Are You Lucky?
The Answer Is Yes - But Not For The Reason You Think
"One does not see anything until one sees its beauty." - Oscar Wilde
"Dad, you're so lucky."
I heard these words while preparing for a business trip. I was racing around my bedroom packing clothes into a well-traveled suitcase. The words were spoken by my six-year-old daughter, Grace.
At this age, she still loves hanging out with me. Walking the dog, shooting baskets, setting the table, or just having a tea party. She wants to soak up time together so much that she even helps me pack for every trip.
On this evening, she sat with her legs crossed on the floor as I packed. She followed as I moved from my drawers to the suitcase, then to the closet, and back again. Observing, her little voice cut through the silence. "Dad, you're so lucky."
I stopped racing around and looked at her, blond hair flipping over her shoulders, blue eyes sparkling through her pink glasses. I asked why she thinks that and she responded, "Everybody else I know looks the same. But you. You have all kinds of cool colors and designs on your arms. Like, your scars have lots of reds and purples and tans." She paused for a moment, still staring, and added, "I just think you're so lucky."
Scars.
Nobody desires to go through something that leaves behind a painful reminder of what changed, what could have been, and how differently things ended up from what was planned. Nobody desires scars that cover not only the entirety of their arms but their entire body.
And yet, my little one saw my scars not as something to cover up or hide from or wish away, but as something to celebrate, something that sets me apart and something to rejoice in.
What My Little One Can Teach Us About Embracing Our Scars
My friends, how do you view your scars?
How do you view the things that make you different? How do you perceive life circumstances that caused you pain? How do you view your life when it veered in a direction radically different than the one you desired?
One response is to curse the scars.
We can remain angry at our difficult upbringing, past circumstances or current plight. We can hold fast to animosity directed at others or the profound disappointment we carry over our own missteps.
But my friends, scars in life are inevitable. And there is another way to view them.
Today, choose to view your scars - the ones you wear on the outside and those you guard on the inside - as gifts.
See them and be reminded that they exist because the wounds have healed, the battle has been won, and the best yet to come. Use them as reminders of lessons learned, character forged, friends made and compassion and humility sparked.
When you choose to view your scars like that, you'll be free to hold them up high, celebrate what you went through, and let the rest of the world know how lucky you are.
Just ask Grace.
This is your day. Live Inspired.
To book John O'Leary for your next event, visit his profile: https://premierespeakers.com/john_oleary
John’s most recent book title is On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. To order copies in bulk for your event, please visit BulkBooks.com.
The post Are You Lucky? appeared first on John O'Leary.