Recently, I ran into an old friend at a neighborhood event. This woman has been plagued with numerous chronic health problems throughout her life, yet she continues to serve others with a positive, upbeat attitude. I noticed that she had what looked like a brace on her arm and hand, so I asked what happened. “I’ve been having some seizures lately,” she said, “I had one while cooking dinner and my hand pressed down on the hot burner. So, I had to have skin grafts.”
I expressed my sympathy and said, “It seems like there is always something.”
Then she turned to me and made this remarkable statement: “It’s just a bump in the road. There are lots of bumps in the road and we have to go over the bumps in order to move forward.”
What an amazing attitude! There was no complaining, no feeling sorry for herself, no asking “why me?!” Just a simple matter-of-fact philosophy of living. It reminds me of a statement by Jenkins Lloyd Jones, who said: “Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.”
Success Tip: When you experience bumps in the road of life, rather than feeling sorry for yourself, realize that everyone has bumps! The only way to move forward is to go over your
factual
This is a great article and so true. I especially like the quote about bliss not being normal.
Great message! Also, just because you don’t readily see another person’s bumps, it doesn’t mean they don’t have any. It’s easy to compare yourself with others and think they have it easy when it’s not necessarily true.