How to save a drowning rat

Would you be interested in knowing "HOW" to save a drowning rat?

There has not been much positive news for the past couple of years. The media seems intent on presenting everything noteworthy that is the opposite of empowering or positive.  ...unemployment, foreclosures, budget cuts; it's all around us.  Even putting the media aside, when we look at our personal lives, at our neighbors, family or friends, it's clear that for many this is a stressful time.

By now, you probably want to quit reading this and get back to the news - after all, it is more cheery than my Thought of the Week! My mood is becoming depressed just writing about this!!!  However, I have a suggestion that may help us all cope with the negativity. And how does this relate to saving a drowning rat, you ask? 

There was an experiment conducted where scientists put a single rat in a container it could not get out of, and then filled it with water. They placed the container in a completely dark room, and timed how long the rat swam before it drowned. How long do you think it swam? Well, it lasted a little more than 3 minutes. 

For the second part of the experiment, they placed a rat in the same container, in the same room, with the same water level, but this time they had a bright beam of light shine into the darkness for the rat to see. Guess how long the rat lasted before it finally drowned? This time, it swam for over 36 hours.

When I was in US Army Airborne School, the Army Chaplain said a prayer with us before we loaded up for our first parachute jump. He stated that we had nothing to worry about, as the jump field we were about to fly over was the most holy place in Georgia. According to the chaplain, more people prayed flying over that small piece of land than anywhere else in the state!!!  He encouraged us to add our little part to the holiness of the jump field site.

In life, if someone wants the identity of being an honest person, they have to experience a moment where the opportunity to steal is present and choose not to. If you want to be a person who is able to find new opportunities as we work through the changes in our world right now, you are going to be tested. We are all being tested, NOW.

It is hope, faith, and optimism that keep us from giving up when things seem hopeless; that keep us believing in opportunity and the promise for a better tomorrow. That is what brings us through dark times when we feel like we are swimming for our very survival. That is what makes the difference between making it 3 minutes or 36 hours, 3 days or 36 days, 36 weeks or the next 36 years. A person of faith is such because they have been tested and have overcome. That is what gives you the courage to jump into a new experience, be a person of character, and keep swimming when everything around you seems dark.

There are always two things we can focus on: the darkness or the light.  We have a choice. What is the beam of light that gives you hope, faith, and optimism? Now is the time, more than ever, to feed your mind positive messages, to do whatever you can that will strengthen your sense of faith and hope for a better tomorrow. 

I know you can last a lot longer than you think. Keep Swimming.