my life is a sidewalk

    One of my favorite things in life is cold concrete. Silly I know, but hey it's me. When I was little I used to lay down on the shaded sidewalk outside my house on hot summer days and fall asleep. You know how lot's of people talk about the "cold side" of their pillow? Concrete kind of feels the same way when you are hot and it is cold. I think my childhood memories of cold concrete is why the shadow on the pavement outside my work was so interesting to me yesterday.

    I had gone outside to help carry out a vacuum for a customer. I am not going to lie... it was COLD. After putting the vacuum in the customers car, I proceeded to make my way back into the building as fast as possible. But, the concrete sidewalk I was walking on stopped me right in my tracks. There was a very evident line right down the center of the sidewalk..


one side was bright because of the sunlight that shone down on it,
         

 the other side was dark because of the shade of the building that blocked the sunlight.

    I found that when I stood on the bright side, the sun could reach me and I was not cold, but when I stood on the dark side the cold send chills all over my skin. I know you are probably asking what in the world this has to do with me loving cold concrete as a child and really it has nothing to do with that, other than the fact that the sidewalk reminded me of being a little girl and made me stop and think about my life.

    I decided my life is a sidewalk.

    I have two ways I can walk on that sidewalk: either in the light, or the dark. No matter what side I walk on, the sidewalk is still going to be the same sidewalk, but my choice will make all the difference for me.

    That day on my work parking lot I took a couple minutes to walk on that sidewalk alternating between the sun and the shadow and there was no question in my mind that when I walked in the sunlight I was warm and when I walked in the shadow I was cold.

    I think the same thing happens in life.

    We are given a sidewalk. Along that sidewalk we have different obstacles and different experiences. We can not always choose what will be on that sidewalk in the future, but we can choose what side we will walk on. If we choose to walk in the dark, in anger, in depression, in pain, we only make the obstacles harder to get over. But, if we walk in the light we see a new perspective and we are able to overcome those obstacles better than we ever could in the dark. Light has a way of clarifying the things around us. I have walked in the light, and I have walked in the dark ...(figuratively speaking)... and I have come to the conclusion that if you want to be happy.... walk in the light.