The following was written by Peter Riordan in 2008.
My life has been a good news story. I think of myself as having been extremely blessed. I grew up with the loving care and guidance of great parents and grandparents. My twin brother has always been my best friend, so there was always someone with whom to share the adventures of youth. The rest of my family are also precious to me and to one another. My parents sent me to great schools where I learned values and attitudes I cherish. I am married to a wonderful wife and have two terrific children, a son and a daughter who are also great friends to one another. I live in a prime location where my neighbours are also my friends. I count my blessings and thank God for them. My work is my chance to pay God back, to share the gift of God’s love. At work I enjoy the loyal friendship of staff and the company of students whom I treat with respect and with sensitivity for their feelings. I try to call each by name so that I know each as a person. My parents were both teachers. I guess that was part of the reason I also felt called to teach. But does this mean there has never been, or never will be, upsets, problems, or disappointments? Of course not. No matter how blessed our lives may be there will always be challenges along the way.
What do we do about them? It seems to me we have a very clear choice. Either brood about them, and be angry, bitter, and resentful, or get on with life. Sadly, I meet people who do not cope well with ‘knock-backs’, and who seem to accumulate the baggage of bitterness and lingering hurt. So my attitude is never to fret about what went wrong, what I missed out on, what could have been. I can do without carrying the burden of past disappointments. It is far better to face each problem and either turn it into an opportunity or to look for the next opportunity. Look forward, not back. It is much easier to progress if we face where we want to go.