"I love it when I have no business going because I know it can't get worse than this!  There is only one way to go and that's up!"-Les Ellison

When it's Broken

I was feeling a little downhearted a few years ago when my business was not going as well as I thought it should.   When walking down the hall of my office I crossed paths with one of my associates, Les Ellison.  He looked at me and with his characteristic smile and twinkling eyes asked how things were going.  I told him I was a little discouraged because I didn't have much going.

It was then that he gave me his intense you've got this look, and his face brightened even more.  Then he stepped back and said, "I love it when I have no business going because I know it can't get worse than this!  There is only one way to go and that's up!"

If I didn't know Les better I would have thought that he was pulling my leg.  But, I knew he sincerely meant it!  He was sharing a part of his personality and living perspective with me while offering me encouragement and hope.  I vowed at that moment to make Les' approach my own and went back to work.  Since that time I've kept that conversation and lesson in mind when ever I've faced any kind of difficulty and I've noticed some interesting things as a result.

When facing difficult times many people become broken and just give up.  It's a sad thing to see.  But, being broken doesn't mean one has to stay broken.  If viewed from Les' viewpoint it's an opportunity to begin anew; to put the past behind and move boldly into the future.

Being broken to create opportunity is a pattern we see all around us.  When a field is plowed, the earth is broken up as a preparation for the growth of a new crop.  When a forest is burned, the fire releases new seeds to spring from pine cones and join the dirt to begin anew.  When wheat is broken, ground, it can become flour which makes it possible for it to be transformed into another useful form, bread.  The act of breaking or being broken, if embraced and understood, will open the possibility of a transformation to a brighter future that would not have been possible under any other circumstance.

If your current circumstances have you reeling with a feeling of hopelessness you can know that your pain will not last forever if you will begin to shift your view.  Rather than pine for a return to the old, begin to look for the change that could be.  This small act of looking forward will, of itself, open windows that were closed before.  When that happens take a moment to smell the fresh air that rushes in.  Let it fill your lungs as well as your heart; your lungs with new strength and your heart with new hope.