Thursday, January 21, 2010

Obstacle or opportunity?

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." --J. Sidlow Baxter, 1903-1999, author & theologian


I get an inspirational quote sent to me via email each day, and most are pretty good. At least worth pondering a bit. This quote hit me pretty strong this morning, because it's as if it was written for my daughter, Nicole. She's a person who very rarely sees anything as an obstacle. Most of the time that's a good thing, but it's also what got her into the situation she's in now.

Locked out of her apartment? No problem! She just thought she'd find another way to get in. A six-story fall later, she was in quite a pickle.


Broken body? Not the end of the world for her, by any means! Instead, Nicole immediately started looking for the opportunities to get stronger and better. She loved going to physical therapy in the hospital because she saw it as her opportunity to get back on her feet. Now she celebrates her scars as badges of courage. So much so, that she had photos made recently that will appear in an article about her in Gendance magazine.

While Nicole can't dance like she did before the accident, she is working feverishly to put together a big dance performance on March 27-- a performance where she will dance in front of a crowd of 200 people. Just putting together an event of the magnitude she is planning requires her to face obstacle after obstacle. But positive thinker that she is, she just finds a way around them--she looks for the opportunities instead of the reasons why she can't do it.

I sat in on a meeting Nicole had yesterday with Nathan Glenn and his attorney at The Auditorium (the awesome new restaurant in the old Duling School in Fondren: http://www.theauditoriumrestaurant.com/). They were going over all the points of the event, which Nicole has named "An Evening of Hope." For $75, guests will receive a three-course gourmet meal, a signature drink, a chance to participate in a live art auction, and an incredible evening of multi-media entertainment featuring dance performances by students in the Belhaven department of dance. Proceeds from the event will benefit the "Ask for More Art" initiative of the Parents for Public Schools. (http://www.ppsjackson.org/askformoreart.html)

She is working very hard on the event, learning alot about event planning along the way. Not only is she choreographing and producing the show, she's talking to artists to get pieces for the auction, and talking to businesses to obtain sponsorships to cover the costs of incidentals like advertising, security, etc. It's as if the words "you can't do that" aren't in her vocabulary. She just plugs along and finds a way.

I believe old J. Sidlow Baxter was right..."Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." I'm seeing those words played out right before my eyes through the actions of my amazingly persistant daughter.

What are your obstacles today? Knowing that opportunities have difficulties, what will your attitude be towards them? Just think about Nicole, and face it head-on, with a firm image in your mind of what you want the end result to be.

Blessings to all who read this!
Susan

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