The bloody dogs ate it

So here's a thought that some might find worth pondering. These two scoundrels, Frank & Lola are spaniels so it is very much in their nature to put everything in their mouths and if it is even marginally edible, down the hatch it goes.

?They have a large soft toy bear gifted to them by Lily The Wonder Child (our youngest daughter). For months they have used it in their own inimitable way.

?Frank, as the big brother has deemed it to be his "special friend" and imposes that special indignity on the bear. To his credit, he is very gentle with it.

?Lola, as the baby sister uses bear (not at the same time as Frank) to nuzzle as she did with her Mum when very little.

?Things have taken a turn recently. Someone put a hole in bear. We don't know who the culprit is, but history would point to Lola as the offender. So now there are little bits of stuffing starting to emerge from Bear's tummy , neck and one paw.

?We've watched this slow destruction and made disapproving noises which neither Frank nor Lola find relevant in any way.

?This morning I got up and our bedroom floor and the landing and stairs were covered in Bear entrails. Very noticeable on black carpet.

?I realised I had a choice to make. Either confiscate the Bear to punish them, leave it for them to finish it off, or the more unusual path I decided on.

?I spent half an hour on my hands and knees gathering all the bits of stuffing, reinserting them in the poor creature and hand sewing him back together so he now presents as a complete, if war scarred Bear.

?Is there a point to this? Well, we all hope so, right?

?The point is this. In every aspect of life (and this applies at much in business as at home), we get to make choices about what we do. We can choose to be victims of things that happen around us. We can choose to be fatalistic. We can choose to be angry and lay blame.

?Alternatively, we can do some version of making lemonade when life serves us lemons. By choosing to repair Bear and make him available for service again, I chose to bend the inevitable course of history and present a different future.

?Stretching the metaphor almost to breaking point, I made a small contribution to the principle that there is always something we can do to make things better. In this instance it is for two ungrateful mutts, but if you look in your business life, think of situations that are sub-optimal and how you react to them.

Blow your stack? Lash out? Silent treatment? Stitch it together?

Just a final note. Before the end of the day I will post a picture of the Bear because I am quite proud of it and because I'd hate for you to think that I had just made this preposterous story up.

Have a lovely weekend.