and the less we are able to deal with the challenge.
We end up being caught in the web and engage in self pity or become bitter instead of better as Joel Osteen says.
There are some people who love complaining, to them there is nothing good about anything in their life. Even a situation that calls for celebration they fail to do so because they think it could have been better. Many times they wish for what is next door because theirs is not good enough.
I once had a friend who was given to complaining. Things were not working out for her for sure, but I believe it was because she never really focused on finding solutions. She would present a problem and one proffered suggestions and assume that we are somewhere. Surprisingly she would recycle the problem and therefore regress into the same sad state.
I tell you, her melancholy mood was so depressing. So many times I would find myself feeling low after playing the counsellor. This lady is one of many such people who fail to see that life is made up of phases that are either good or bad. It is the bad phases in life that show what one is made of.
I remember some years back I was faced with a very personal challenge. I was very adamant and therefore overreacted. My mind was made up without giving a thought to it. Words of caution form a caring relative changed my perception for the better. I remember in a soft tone of voice, she said “Hunhu hwe munhu uononekwa panguva dzakaoma kwete dzakanaka” (a person’s character is apparent in bad times and not in good times).
I always thank God for those words for they have guided my actions in the stormy patches of life. My life’s experiences have taught me to see beyond present challenges. Shingisai Siluma has a song with lyrics “Mirira mangwanani mufaro uchauya” (Wait for the morning it will bring happiness).
In a similar vein the Bible in Habakkuk 3 encourages us to rejoice in the Lord always regardless of circumstances, “Though the fig-tree does not bud . . . though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls . . . “
There is need to look beyond your current challenges as that situation could actually broaden your horizons in ways that you had never imagined. In Sunday school we used to sing a chorus that says “Count your blessings, name them one by one . . . “I know there is so much to be thankful for. Where you see big ugly feet someone does not have them at all. When you complain about a meal of vegetables everyday somebody does not even have a morsel of food on her/his plate. You might be living in a small house not suited for your needs but remember someone sleeps under a bridge. They could give everything to be in your position.
Dear reader you can add on to this list and consider the many things that you mourn about. Faced with a situation, I think it is important to look beyond by asking yourself what is there to learn from this. Complaining creates noise in and around you and I think you agree with me that the environment is not conducive for strategic thinking. Our strength to handle challenges comes from quietness and trust. I know that in child birth screaming on top of your voice will not bring forth a child.
One needs all the strength to push the child out. So one can only groan with pain and focus on the task at hand.
Sure enough, after all that pain there is joy as a mother cuddles her new born child. The essence of the message is not to make us settle for second best.
It is not about mediocrity and compromise but about being thankful. I believe that being thankful is empowering as it makes us think clearly and work out ways of bettering the situation. Complaining takes us backwards as it makes things around us blurred.
It disables some people rendering their capacities to act and improve the situation useless. Others radiate negative energy that ends up affecting people around them.
To you going through a stormy patch in life, I would want to encourage you to look beyond the current situation. It will one be history. Remember stars might not shine all the time but there are always there.
Therefore set you mind on things beyond and remain hopeful.
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