Motivational Mondays: Recognizing the Good In Unexpected Situations

It's not every morning when your tranquil morning walk is met by a sea serpent in Golden Gate Park's Prayerbrook Falls! As you might expect, it was not a pleasant surprise, although any sea serpent folded into the park's two-feet-deep-at-most lakes would be in far more danger if it were real...

This was already kind of a strange morning ... autumn is coming in glowing green this year ... color change in the trees is proceeding slowly because the weather more resembles late spring than true autumn. I noticed this on the way to the park, and then noticed that a late-season algae bloom had turned the water green as well...

This was no coloring trick. That bloom would also meet me when I arrived where I was going: Blue Heron Lake, but decidedly "blue-green"...

... when not green outright at some angles...

OK, so, it's called aquatic succession -- any container of water left out will show this as well, given long enough. Still a natural process; intriguing, making me wonder about staffing levels at the park, but within the realm of thought in a warm autumn.

This on the other hand, blocking my view of the falls?

And then asking me for my support -- with the King James English added on, like that night view was supposed to make me like this?

I was more likely to file a complaint, but then I noticed Naga just looking, as helpless about the situation as I was. It didn't ask to be there. Nobody came and consulted me either. We were in the same bag: the good of others was in mind.

I began to imagine the wonder of every child who came to this place, and also adults who loved reading or watching fantasy. Not everyone is like me who just comes for the nature, and, the park needs the revenue from tourists, too, even though it is free to enter. Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Music Festival had just ended the day before, and Naga was certainly an additional attraction! And, after all, you can't see the falls at night... but then, Naga would be at its best. Quite an impressive beast, really...

I took the moment to remind myself: everything good is not to my liking, but it doesn't have to be. I'm not God. I'm not running much of anything, but I can enjoy more if I think of the good of other people in every way, and not just myself. It is a helpful reminder in a messed-up world, actually -- thinking of the good of others lets us all enjoy more.

And, actually, for me as a Christian, this is an outright command, since we are going into the realm of King James English:

Look not every man on his own things, but also on the things of others.

The context in Philippians means to not just look for the good of one's own affairs, but also those of others.

So, that was how I took my parting view of Naga at the falls, and went on my way rejoicing, while Naga did its work delighting the imaginations of others. I learned an important lesson that I am passing on to you this Monday: look for the good to everyone in every situation!