Thursday, June 11, 2009

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for confidence.

confidence: noun 1 the belief that one can have faith in or rely on someone or something.


Sometimes we really get it wrong when it comes to confidence. We are quick to judge a personality and assume because the way a person dresses or speaks that he or she must be full-up with the stuff. But how many times have you heard that those crusty dispositions hide loads of insecurity? Like your cantankerous neighbor offers surprising sympathy or when you walk in on your nemesis crying in the bathroom?

Or what about the lack of confidence? I'm guilty of that. There have been hundreds of ways that I have compromised my speech, actions and decisions in order to keep the peace, to not rock the boat, to appease someone else's plans or sensitivities. I lump this lack of confidence under the virtue of "being considerate"——to a fault. If we're not careful, soon that lack of confidence begins to erode who we are meant to become and what we are called to do. What if we caved to everyone who poo-pooed our ideas or jeered at our decisions? No Disneyland. No antibiotics. No space shuttles. No music. No Sistine Chapel. That's what.

As for us and what we're doing ... there are moments when I've thought, "Who are we to fight cancer? What do we know? How can ordinary people like us think that we can give this cancer beast a showdown? We aren't Oprah or world-renowned scientists or Mr. & Mrs. Megabucks with philanthropic connections around the globe. How are we going to do this? We can't do it alone, so who the heck is going to care enough to help us?"

Feels like we're trying to build an ark or something. ;)

And then I say to myself, "Self, you have been asked to triumph. That's all. It's just a 'try' with a little 'oomph' behind it."

So it is.

What are you thankful for today?

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