Cheerfulness at a Time Like This

 What is Being Cheerful All About?

 
Early American author William Fender is credited with the quote “Early morning cheerfulness can be extremely obnoxious,” however, I think he is missing the point.

When I was in the first grade our music teacher, Mrs. Holbrook, taught us some songs that we presented one night to our parents.  One song was called” Good Morning Merry Sunshine”.  It went like this:

“Good morning merry sunshine, how did you wake so soon?  You scared the little stars away and shined away the moon.  I saw you to go to sleep last night before I ceased my playing.  How did you get way over there and where have you been staying?”
 
My father must have like the song because he proceeded to wake my brother and me up every morning for several years singing it at the top of his lungs.  While his early morning cheerfulness felt obnoxious at the time, it did teach a powerful lesson for starting the day with cheerfulness.
 
Just like you have to decide to be courageous, you have to decide to be cheerful too.  Do you think my dad felt cheerful every morning as he sang that song?  Of course not!  But I have learned that cheerfulness is contagious.  At several places where I have been employed I have been known to walk the halls singing the song made famous by Fred Rodgers of “Mr. Rogers Neighborhood” that goes “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood…” for the purpose of raising the spirit of my team.  They would at first look at me as if I was nuts but in a few moments their cheerful meters were pegging higher.

Author Joseph Addison puts it this way,” Cheerfulness is the best promoter of health and is as friendly to the mind as to the body."  That is what being cheerful is all about.

 

"Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind."  Aristotle

 

The Profile of Courage

 What is Being Courageous all About?

We have heard it stated repeatedly that courage is not the absence of fear.  Those in war are the first to admit that they feel fear when they acted with courage.

Courage comes in two forms.  Physical courage includes things like the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Moral courage can be described as the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.  It is in these circumstances that courage enables us to stand firm.

The historical biblical account of Caleb and Joshua recounts their reconnaissance mission into the Promised Land.  They saw the same giants as the others who were with them but responded with courage.  Later, Joshua, as he was preparing to lead his army to fight these same giants, was repeatedly reminded to not be fearful but to act with courage.

Acting with courage is your decision to do the right thing regardless of the physical or moral cost.  You do this because of what you value in life.  

• If you value freedom, then you will fight for it.
• If you value your family, then you will protect them. 
• If you value justice, then you will stand up for the falsely accused even if you are his or her only advocate.

When we are courageous, we do the right thing regardless of the possible cost because we are led by our values.

 

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."  Winston Churchill

 

Dealing with Enemies

We Have Enemies and a Secret Weapon
  

Really?  Yes, and the first enemy is ourselves.  We are our own worst enemy when we fail to properly process the many forms of resistance we experience in our lives. 

Friends and associates can also hold us back.  Sometimes they become uncomfortable when we are willing to take reasonable risks that they are not willing to take.  They may try to discourage us in order to remain comfortable with their own state of mediocrity.  This is a great contrast to those in our life who encourage us when we make difficult decisions.  Those are our real friends.

There is also spiritual resistance.  This kind of resistance is unseen but clearly felt. The Apostle Paul described it in the Bible when he wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Paul makes it very clear that we deal with a warfare that is not against people, but against the spiritual powers that operate behind the scenes through people.

So, what is this resistance all about? It's just like football when every yard gained in the red-zone comes with great difficulty.  We all face our own 300 pound linemen, who is intent on seeing that we don't reach the end-zone.  That formidable character may take the form of being disappointed with life, tired and wanting a rest, having lost our vision for the future and an array of other formidable obstacles.  Going all the way in life is not easy.  Some tragically stop having made it 80% of the way. 

Don’t wimp out on the last 20 yards.  Remember, you have a secret weapon for facing down obstacles.  It’s your natural ability that is now combined with experience and influence.  As my friend leading a seminar told us, “You have leverage!”  So, take it and push back on the resistance!

 

"The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable."  Sun Tzu