Look, there are definitely far more scarier situations, mine on a scale, would rank quite low but even the low things can help you see life differently and give you a better chance of surviving the real big ones. This is not a post about trying to get an empathetic response from anyone, this is a post about what life has taught me in the past 4 days. This is about learning to be grateful for what we truly have and not about pining after what we don’t. Life shouldn’t be about comparing ourselves to others, it should be about patting each other on the back, somehow we seem to sometimes fall short here. This past week my husband got very sick, sick enough that he was hospitalized for 4 days and for the first two days there were no answers. All the tests came back normal and nothing could explain his 40C fever, which would not go away, despite all the meds in the world. For two days, I lived in fear. When the answers came relief washed over my house and everything in it. Relief is perhaps not the word to use – but my paranoia had gotten the best of me, it had round my thoughts into fiery balls of worry. So relief came in the word pneumonia, which not only sucks as a sickness, is also a dumb spelt word, it’s one of those silly English words that throws your phone into crazy autocorrect. So, shitty? Yes, end of the world stuff? No but, regardless a slight eye opener.
What I’ve learned about life from this situation is the following:
Find something every day to be grateful for – write it down.
Find something about your spouse you appreciate every day – write it down.
Every day, that you walk without problems, breathe without hesitation, stand without pain – be grateful.
At the end of day, when you’re comparing this person to you, that person to them, remember if you’re standing on two feet, your children are somewhat smiling and you’ve got a roof over your head and food in your belly – be grateful.
Forget about all the things you “need” – cause really you just want them and everything that you’ve already got is all you’ll ever really need.
And love the ones you’ve got, with everything you have.
peace.