What if?

A story about choice.

Not far from where I used to live a water pipe had burst, flooding the road and street. Despite the best efforts of the local water company, the pipe continued to leak for a full week.  Visiting a neighbour, I was struck by a conversation that took place.


"I'm sick and tired of all this water." said the wife: "Every time I have to go out I get my feet wet. My shoes are soaked and muddy, my legs are splashed with muddy droplets and the street looks a real sight. I can't wait until they're finished. Probably taking their time so they can claim overtime."


"Well why don't you just do what I do?" says husband: "Go the other way!" It's only a 2 minute detour and you miss all the mess - you just like to moan, that's your problem."


Just then their son came bounding through the door with two of his pals - soaking wet! "Wow that was FANTASTIC!" he said: "First we dropped sticks into the gutter to see which would go down the drain first, then we jumped into the big puddle to see who could get the biggest splash, then Billy put some of his bubble mix in the water and we watched as it all turned to froth."

image from: www.fotothing.com

  
This got me thinking about the choices we make - to choose to repeatedly go down the same path - even though it causes us upset and discomfort is so familiar. We all know people who do this, and being honest, we can probably own up to times we've done this ourselves.


In this example it would have been so easy for the wife to change her route, but she was 'stuck' in her ways. Often in life situations, change can be quick and easy - yet we choose the difficult option.


And what of the son? Now here's a thought...what if choice is not about action alone - what if it can also be about attitude - what if we can choose how we see something? Just imagine, changing the way you perceive a problem can make the problem go away. By seeing the leak as an opportunity for play and exploration instead of a nuisance, the boys had great fun.


We may not always realise it, but we can choose a different attitude or we can choose a different path. If our choices aren't serving us well - we can change them.


What choices have you made recently? Small decisions or life-changing moments? Are your choices working for you?  If not, what are you going to choose to do about it?

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