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Rise above Difficulties

Last week I was fortunate enough to spend a few days in Gulf Shores.  The weather was great and the time spent in this gorgeous piece of paradise was refreshing and energizing.  Each morning I strolled in the surf while the sun rose to chase away yesterday’s darkness and pave the way for another day packed full of opportunity and possibilities.  Each evening I witnessed the setting sun pick up his blazing brush and painted his western pallet in fiery color.

        On Monday, I visited Fort Morgan which was completed in 1834, and was active during four wars — the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II. The fort is most famous for its role in the Civil War Battle of Mobile Bay; where Union Admiral David Farragut damned the torpedoes and went full speed ahead to win the battle.  The massive fort contains more than 40 million bricks and pays tribute to the skilled masons, many of whom were enslaved African Americans.  As I surveyed the Fort, I began to pursue this dragonfly.  Several times just as I was about to squeeze off a shot he would vanish before my eyes.

        Each time my attention was drawn to something else, he would reappear and not until I was preparing to leave did he finally decide to strike a pose.  After about 30 photos I realized that he was missing a large portion of one of his wings.  I was amazed that he was able to elude one of Alabama’s best critter chasers for so long with a damaged wing.  Watching his graceful flight, the way he transcended his troubles and rose above his handicaps was truly inspiring.  Then I began to wonder; how many times have I offered my difficulties, imperfections and failures as lame excuses for my fear of flying?

        Our mistakes and imperfections won’t irreparably damage our lives unless we let them.  If we have fallen, we can choose to rise again; wiser than before we fell.  Failure isn’t fatal unless we choose to stop trying.  You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there.  One of the greatest abilities we possess is the capacity to begin again, to start over, and to rise up when we fall.  Perhaps you have a damaged wing.  You might be surprised how well you could still fly if you simply chose to rise above your difficulties.  Remember, happiness is a chose; chose to fly.

Something to think about:

·         The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those who were perfect.

·         Affliction can be a treasure.  Absolutely functional, it triggers life’s greatest insights and accomplishments.

·         Suffering is . . . an opportunity to experience evil and change it into good.

·         One’s attitude toward a handicap determines its impact on his life.

·         A failure is not someone who has tried and failed; it is someone who has given up trying and resigned himself to failure; it is not a condition, but an attitude.

·         Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.

·         Everything requires effort: the only thing you can achieve without it is failure.

Thankful for my wings

Rickey Moore

To see Moore photos from Gulf Shores visit www.rlmoore.com