A Beggar's Choice

 A man said to a beggar one day, “Good day my friend.”

The beggar answered, “Well, thank you, but I never have a bad one.”

The man responded, “Well, may God give you a happy life, my friend.”

And the beggar replied, “I thank God that I am never unhappy.”

The man was speechless. And the beggar continued, “When I have plenty to eat, I thank God. When I am hungry, I thank God. If it is God’s will for me to endure this, then whatever is God’s will for me makes me happy.”

He chose to be happy .

I wish I had the same mentality  as this beggar . I have certainly been trying to achieve that same level as him . The funny thing here is that he literally does have so much more to complain about than I , yet he doesn't . He is a much better soul than I . 

How do we achieve that kind of gratefulness even though we all have strife , struggles and trials in our lives ? 

We have a long time friend , Mike , who also has that beautiful characteristic of finding goodness in everything . If someone is late , he appreciates the fact that they still made it out . If someone says something negative , he will tell you how great it is that we can have an opinion due to free will . 

I have asked him many times , how did he achieve this great feat ? His reply ?

 It has been twenty-five years in the making . I cannot change the situation , but I can change the outcome and my feelings regarding it .

You know , I have no problem doing the same in my personal life , but somehow , when it comes to my work life , it goes haywire . Too many people , too many different values and ethics play a huge role . I do not know how to control the emotions they evoke in me . 

And they are aware of that . 

People love to play on someone's good intentions . They like to use our Christian faith to get what they want . I can't even tell you how many times I've heard the expression : 

Oh , I thought you were a Christian . I see you are just a fake . 

What do we do then ? Guilt invades our souls and we give in feeling horrible , because of it . 

Sometimes , I think that if I lived elsewhere , or worked elsewhere , I would have a better chance of finally achieving that desired level of goodness inside of me . Less stress away from a negative environment may prove to more effective . 

Then on the other hand , I feel as if God has placed me there among these troublesome people so I could achieve that level I so seek and have asked him for . 

Sigh , why didn't I ask for mercy when I showed that desire ? 

Have a Blessed day everyone .