Dearest Readers,
T’is a miserable day, t’ank Gahd.
When I lived in Ireland I would hear this expression, and others like it, often. The pious Irish will thank God for anything, even the dreariest of days. Well, it’s pretty dreary out there right now but you know what? We desperately need the rain.
After heading out into the rain this morning to attend the Toastmasters meeting, I was paid a wonderful compliment by a man who said to me, “You’re looking very well.” This is a fine thing to hear at 8 o’clock in the morning but it went over in a particularly favourable way because I feel very well.
Yesterday, however, and the day before, I was not feeling so hot. I was dealing with some creeping anxiety about the future and so I answered him by saying, “Thank you. I just made my way back to wellness after a couple of days of not-doing-so-well.”
“Well,” this man replied, “Wellness is relative, isn’t it? Your state of not-so-well-being is likely very different from someone else’s.” He then gave an example of a person he is working with who is overweight and riddled with illness. My “unwellness”, some low-grade anxiety about heading on a two-month adventure across Canada and the US, when compared with the health of his client, suddenly seemed relatively minor.
Now I’m not a big believer in comparing pain and troubles. My difficulties are just as valid as your difficulties, however different they may be. But this man’s comment did help to put things in their proper perspective for me. It was a good reminder to be grateful.
How easy it is to forget what we have, how far we’ve come, how well we’re doing. Even if we’re not doing as well as we would like we still have the opportunity to put things in perspective by using the “it’s all relative” tool.
This brings to mind the idea of a gratitude list. When things seem less-than-perfect we can ask ourselves, “What do I have to be grateful for?” Instead of obsessing about how my trip is going to turn out I can be thankful that I get to go on a trip in the first place.
It’s a simple but effective way of turning the not-so-well into the well. T’ank Gahd.
Inspiring Message of the Day: How can I turn my focus from the negative to the positive? Am I willing to be grateful for what I do have rather than what I do not? Today I will practice putting things into perspective by looking at all that is right in my life rather than what is wrong.
