Rising to the Occasion

"In real life, serenity depends on coping and coping well. Rising to the occasion. Consider the following scenarios. You have a flat tire on the way to an important business meeting. You find yourself locked out of the house. You discover that your husband's college roommate is coming for dinner in two hours. The pipes freeze. The puppy swallows an earring. Someone's sick or snowed in. You're asked to send money, switch car pool trips, show up for jury duty. One minute you're called out of town, the next your're asked to step in on a moments notice to save the school bazaar.
Real life is the collision - day in, day out - of the improbable with the impossible. Longfellow believed that situations that call forth our coping abilities are "celestial benedictions" in dark disguises, sent not to try our souls, but to enlarge them. Just as dough rises in a bowl, expanding before it becomes bread, we become larger than we ever thought possible when we rise to occasions, performing miracles with good humor and grace. Coping well enables you to see beyond the circumference of circumstance, so that the real in the center of you daily round is not hidden by happenstance. Most women are geniuses at rising to the occasion. But we've never realized how extraordinary this talent really is, because it's second nature by now. We've never given credit where credit is due, because we've never given coping much thought. But if women who cope well ran everything, Nirvana wouldn't only be the name of a grunge band. We become more adept at rising to the occasion each time we see ourselves doing it. Every time we cope well with whatever real life throws our way, it's another deposit of confidence, creativity, and courage in our self-esteem account. So congratulate yourself each night for handling the unexpected with finesse. Well done. Today, when you need to rise to the occasion, do it with style. Do it with a knowing smile. Confound them. Astound yourself. Make it look easy, and it will become so."

This was taken from the November 6th of the Simple Abundance Book. I like this passage, because it reminds me of so many great women in my life, and the great way they always rise to the occasion. I look at my sister Jolyn and see how when she was just around 40 she became a widow and took that challenge and not only astounded herself, but everyone watching her with her courage. I look at my sister Marty and the challenges she's faced with Dee's health problems, also how she set the example on how to raise kids for me with her creativity. The list goes on the way my nieces with twins seem to just carry on and all the other's with their little ones. My own daughters amaze me. Abby with her knowledge of computers and the way she handles work, mothering and continues to quilt. And Whitney's talents with decorating, stitching, cooking and I love the way she teaches yoga. You all cope with everything that gets thrown your way and flourish through the growth life brings. I know it's hard, but most of the time you do make it look easy and fun. So congratulate yourselves. To my friends, sisters, aunts, nieces, and daughters, you cope and live with style, finesse and creativity, you confound me. Well done!