Lately I’ve been touring real estate in Self-Pity City.
While some of it’s due to struggling writer syndrome (let’s face it, rejection does not a Dance of Joy make!), most of it’s financial stuff, like so many of us are dealing with these days. I’ve been feeling depressed, anxious and just plain stuck, viewing the world through those infamous corpse-colored glasses and bemoaning the blatant unfairness of life in general and my own in particular.
Today I got an email that changed all that.
One of my best buddies sent me an update about one of her friends who sustained a serious spinal cord injury a few weeks ago and was pretty much paralyzed from the neck down. She’s been making some progress but is still unable to scratch her nose when it itches, get stray hairs out of her eyes–all kinds of simple things we do without giving it a second thought. When asked if she was angry about the accident, her response was that the accident happened, her current circumstances are what she has to deal with now, and she needs to focus on getting better.
Wow.
Compared to this fantastic woman, what the hell have I got to complain about besides ABSOLUTELY NOTHING??????? Sometimes I wish it was anatomically possible to give myself a good, swift boot in the ass. (The target’s definitely big enough, but the legs are ‘way too short.) Today’s gratitude list is already four pages long, and I’m just getting started.
If you’re so inclined, please send prayers/white light/good thoughts for the wonderful lady I mentioned earlier. I don’t want to invade her privacy by giving her name, but I guarantee the god-of-your-understanding will know exactly who you’re talking about.
Life Is Short and So Am I 