Life is dance between content (the facts in our lives) and context (what we tell ourselves about the facts in our lives). Context is what really crafts our experiences and gives meaning to our lives. The story below is an example of this in action.
Three stone cutters were asked what they were doing. The first one replied as follows: I work all day in the sweltering sun, day in and day out to make a living, just to survive. The second one replied : I am a stone cutter and I work all day in the sweltering heat to become the best stone cutter in all of the country. The last one looked up with a gleam in his eye and said, I am building a cathedral.
Some people only focus on the content in life while others bring their own context. Its in this difference that meaning is born out of what appears to be the mundane in life. We are always free to choose the context (the meaning we bring) even when the content (the facts in a situation) is not something we would have chosen. Viktor Frankl, an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, shares that the ability to find meaning in all forms of existence, is the primary motivational force in man. A reason to continue living despite circumstances.
Will you allow your circumstances, the content in your life to dictate ? Are you willing to choose your own context irrespective of the content and live life on your own terms?