Fairness and Elephant Poop

Sometimes, life just isn’t fair.

My kids tell me this all the time, and I’m pretty sure as a kid I reported this fact to my parents at least weekly.

• That woman who arrived at the deli counter at the supermarket after me and hovered nearby so the person helped her first.
• The AC that broke two weeks after we moved into our house.
• My foot that just decided to dislocate a bone for no apparent reason.
• Those special light bulbs that are supposed to last five years, but last less than one.
• That sickness that hit the day of the triathlon I had trained for.

The list goes on and on and on. From stupid things that don’t really matter, to big things that make us want to curl up in bed with a tub of cookie dough and watch nonstop episodes of [insert favorite show here].

Life isn’t fair. It isn’t. And though I wish otherwise, it probably never will be.

Which is precisely why we can’t let that bother us. We can’t let the mundane unfairness of life control us.

This past month, my family and I have been going through an unfairness. A life situation that is crazy! Unexpected. Silly. And utterly, completely unfair. And it’s not been a little thing. It will uproot our lives, and make things much more complicated in the months to come (lest you all worry overmuch, it’s about a failed house purchase for a reason that even the lender admitted to never having seen before).

There are all kinds of ways to react to this unfairness. Anger that it is happening to us. Stress and anxiety for all the changes to come and the added unexpected workload, not to mention expense. Sorrow for losing what could have been. Bitterness at the unfairness of it all!

Or.

Or, or, or, we can chose to be ducks. Face it head on, then let it flow off our backs like water. Trust me, I know that is easier to write than it is to live. I KNOW. But the situation is happening. It will happen no matter how we react. And though we can’t control the situation, we can control how we react.

And we can choose to be happy. We can choose to move past the unfairness, and focus on the good things that still fill our lives. Because there are good things. Lots of them. Sometimes it’s hard to notice those small happinesses when a big elephant of frustration is filling our vision. But a change of perspective, a shift of stance, and there they are. All those good things just waiting to be noticed.

Yes, it will take work. Yes, it will be hard. I know we’ll have moments where we stumble, or slip in the elephant’s poop (gross!). But I hope they will just be moments.

Here’s to moving on. Here’s to focusing on the sunny side of life and finding joy despite it all!