Have you ever just stopped and enjoyed the stillness for a moment? Or stopped and given thanks for the blessings you have? Or just plain stopped and let your brain relax from all the craziness that is your life?
I know I don’t do that nearly enough. I was driving home from a family visit recently. It was a ten hour drive through beautiful scenery, which I couldn’t take in because of driving rain and road construction. As my two youngest daughters were watching movies in the back seat, I had plenty of thinking time. I knew it would be my turn to blog soon, and I wanted to come up with something witty, or at least interesting, or hell, maybe something that would make a reader want to buy one of my books. (See, I’m a conscientious blogger, really!) I had snarky comments about road construction, I had biting thoughts about lousy drivers, I even considered blogging about the beauty of nature.
This blog is about none of those things.
When I finally got home (through several traffic jams when I was only an hour away) and unpacked and relaxed a little, I went online to check my Facebook page and see what I’d missed over the week I’d been away. While I was scanning through my friends’ messages, I saw that a patient who had been in the hospital on the same floor at the same time as my daughter had passed away.
It made me stop.
With a full time job, a wish to keep writing, three very active daughters, and a husband who’d like to see me every once in a while, I’m pretty busy. Even when I’m not working or running my children hither and yon, I’m busy cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and planning what I have to do next. Sometimes I think my brain resembles that of a mouse on crack. I’m never still. I never stop.
Well, I did today. For a few moments this morning, I stopped and considered how very lucky I am. I don’t care if you believe in God, a higher power, or just the luck of the universe, sometimes you just need to offer up thanks, because no matter how awful you think you have it, it doesn’t take much to see someone worse off.
I am so damn blessed, and so very thankful for not only the joys, but the sorrows which have made me stronger.
So today, take a minute and just stop. Give thanks if you wish, contemplate the universe, or just enjoy the stillness. You’ll be glad you did.
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4 comments:
This is so true, Ari. Things have been difficult for me this past year due to various happenings in my life. But I know how blessed I am, and how much better off I am than so many people.
Thanks for the reminder to remember the good things I have and not to dwell on the troubles.
Lynn
Ari, you are truly a gifted soul. Your blog is inspiring. As I jot this, I am getting ready to leave for work where things have been hectic. My home life is in turmoil and my husband's job is teetering on the fence. But you are right...it could always be worse.
I'm taking a moment right now (with coffee) to be thankful. When I get home today, I plan to take another moment before I kill the family for not helping with the house. LOL.
Ari, you are a wise woman. Thank you for making me stop.
Thanks Ari for making me stop. I feel like I've been whining all summer, a season that took us completely out of the 'fun' game and into the 'work' game. But you know what? I lived through it and now I'm looking forward to the next couple of months to get some writing done. BTW - I'm so thrilled for your entire family that Shannon is doing so well!
Wise words, Ari. When life is at its most crazy is the time you really need to stop and remind yourself just how lucky you are. It's not always easy to do but I try to remember to do it.
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