I've just come through a difficult few weeks where I had an unexpectedly challenging and painful recovery from some surgery that I expected to sail through. All the plans I had about getting back to work quickly or getting ready for Christmas were sacked. I needed to just let myself get well. Today, I'm grateful for those tough moments.Here's why: this weekend, when I started to feel good - really good - I nearly cried from the relief of it. You've likely heard that joke about the fellow who keeps hitting his thumb with a hammer, and when asked why he's doing it, he replies, “Because it feels so good when I stop!” That's kind of where I was - I had been so miserable, so hopeless, and even though I knew I would get better soon, there were times I couldn't see it. But boy, did it feel good when all those complications ended!
It's the yang to the yin - the contrasts in life - that make us more appreciative. It's the quiet at the end of a hectic day, the smile of a child after the upset, the loveliness of a ladybug against a blade of grass.
It's good to have one's health, to have a comfortable home and clean clothes and the certainty of one's next meal. Many do not. It's good to have friends and family who get you to the other side when you don't have the strength to get there yourself. Many don't have that, either. And it's good to stop and be grateful for the things and the people that keep painting the picture of our lives; that give us the light to the dark; that provide the contrast that makes it all so stunning.
Thank you, my friends, for the light you bring to my world. The happiest of holiday seasons to you.
© 2017 A Bit of Brie/Anitabrie
