Turning Points

I was thinking about turning points. It's interesting because I was thinking about two different options - turning points we choose and turning points that just happen in our lives. Things we choose would be things like changing careers, handling our investments differently, ending or beginning a relationship. Things that just happen might be things like a promotion, a death, an accident or winning a drawing.

A good friend of mine experienced a turning point this week when her father died. I had thought of this as a turning point that just happens and this morning I realized that while the death is something that happens, we still choose how to handle it. So it becomes a turning point we choose. I know my friend had to decide whether to let herself feel the grief and deal with the pain and emotions or to stuff them down. That is a huge turning point, and an opportunity for us to make a choice that can greatly affect our lives.

I think it is freeing to realize that even when we feel like things are happening out of our control we still get to choose. We can still make our life better by choosing to learn lessons, to face emotions and to enjoy little moments.