I am always losing track of the TV remotes.
Remotes, as in plural. Does anyone have just one remote anymore? We have one to watch TV. One for the DVD player. One for the sound bar. And another remote for … well, I don’t really know. It may be for the standing fan, but it gets put in the TV remote basket.
The thing is, I spend way-too-much time wandering around the family room looking for the “clickers” to turn on the TV, muttering, “Why can’t people put the things back where they belong?”
There have been times I’ve wandered around in my circumstances, muttering to myself, wanting things to change. Looking for an easy way to fix things. Wanting someone else to do or say something to change what’s happening. Acting as if I could push a button and change the channel, change my life.
That’s not the how things work.
There is nothing remote about real life. And change demands involvement — personal involvement. We have to care enough to get up, get in the fray of what’s working and what’s not working — and make the effort to change things. Change our circumstances. Change our attitudes. Change our actions and reactions. Change our future.
In Others’ Words: What motivates you to get up and pursue change in your life?
In Others' Words: Life has No Remote http://bit.ly/2CzqseT #quotes #change Share on X 'Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself.' Quote by Unknown http://bit.ly/2CzqseT #perspective #choices Share on X
Comments 6
All I can do is keep my chin up, an feed optimism when circumstances – and people around me – want me to embrace futility. (Pardon the French, but people like this have punched their Asshole-For-A-Day card.)
It’s a moment-by-moment string of choices, most quite insignificant, but they are all I have.
There’s no remote. There’s only me, living in the Now. Cancer sucks. So what?
And I am terrified beyond rationality, of what may come tomorrow. But tomorrow is an abstraction; the clock’s next tick is the sole reality of my life.
Author
Andrew: One thing I know about you is that you are never looking for the “Life” remote. No matter the challenges you face, you are engaged. You face the day. There is no quit in you.
The remote is a great analogy and not something American culture had until what? Maybe 50-60 years ago? What gets me up and going is the realization that if change is going to happen or tasks get completed, I need to be the one to do it. Otherwise–status quo which degenerates into wasted dreams. I used to say, “it’s better to be a has been than a never was.” It doesn’t take that much effort to attempt a new challenge or complete a needed task. Which reminds me…I’m off to finish the last polish on two novels before crossing my fingers, saying my prayers, and hitting “submit”.
Author
I love that quote you shared, Dee. And I’m celebrating you as you move ahead in your writing dream. Believing and praying with you!
Great post, Beth. Life has no remote. SO true. there are days when I wish change would just happen. But honestly, sometimes I have to get sick enough of where I am to pursue change. Sometimes, God prompts me to take the first step toward change. And then the next step. And then the next . . .
Author
Jeanne: You bring up a very good point — that sometimes change happens in small increments, step by step. And all we are called to do is move forward one step at a time.