If I have learned anything through two severe accidents (one where I broke my neck at 15 causing me to become a quadriplegic, and the other an auto accident that took ten years of hospitalization, surgery and therapy) it is the power of a smile. There is no situation tyoo bleak or night too dark that they can't be brightened with a little smile. It's just plain good medicine.
With all of the illnesses I see around me I can't help thinking of my Dad's approach to matters of Health. Throughout my life I have seen my father with every conceivable symptom for flus, colds, viruses, etc. And no matter how bad the cough or how sore the throat, he always says he's fine-that he will not allow an illness to dictate the course of his life and that he is "declaring his independence from the weather!"
Every time the illnesses made their rounds, I got to see an example of real-life mind over matter. My Dad refused to let his surroundings dictate the direction of his life. I saw him get lots of symptoms, but I never saw him get sick. He didn't mind so it didn't matter. This wasn't always easy. I saw many days when he would be on the brink of getting ill enough that nature wouldn't allow him to push through, and every time his mind kept his body in check.
The same principle applies as we work to have healthy lives. There are a lot of outside influences that work to direct our lives. Just like my father had to decide whether he was going to give in to the illnesses trying to consume his body, we have to decide if we are going to give in to the illnesses that try to consume our minds, spirits, and lives. The good news is that we can prevail. There is not enough negativity, adversity or frustration in the world to overcome the incredible power of your own human spirit. You do however have to decide. Are you going to be acted upon, or are you going to act. So, let the storms come, for it matters little once you have declared your independence from the weather.
Every day each of us is asked one question more than any other. Whether at home , at work, or in your community, over and over we hear someone ask, "How's your day?" A great man once taught me that how you choose to answer that question can often dictate how your day goes. While a student at Brigham Young University, I had the opportunity to take a few classes from George Durrant. George is not only an excellent teacher, he is also an accomplished author and while I was his student, he wrote a book called "My Best Day So Far." The main premise of the book and his "Big Idea," was that every time someone asked you how your day was, you would reply, "My Best Day So Far," and that reply could change your day.
Every day people across america wake-up and before they can begin their day have to find their horoscope in the paper or on the internet. They watch carefully for each prophecy listed for their sign, and then watch for those same prophecies to become reality in their day. More often then not they want those prophecies to be true so bad that they look for them to come true anywhere and anyway. Think about that, either you believe the stars are life prophets, or, you believe those people have an incredible ability to let their beliefs become reality. And I don't believe out fate is written anywhere--especially in the stars.
