Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and billboards. —William Arthur Ward

A couple of days ago I was fortunate enough to take my dogs for a walk while the sun was shining as though it was a foreign object and it was bragging about what it could do. And much to my amazement we seemed to have the park to ourselves.  As my two spaniels ran around to their heart’s content, they also picked up half of the mud that was left over from the rain the night before and decided to bring it home.

To their chagrin a bath was next on their “have-to” list and my to-do list as soon as we arrived home.  My young Cavalier King Charles took the bath like a champ, grinning and bearing it the entire time, but none the less he was a star and did very well for only having had a few baths in his young life.  As I was fiddle farting around the house, I started to look around to see where he had gone.  I finally found him soaking up the sunshine that was streaming through the windows shining on my stairs going upstairs. There was no need to rush and get the camera because he wasn’t going anywhere.  He was exactly where he wanted to be.  He nonchalantly poked his head around the corner when his name was called, but he was not about to miss out on some much needed love from the sun.  Soon, my English cocker found out about the secret, and they had a little chill session for a bit.

While this was one of the sweetest moments my two dogs have shared together, and I will never forget it, I was also reminded that even though we all go through things that we maybe don’t want to or maybe have forced upon us, it is ultimately up to us to “find our sunshine”, to push forward and find the good in what may seem a challenging or not so desirable time.Maybe you have been thrown more work than you feel is your fair share, or maybe your monetary income is less than expected, and you aren’t able to enjoy the things you once used to,  or maybe life has thrown you more than you feel you can handle. Whatever your burden may be,  there is an opportunity to be seized, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem at the time.

For example, use that extra face time with your boss to demonstrate how competent you are and prove without question a raise is more than well deserved, or use the downtime that you now have because of limited funds to get creative.  After all, the time shortly after the Great Depression turned out some of the most creative and widely used innovations:  scotch tape, beer in a can, helicopters, a jet engine, the board game Monopoly – who knew?  The sunshine that we find may only last but a few minutes, but we must seek out opportunities for they will not necessarily land at our feet and will be gone before we get done complaining.