Traveling Lesson #2: Don’t Take Life or Yourself So Seriously

I just finished re-reading C.J. Mahaney’s book “Humility“.  It is one that I will re-visit every year for the rest of my life because the lessons in it are so pertinent.  One of the suggestions he has to cultivate humility is to be able to laugh at yourself.  He correctly acknowledges that the people who are most prideful, are usually those who are most serious.  Those who are humble, can usually laugh at themselves and at life a little easier.

This was very evident in our trip last weekend.  When you get so consumed with yourself, it is hard not to make everything such a big deal.  Our lives are such a little speck in the grand scheme of things.  The world is not going to stop turning just because you get less sleep.  Or if your kids are up past their bed time.  Or if have to listen to crying in the car.  In the end, it is isn’t that big of a deal.

Joe had a great realization of this on Saturday morning when both Elijah and Naomi were up at the crack of dawn.  He hadn’t gotten to bed until a little bit later and could have used the extra sleep for his game that night.  But the kids did not know that and even if they did, I don’t think it would have changed a thing!  So he got a little frustrated, got out of bed and went to the bathroom for something.  When he looked down on the sink there was a note from Abby that said “ILU ABBY”, which when translated means, “I love you, from Abby”.  He suddenly had perspective and realized being woken up early was really not that big of a deal.  He came back to the bed with a smile on his face.

Yes, life is hard.  But many of the things we get worked up over are really not that big of a deal.  We won’t even remember them in a week and they certainly are not making an impact anywhere else in the world.  What is making an impact is how we react.  It affects our own heart and the other people around us.  Will we smile and laugh or get upset over the little things?  When we take a minute to pause, take a breath and think about the situation, we usually realize it is not a big deal.  We can put a smile on our face and make the day better.