Santa Isn't Real? And Other Things I Know For Sure...

What do you know for sure?  If you had to make a list of things you know without a doubt, what would you write down?  There are many ideas that we believe to be truth when we are younger, and then life reveals the reality of itself and we are able to differentiate between what is ideal and what is the cold hard truth.  Life experience plays a major role in forming our list of what we know for sure.  A simple but classic example would be the idea of Santa Claus.  When I was a kid, I was 100% sure that he came during the night on Christmas Eve, ate our cookies and milk, and left us presents for the next morning.  I would either go to the mall before Christmas to let him know what I wanted or I would mail him a letter to the North Pole.  Santa Claus was very real to me and had I known that it was actually Mom and Dad putting my toys together, or Dad taking care of that midnight snack, I would have been devastated.  My innocence was later robbed from me one day when my grandmother (I call her Mamaw) and I were talking about Christmas.  She casually made a comment about Santa not being real and my verbal reply was that I knew that.  However, as a child I was dying inside and could not believe what I had just heard!  That is a vivid memory that I have and any former “Santa-believer” knows that it changes what you know for sure about Christmas.  It also makes you look at your parents (and Mamaw) a little differently but after awhile you realize that they are not pathological liars, but rather creating a magical time for us as children. 

As life continues you continue to learn what you can and cannot count on in life.  Some might be less complex such as the idea of Santa Claus, but some are difficult to learn.  Some are very positive and some are negative.  Life is a constant learning process but as we evolve as a person, we learn that there are things that we can know for sure. 

>What I know for sure is that we are each given one chance at life and what we make of that opportunity is up to us.  There are many factors such as family, friends, environment, and beliefs that influence our lives but it is up to us to fulfill our purpose in the world.

>I know for sure that positive actions produce more positive results and negative actions produce more negative results.  Show love and you will get love in return.  Let your mind worry and more reasons to worry will come your way. 

>I know for sure that there is no greater power known to man than the love of God.  Love shared between family and friends is powerful but it cannot complete us or see us the way God’s love does. 

>I know for sure that when life tries to beat you down, how you react to that will make all the difference in the world.  If you let circumstances get the best of you, then you will get depressed and have a hard time getting back on track.  However, if you stay optimistic and focus your energy on the end result, it will make a world of difference.

>I also know for sure that chocolate makes any day better and the cocoa bean is one of God’s greatest creations.

So what do you know for sure?  We all know that death and taxes are for certain, but what else has life taught you?  What we know for sure helps to build the foundations of our life.  I could add many other things to my list, but I encourage you to take a minute and think about what you would write down.  There are constants in life and things that we can depend on so use those truths to form a deeper and more empowered life. 

Today I am grateful for:  1.  A little bit of relief from yesterday’s heat wave  2.  The egg white scramble with spinach and tomato I had for breakfast  3.  Getting through the Killer Workout tonight at the gym   4.  My training class and how much fun we have  5.  The things in my life that I know for sure