What Do YOU Stand For?

Katie Perry is a singer/songwriter of the Pop genre here in the United States.  She has done a couple of songs that I very much enjoy.  One is called Fireworks.  We all have the capacity to be like fireworks and light the sky with our life choices.

Another one is called "Eye of the Tiger."  There is a line is this song that has just been stuck in my head for the last two days.  "I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything."  This song is about facing hard things and fighting our way out.

I personally relate to this lyric.  I have done lots of fighting throughout my lifetime. I was born a severe asthmatic with virtually no immune system.  I was allergic to about every earth substance including most foods.  My parents were told that I would not survive past two years of age.

There have been many, MANY trials and challenges in my life.  There has also been an enormous multiplicity of blessings.  I was born to loving, fighting, strong parents.  My brother and sister adored me.  My church group was always supportive of me.  Recognizing my blessings even while fighting my battles has helped me to fight to the age of fifty-eight.  Take that doctors who said I wouldn't make it!

Turning back from me to you, "What do YOU stand for?"  I don't necessarily mean literally.  There are things that I stand for in a literal sense.  My Papa fought in World War II.  He taught me that the flag of our country represents our ideals, our strengths, and our hopes for the future.  I stand when a flag is brought in to any type of community gathering, or when it is marched down the street in a parade.

Now to think of figurative ways of standing.  My husband and I were blessed with two amazing children.  We worked hard to instill positive values in them.  I'm speaking of values such as, respect for God, themselves, and humanity.  

Respect is the forerunner of another positive value, gratitude.  Sometimes it's very difficult to see that there are things to be grateful for.  These are the times when we must look harder.  Counting your blessings helps you to see those blessings in your life.  I speak of blessings even as small as the darkness of night to give our bodies renewal.  There are ALWAYS blessings to count.

We taught our girls many, many values.  Trying to teach these values by example pressed us, their parents, to do better, and to be better.  We did our best to teach them to "Stand for SOMETHING.'
Again the lyric in Katie's song says, "I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything."

Can we fall for everything even when we're doing our best to stand for something?  It's a fact that we will fall many times in life.  Yes, even when we are doing our level best to stand for something!  It is ever so much better to fall when we are reaching for the heights of healthy values then it is to never even attempt to stand for positive purpose.  The quote that I appreciate is, "It is better to reach for the stars and miss than to reach for the gutter and hit."

I've used a lot of words to express my feelings about this subject.  I hope that today the part of my words that you remember is to STAND UP!  Meditate and discover what values, dynamics, goals, and dreams that you feel are worth standing for...and then STAND!