Donald E. Lavender 33°
2913 49th Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50310 donlav@juno.com

What initially appears to be a minus in one's life may be a blessing in disguise.

Have you taken an inventory of your life lately? No, not an inventory of your assets, or your physical possessions, but an inventory of the pluses and minuses in your life.

We don't tend to think of what happens to us in those terms, but, actually, everything that does happen to us is either a plus or a minus in our lives. Among the pluses might be such things as securing a new job, getting a promotion, meeting a new friend, being elected to an office, or joining an organization such as your Lodge.

The minuses are particularly evident-like losing a job, disappointment at something expected which did not work out, a friend moving away or dying, or a demotion at work.

Some of these pluses and minuses are of our own making. Others are accidental, and still others are beyond our control. When thinking of the minuses, some say that when one door closes another opens. Things that appear to be minuses may not be, and the same is true for the pluses.

Some of the minuses may lead us to new areas we have not explored before. What appeared to be a minus may be a blessing in disguise. The reverse may be true of the pluses. A promotion might end in the conclusion we are beyond our ability or over our head. Election to a coveted office might be the one additional responsibility that makes life miserable.

Some of those things, which are beyond our control, can be to our good fortune. As a young man in the service, one of my greatest disappointments was a governmental decision to send me with several thousand others back to the Infantry from the Air Corps. At the time, it seemed like the end of the world. It was the primary factor in my assignment to combat in the Infantry. It could have turned out badly with permanent injury or loss of my life, but it didn't. In fact, the transfer proved to be an asset in my young life.

When I finished college, my combat experience as a non-commissioned officer was one of the reasons why I secured a direct commission, a commission which ultimately led to my retirement as a Colonel. That commission arrived in the nick of time, sufficient to defer my call to active duty as a Staff Sergeant in the Korean war, one of those pluses over which I had no control.

Later in life, after I had achieved recognizable success in business, I suddenly found I was out of a job. That, too, seemed like the end of the world, a great big minus. Another door opened, however, and led to more involvement in Scottish Rite, a plus which might not have happened otherwise.

Sometimes it pays to take a good look at our lives and to assess the pluses and minuses. Recognition that these jolts along the way are not always what they seem to be can help us through some trying times and give us strength when we need it most. Also, such analysis brings us to a better understanding of what our true blessings are. There's the old song "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries." We all know it is not. Sometimes it is the pits, but that is not the end.

Have you taken an inventory of your life lately?

Donald E. Lavender is a former Secretary Registrar (1974-1979) of the Des Moines, Iowa, Scottish Rite Bodies. He is retired from the City of Des Moines Engineering Department and enjoys the hobbies of instrumental music and photography.