Are you challenging life, or is life challenging you?

This question caught me off guard last week.
Someone made a statement and I turned it into a question to ask myself.
I was caught off guard because, well, er I... I answered that life was challenging me.

Objectively speaking, this is not good or bad. Not right nor wrong.
Objectively: this is disempowering.
Oops.
I'd slid into the passenger seat of my own life.
So busy handling what ever life was bringing -knowing that I'm responsible for it.
But I wasn't asking for what I want and bringing full guns a-blazing.
That is scary.
Because it's risky.
I might not get what I ask for.
I might not get it on my time-line.
Can you smell the fear in my voice?
Me too.
Yay!
Now I get to do something about it.
I get to hop into the driver's seat, ask life what I want from it, bring full guns forward and hit-it.
I also get to dismiss my ego-attachments.
Reminder to self: The Law of Cause & Effect includes the element of Time in-between.
I'm not in charge of "when." I'm in charge of "why."
Reminder to self: The Law of Cause & Effect is beyond my limited comprehension. As big as I can dream -I am still limited by my Ego ("I know").
I'm in charge of "why."
Reminder to self: The Law of Cause & Effect tells me that I cannot sow a positive seed that doesn't bring positive fruit (whether I see the fruit or not.)
As long as my "why" is positive, then my fruit will be positive.
As long as my "why" is selfless, then my fruit will be surprisingly sweet.
As long as my "why" is bigger than me, then my fruit will be bigger than me in multitude.
Or as Ronnie White may say: "By a LARGE margin." (He's Texan.)

Once upon a time, there lived a small team of Navy SEALs who felt they'd been forgotten over seas.
Disconnected from communications, ill-equipt & ill-fed.
They'd discovered they were simply decoys and were being used as show-pieces.
The hard-working men with their champion hearts felt like the Christmas animation of misfit toys adrift on an island.
Life was challenging them.
Their brilliant leader "Lancelot" approached the huddled, depressed men.
He shared their pain.
He missed his wife & children (who hadn't heard from them for months.)
He asked them if anything could be done by the men to turn things around.
The men looked at each other quizically...
He asked if there was anything humanly possible to turn the tables and challenge life.
And if there was such a thing... was it within their power?
The creative ideas began to flow.
The excitement rose.
The inspiration came.
The chose to Challenge Life and they had a plan.
The created a Warning Order, Prepped their gear, did walk-throughs and eventually came to GO time.
They brought it. Full force.
And their audience of the most important Generals in the Theater will never forget the amazing display...
And those Navy SEALs will never forget the day they fell so low, got some help and reclaimed the driver's seat.
They chose to Challenge Life.

All the best,
TC Cummings
Mind of a SEAL