There's a cliche' in our vocabulary realm today that says, "It is what it is"...

How often I hear that statement, and many times have even used it in events in my own life, especially in the last few years.

After some surmising, I have reached the conclusion that the statement is really a cop out. Why? Because it leads us to believe that LIFE is what it is, and there's not alot we can do about it.

We all have a wagon to pull, some are fuller than others, and needless to say, we all have varied issues with which to contend. Granted, it's easier to say "it is what it is", which is just another way of saying, "So be it"...than it is to say, "It's not what it could be", or "It's not what I will accept it to be".

As individuals, we have the power within ourselves to change some things in our lives. Of course, it's evident that some things we CANNOT change, and some things we WON'T change. The bottom line? It's an individual choice--life, that is.

Whether one chooses to live comfortably miserable, miserably settled, or any other demise (a type of death), it is for sure a reality that there is always a remedy. Life is like a pendulum...it swings both ways...positive, negative...fruitful, without meaning...adventurous, boring.

This thought has rung loudly in my ears today, thus the reason for this writing. As I have pondered different scenarios of my life, it is evident that I can live the duration of my life, however many years are left in it now, with the attitude--"It is what it is"...or I can begin the new year with a different attitude..."Live against the odds".

The odds? Yes, the odds say that there's not enough years left in my life to find my lost self again. The odds say that the economy will not allow me to ever regain the financial securities that I once possessed; unless, of course, I should win the lottery, and the odds there are what? 1 in millions now. The odds say that there's no way out of this world crisis, when in fact the Bible says there is, and will be. The odds say that 1 in 3 will die from cancer or some other dreaded disease, and with our health care system reeling, many are fearful of the coming days.

I guess I've said all this to myself as well as to others, as a consensus that we need to rearrange our vocabulary from the negative of "it is what it is", or "so be it", to "live against the odds"...

Either do it or die...if you can't change it, then, so be it. But if you dare to live against the odds, go for it.

Time's a wastin', my friends, life holds so much more for all of us if we will just be willing to accept change rather than status quo. That is, unless you're comfortably miserable or miserably settled...if so, then let go of those things that you won't accept to benefit you or someone else...no matter who you are, there's few who have the privilege to "have their cake and eat it, too"...if you aren't one of those few, then be open to live against the odds!

D. S. Mullis
Copyright 2012