Sometimes a life event is so profound it changes everything and from that point forward you think of what things were like before and subsequently. Consider how time is measured time before and after the birth of Christ. Events in our lives aren't marked in such a monumental way, but in our own minds they are just as distinct. Recall what life was like before the assassination of President Kennedy. Or more recently 9/11.

When I was ten, my father and brother drowned in a boating accident. My brother was 17 and a month from going to the University of Illinois on a full academic scholarship. It was a beautiful day and I remember thinking it should be raining; wondering how it could be nice outside when something so devastating happened. For years afterward, I marked time as before and after "The Accident". That's a personal example of a life-altering event, but I'm sure you can add many more. In fact I'd love to hear from you about them.

In "Halifax"  http://bit.ly/JoanMauch  Ellie's life-altering event came at the barrel of a gun. For her, everything from that point forward changed - her outlook, her relationships, everything. Our lives often are defined by the divide between what was then and what is now. The trick is to treasure our memories and learn to live - even love our unexpected new reality .

Do things always turn out the way you expect them to? Of course not. We plan our day, anticipating certain results, then something throws a monkey wrench into the mix and everything goes sideways. Sometimes it's a complete disaster; other times what turns out is better than we contemplated. That's why life is such an adventure.

You know the story, you read it every day in the news: Someone makes a wrong turn and ends up in the hospital; another buys an old painting and finds out it's worth millions. It's the stuff novels are made of, but the good part is that it's real life.

I used to work downtown Chicago and winters were often brutal. One day was particularly bad. There had been an ice storm and huge icicles hung from many of the skyscrapers. That afternoon a tourist was killed when one of the icicles came came loose and crashed down on him. He was minding his own business one minute - and the next...  Do you see what I mean by unintended consequences? We all have them. What happens to us is often the result of our own choices, but sometimes it's completely random. "He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time," people say. "It wasn't his fault."

We never know which it's going to be when we greet a new day. So, what to do? Cower behind locked doors for fear something bad will happen? That's no answer either. Remember the Florida man who was in his bedroom when a sinkhole swallowed him? All he'd done was go to bed early that night.

In "Halifax"  http://bit.ly/JoanMauch, Ellie's life is turned upside down when she went to work operating a fun house. She's called upon to save a group of children from a gunman. But Ellie's no heroine; she's a middle-aged woman, leading an unremarkable life. Never in her forty years has she had to put her life on the line for someone else. When she got up that morning, her biggest concerns were frizzy hair, her nagging mother and getting to work on time. Is she equal to the challenge or will she give in to her survival instinct and let the kids fend for themselves? Whatever she decides will change her life in ways she can't begin to contemplate.

Life is an adventure. Sometimes we win the lottery - more often we go home empty- handed. But there's always tomorrow when we can start over with optimism in our hearts for a good outcome. Now I'm beginning to sound like Little Orphan Annie, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, there's always tomorrow, it's only a day away."

Do you ever feel the work you do or the job you hold has become a noose around your neck, forcing you to do the same thing day after day for little reward? I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you to learn you're not alone. That's, no doubt, why Sam Cooke's song resonates: "All day long they work so hard Till the sun is going' down
Workin' on the highways and byways
And wearing, wearing a frown
You hear them moanin' their lives away..."

When I was young, someone told me in order to be happy you need to figure out what "makes your eyes sparkle" and then go do it. Whatever that may be probably won't make you rich, but if you love what you do, you'll never be bored or end up feeling you're on a treadmill leading nowhere.

When my son was growing up, I was the breadwinner and worked at jobs I sometimes hated. I know how it feels to look at a bleak future earning money to simply survive.  In "Halifax," http://www.amazon.com/Halifax-ebook/dp/B00AVME2R4  Ellie is a cafeteria lady, operates a fun house and later works as a shampoo lady in a beauty salon. She earns little money and commands no respect. But somehow she shoulders on and eventually finds her bliss.

So, even when circumstances prevent you from pursuing your heart's desire, hold fast to your dreams. If you work long enough and hard enough and continue believing in yourself, you'll eventually get there. In the meantime, working on a chain gang has its benefits even if it's only the fresh air and - of course, the singing: 

"I hear somethin' sayin'
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!
Well, don't you know
That's the sound of the men working on the chain ga-a-ang
That's the sound of the men working on the chain gang
All day long they're singin'
Hooh! aah! Hooh! aah!"

That old-fashioned saying has nothing to do with being environmentally conscious. Rather, it refers to a person's interior landscape - that portion of the psyche which compares itself to others, sometimes making comparisons, possibly envying those with more money, a nicer house, a newer car, a prestigious job, a happy marriage, a shapely figure - the list is endless.

The envious live in a wasteland that becomes more toxic with the passing of time. Instead of hating those who appear to have a better life or nicer possessions, we need to recognize that they may have worked many years to acquire what they have.

Instead of filling our hearts with the bitter fruit of jealousy, we need to focus on our own unique gifts. In my family, one sister is artistic and musical, another takes wonderful photographs, a third is a talented seamstress and a fourth has a generous spirit of compassion she turned into a career with the Red Cross. Although each of us had the same upbringing, we are distinctly different. Carrying a grudge because a  family member, friend or co-worker - excels at something wastes precious energy preventing a person from mining his or her own talents.

In "Halifax" http://www.amazon.com/Halifax-ebook/dp/B00AVME2R4  Ellie's older sister is beautiful, has married well and is educated. She's everything Ellie is not. The problem is that instead of turning "green with envy", Ellie needs to turn inward, discover her own unique abilities and figure out how to develop them. Until she does,  she/ll never find the happiness she seeks.         

...and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true." Dare to dream - kinda sounds like something from a graduation speech, doesn't it? What happened to the dreams you dared to dream those many years ago? Did you declare them impossible or did someone admonish you to just "grow up"?
    As a young girl, I had a dream: I wanted to write a book. Now understand at the time I didn't know the first thing about novel writing nor did I know what to write about.  Despite that, one day I went to Chicago's lakefront and sat under a tree, armed with pencil and yellow legal pad. When a young man asked if I wanted to join him in a game of Frisbee, I told him I couldn't, that I was "writing a book." So, there I sat. After a few paragraphs, I ran out of words. How did writers fill up 300 pages or more, I wondered. My dream of becoming an author came to an abrupt end that day - or so I thought.
    Years later with time on my hands, a little voice inside suggested I write that book. But I don't know how, I told myself. Then learn, it responded. That very day I found an ad in the Chicago Tribune for a fiction-writers' workshop and signed up. Thirteen years and six manuscripts later, my first novel, "Halifax" (http://www.amazon.com/Halifax-ebook/dp/B00AVME2R4) was recently published.
    Now I'm telling you this, not to brag but to give you a highly personal example of what can happen if you allow yourself to hold onto your dreams. Oh, it might seem impossible, at times even silly. If I'd known the odds against being published when I began, I wouldn't have even tried. Only about 5 percent of all manuscripts ever become books. But maybe that's the point. Perhaps holding onto your dreams against all odds is what makes them so special. After all, isn't it the dreams we dare to dream that make life worthwhile? And remember, as I found out, sometimes they come true.