The Day It Hit Me

It's been quite a while since I've last written in my blog. In fact, this is my first post for 2008. I'm undergoing a rough patch in my life right now and words just wouldn't come out. No amount of inspiration can get me to write. However, time has a way of making things get better.

I realized that when one is so close to the problem, a person tends to lose all perspective of things. When one is amidst the storm, he or she can not see the issues clearly. But the day will come when you will be sick and tired of being "sick and tired", and little by little, you will be able to accept things and go back to what you usually do but you will never be your normal self again.

Perhaps, this is an instance wherein LIFE happens. You see, I consider myself blessed for having an easy time. In my 36 years of existence, I was spared of the hardships and bitter realities of life. Even when my dad died then later my mom passed away as well, I was able to handle death fine. But there will come a moment when your faith will be tested.

But, I have passed this point already. A lot of thinking and prayers has helped me understand things that I was unable to comprehend before. As the saying goes, "What's done is done." And you begin to ask yourself, "Where do I go from here?"

I see now my life as an empty book waiting to be filled by new things that will happen and new people that I will meet. A chapter waiting to be written. Things and people will come and go into our lives. There is no point in holding on to something or someone that would not willingly stay.

In the end, you will see that it's a sunny day, after all.

Opening One's Eyes

If you are a driver, you know very well what a blind spot is. You can experience this if you are switching lanes or when overtaking. This is how John Maxwell, in his article on Leadership, compared the "blind spots" that leaders have.

I enjoy reading Maxwell's articles on Leadership and I thought I would share it with you. According to him, a blind spot occurs when one does not see his real situation and this happens in some or almost every aspect of being a leader. Inevitably, this could affect a leader's over-all decision making capacity when he sees only one side. It would be difficult for him to understand his subordinates if his unawareness engulfs him. Maxwell used singular perspective to describe more aptly what a blind spot is.

The article stressed also that before a leader can be understood, he must understand. It also discussed the importance for leaders to do a self-examination so as to broaden his limited view. This statement is so true not only for leaders but for any ordinary individual. Often, we only see one angle... one facet of a situation.

On a personal note, this Blind spot in our life can also be the root of conflicts arising in human relationships. As a person, we all have different roles in our lives. I, for one, am a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend, an employer, just to name a few characters that I assume. And there are some people that I know who assume greater roles. In my day to day encounter with life, I would find myself in a situation wherein a conflict is brewing. Applying this Blind spot of John Maxwell, we will realize that we have to see where the other person is coming from for you to be able to understand his/her actions. One must be reflective as to why he/she is reacting this way? However, this capability to be introspective does not come easily especially if we have just met this person and sometimes even if we do know this person, we have to go deeper by tracing how this person thinks and the events surrounding him or her.

People are not wired the same way. We may be married with our husbands or wives for a decade yet still not totally understand this person who shares the same bed with us. We may have grown up with our siblings but still have spats with them. We may have a childhood friend that still never fails to amaze us why he does some things. When we take into consideration what the other person is thinking and feeling then we would become more open to communication. Every so often, when we are in a "not-so-good situation", we tend to think inward focusing only on what concerns us. Thinking out of the box is what we must commit to do.

By constantly checking our blind spots and through self scrutiny, we could hopefully diminish, if not totally remove, the big and small conflicts in our relationships. If this happens, then this world will just be a better place to live in.