How much do we really appreciate what we have in life?
The old saying goes that we never really know what we have till it’s gone, and like most nuggets of wisdom that constantly are passed down through the ages, there is a lot of heavy truth in some very simple words.
Do these handed down pieces of knowledge sometimes fall by the wayside in our daily lives, only to be overtaken by the stress and strain of a world that sometimes moves too fast and draws us away from what we really should consider to be important?
Of course for most of us, reality is reality. Between kids, jobs and bills that demand to be paid, we might find it hard to consider that really important stuff well…important.
But beyond our nine to five jobs and phone calls that keep getting put off to a ‘tomorrow’ that might never come, we tend to lose the scope of what life is really supposed to be about. It is the structure of modern society that sets us up for failure, claiming that you need tons of inanimate objects that in the end will never comfort you on a cold night and will not bring you any sort of happiness?
That brings in another old saying, that you cannot take it with you.
Worst of all, the most pleasurable things can really be the most simple and easy to accomplish, making it even harder to contemplate how much of a complete bone head you have been by ignoring the simple things in life.
Look out your window…
Whether you live right in the middle of nature’s glory or find yourself staring onto an expanse of concrete, there are redeeming factors that you can use to make yourself and those around you happier, healthier and perhaps even a bit more aware that all around you there is a hidden and secret world waiting to be discovered.
There is as much beauty in an old faded building than there is in a gleaming new high tech skyscraper. A person we might consider to have no value due to their manner of dress or appearance may have once saved the country we live in or has more interesting stories to tell than the flashiest dressed man.
Essentially I am taking the opportunity to use this space the newspaper gives me each issue to implore you to start enjoying your life, no matter what your stature or condition. Thing is that we don’t really know how much time has ticked by for our pets, relationships or even our own mortality.
Somewhere amongst the people reading this I can hear cries of doubt and loud huffs and puffs of air as someone scoffs at these ideas, yelling in their heads that they are too old, too broken and too far behind to start to do any of these things you say.
Well, I can tell you that you are not too old, nor too hurt, nor too lacking in any area to ever make a positive change and start looking at the world in a different light.
Before you ask how this author, aged 34 and practically a Spring chicken, could possibly have any insight into what it means to have an issue that might perhaps lower your expectations of life or make you feel bitter or angry, let me explain.
Every morning due to allergies and asthma, I must use an inhaler before I can feel properly alive or awake. I have two arthritic ankles and one arthritic knee that at times has made me feel like I cannot do what I once did. Due to the varicose veins condition that exist in both legs as well, I also get ‘weeping’ wounds on my feet that require daily care.
All this added into some of the more dramatic incidents of my youth made me feel like I was sinking into a hole that many do not experience until they have another thirty years or so under their belt.
It also made me bitter and jealous and made me forget the wonderful things that were there in my life and that I was lucky to have. The intruding sadness made me forget the abundance of sunshine that was given to me that I was too blind to see.
I have been published in a book and work for a paper and can actually call myself a writer, some thing I did not think would be possible years ago. I have step children who, no matter what, adore me and I know that I have made a positive impact on both their lives.
My reason for begging this of you is that I may have lost a large chunk of that sunshine that God saw fit to give me due to the very things I mentioned above, all because I could not look to the light rather then the dark. Therefore, I could not let the opportunity pass to inform others not to make the same mistakes I have been guilty of.
Please treasure the good things around you every day and never lose sight of who you really are.
