White-knuckled and terrified

Ever find yourself sad without any apparent reason?

I do.

For example, the other day I found myself sad. I don’t know why, in particular. It was not a bad day and nothing specific was occurring that should have made me feel sad.

Maybe it was the slow drain of trying to handle the constant stream of bad news that is pounding us all.

Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep, or forgot to take my vitamins, or maybe it was something I ate.

I don’t know; I was just sad.

I wish I could have snapped my fingers and changed my mood from sad to glad. But I couldn’t.

But I could do this…

I could do what was right no matter how I felt.

Some say moods are mirrors that reflect things going on inside us or around us. I don’t know. But it does make sense.

And something else that makes sense is doing right, not because you feel like it or it is fun, or “works”, but simply because it is right.

You just get up and keep going–giving your best effort, keeping your word, staying true to your commitments and following through…no matter how you feel or how uncertain the outcome may be.

I call it doing right whited-knuckled and terrified.

The idea came to me several years ago when I was riding on a large Farris Wheel with one of my grandsons. It was his first time and somehow, just before the Farris Wheel was about to start, our carriage was at the very top. I looked over at my grandson as we sat in that rather shaky carriage getting ready to make the big plunge and he was wide-eyed, looking straight ahead, and gripping the safety bar with all his might. He was terrified. But to his credit, he never whimpered or complained, he just hung on for dear life–whited-knuckled and terrified.

And, the good news is he survived and ended up having a blast.

We’re going to make too.

The ONE THING for today: This crazy Farris Wheel we are on right now won’t go on forever. Sad or glad, good or bad, just hang in there. Keep doing right…even if you have to do it whited-knuckled and terrified.