kkm

Things can change in the blink of an eye.  A friend of mine just went to the beach with her husband for a long weekend, and they ended up spending the entire time in the hospital.  Her husband came home with a spinal injury, and he is now on a long road to recovery.  Thankfully, he didn’t have any neurological damage, but their lives have been severely disrupted as they are trying to adjust to a new normal.  And then there are several of my other friends who – either personally or through a loved one – have recently dealt with cancer and/or other difficult diagnoses.  It’s humbling.  One day you’re fine, and then the next day an illness or injury changes your world.  It’s situations like these that give me a healthy dose of perspective.  Being grateful for the little things is a lesson I’ve been trying to teach myself over and over for many years.

When I first met my therapist 15 years ago, one of the first assignments she gave me was to keep a gratitude journal.  Being the rule follower I am, I diligently wrote down 3 things that I was grateful for everyday.  But, over time that daily ritual became a weekly ritual, then a monthly ritual, until it fizzled.  I would find the journal a year or two later and start over, but you can guess the pattern.  Finally, at the beginning of this year, I purchased a small dry-erase board and started writing just one gratitude everyday, which seemed more do-able, and I was on a roll.  But I just looked at it, and my last entry had something to do with the July 4^th holiday.  Why?  Why can’t I be consistent, and why does it take something horrible to make me aware of this?  It’s easy to be consumed by life’s problems (like my terrible night’s sleep last night, or my washing machine breaking last weekend), but when I think about it, am I consciously appreciative of the day to day when things are going good, or even just okay?  I sure as hell should be!  So many things are taken for granted that can easily be taken away.  I need to remember to be present and thankful, like one of my favorite dental patients that I had years ago.  He was an older gentleman with the best attitude.  Every time I saw him and asked how he was doing, he would reply, “I’m great!  I woke up on this side of the ground this morning!”  Kind of morbid, but a good lesson nonetheless.

My take away from all of this is to be mindful, to be grateful, and to live in the moment.  Beginning and/or ending each day with a sense of gratitude for the good, or even the mundane, can help prepare us for when life gives us something unexpected in the worst possible way.  I’m going to get that journal back out so I can start reminding myself of all I have to be grateful for…  If this is something you already do, you inspire me.  If it’s not something you already do, I invite you to join me.