At The Mercy Of

This past weekend, the wind blew. And blew. And Blew. As it did, folks lost shingles and siding and a whole lot of people lost power. We were one of those people and it lasted for about thirty-six hours.

In some respects, it felt like Kim and I were camping. Yes, it was a really nice “camper” (it being our house), but still, it got mighty cold. We layered up. Kim had her Netflix downloaded on her device and as long as it was charged, she was pretty much good to go. I wrote and read. Took a nap or two.

Because we were limited as to what we could eat, we went out . . . along with half of the county we live in. The following day, we went to a movie. It wasn’t great, but at least it was warm and popcorn is always good, right?

Got me thinking . . .

There are times when we plan something, big or small, and for one reason or another it doesn’t work or come together. Sometimes we’re At The Mercy Of timing or Karma or kismet or luck. Goonies and gremlins and goblins. Whatever. There are times when Mother Nature does her thing and we lose all control because Mother Nature does what Mother Nature does.

Plans, no matter how tightly we package them, no matter how we try to plan for every possible scenario, sometimes fall apart because we can’t control everything. And we shouldn’t expect to.

Remember when I said that “people lost power?”

Sometimes we don’t have any power even though we think we do.

That’s an important statement: sometimes we don’t have any power even though we think we do.

We can’t control weather. We can’t control time. We can’t control people.

What we can control, and perhaps the only thing we can control, is how we deal with it. What we can control is how we react to it.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a lot, does it?

But . . .

It actually is quite a bit. Think for a moment of yourself in your car driving along at a nice clip and you encounter a slow driver. Can’t get around him. Or ever been on a highway and you’re caught behind a truck trying to pass another truck? Both trucks end up going the same speed for what seems like miles and the parade builds up behind you. We end up At The Mercy Of those two trucks.

Or do we?

Yes, for what seems like an eternity, we are forced to slow down and get in line. But consider for a second that instead of a road rage moment, we relax. We take a deep breath. Because the reality is that we can’t control the truck. We can’t control the driver. We can’t control the driving conditions.

We can only control ourselves. We can choose to remain in power. Yes, sometimes it’s uncomfortable and we would rather slam on the horn or yell or flick someone off. Been there and done that. I end up At The Mercy Of myself. I lose control. I lose my focus. I lose my temper, my patience, my mind.

Wouldn’t it be better to be in control and remain in control even though all around you a mess is happening? Wouldn’t it be better for us to focus, relax, breathe and regain composure? I think when we recognize that the only control we have in life is over ourselves, we’ll be a lot happier. We’ll be at peace. I would rather be at my own mercy than At The Mercy Of someone or something else. Wouldn’t you? Something to think about . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

My fifth work of thriller/suspense fiction, Caught in a Web, is now available for preorder at http://bit.ly/2GtdsXL  . If you purchase your book prior to the publication date of April 26, 2018, you may use the promo code: PREORDER2018 to receive a 10% discount. I hope you check it out.

Here is what it is about:

The bodies of high school and middle school kids are found dead from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. The drug trade along the I-94 and I-43 corridors and the Milwaukee Metro area is controlled by MS-13, a violent gang originating from El Salvador. Ricardo Fuentes is sent from Chicago to Waukesha to find out who is cutting in on their business, shut it down and teach them a lesson. But he has an ulterior motive: find and kill a fifteen-year-old boy, George Tokay, who had killed his cousin the previous summer.

Detectives Jamie Graff, Pat O’Connor and Paul Eiselmann race to find the source of the drugs, shut down the ring, and find Fuentes before he kills anyone else, especially George or members of his family. The three detectives discover the ring has its roots in a high school among the students and staff.

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