Changing Our Gratitude Baseline August 11, 2016
Posted by nrhatch in Gratitude, Happiness, Less IS More, Mindfulness.comments closed
I read a story about a young man suffering with CFS ~ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
And when I say suffering, I mean S~U~F~F~E~R~I~N~G!!!
He can’t talk, text, or type to communicate. Noise and light drains him ~ he wears headphones to drown out sound and a baseball cap pulled over his eyes to keep out light.
He can’t eat due to digestive problems.
He’s on a feeding tube.
And he’s exhausted and in pain All The Time.
I imagined spending a single day in “his world” before returning to my own life the next day.
Wow!
All the little things so easily taken for granted became cause for celebration because my gratitude baseline shifted:
I can open my eyes and see sunny skies.
I can listen to the insistent M~E~O~W~S of the cat . . . urging me to do his bidding N~O~W!
I can type, text, and talk . . . and enjoy the replies.
I can sit down to a hearty and delicious meal without fear of setting off a tsunami in my gut.
That’s the wonderful thing about imagination.
I didn’t have to live in his world for a single minute before changing my gratitude baseline.
So today I’m grateful that . . .
I didn’t have to deal with an earthquake or trekking across frozen tundra in a blizzard.
I didn’t have to eat monkey’s brains, bull’s balls, or any other Andrew Zimmern oddity.
There are no bombs bursting in air overhead and not a single snake slithering around in our shower.
Life seems sunnier in an instant when I acknowledge a few of the “clouds” that are nowhere in sight.
Aah . . . that’s better!
What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner. ~ Colette
Spirit Lights The Way 