Complacency Leaves No Room for Gratitude
I shared this on my Substack blog but wanted to share it here as well for those who do not follow me on Substack.
Life all too often carries us forward quickly, at a pace we often find hard to keep up with, but we do. It’s as if we switch into autopilot and the momentum to keep up propels us forward. That often comes with a cost. Stress, anxiety, burnout. The body reaches a point where it says “that’s enough thank you” and gives us signs and indications that it wants rest. It wants to take a breather and find that calmer, more balanced approach to life.
Being on that merry-go-round also brings with it the feeling of seeing the world in blur – we move so quickly that we can’t focus on the things around us. We forget to look, to really see. To pay attention to the people around us, the beauty around us and lighter moments that bring us joy or make us laugh.
Complacency has been taking up space in my life for a few months. I had some good news back in January and allowed myself to believe that life is in balance, that I am invincible and I began to take my health for granted. It’s easily done. Until I was brought up short on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. What I began to think of as something simple has the potential in fact to be something more serious. I’ve entered that waiting room of “what is this”; what might I be facing, what next steps might need to be taken and in general, getting way out over my skis in the realms of “what if”. The thing is, when you have faced serious illness or disease at any point in your life, you know the drill. Your logic says “this is simply x, y or z” but your “knowing I’ve seen the worst” brain at once goes to “what if”.
And I’ve been reminded this afternoon that negative “what if” is a waste of precious time. What if I paid attention to the fact that the sun came out after days of cloud cover? What if I remember the smile on the waitress’s face as we laughed about something on the menu? What if I chose the perfect colour pot for my fake fern? What if I laughed because even a fake fern deserves to look as good as possible? What if I chose the sunniest, brightest bouquet of fresh flowers to put on my desk? What if I remember that one hour overseas telephone conversation with my best friend where we laughed and finished each other’s sentences? What if I just took those moments to be grateful for what I have, what I see and what I feel?
Life is going to unfold the way it will. There are some situations that you might have a hand in creating. There are others that are out of your hands and in those, you find the strength and courage to face them head on. And while there might be a wait for knowing exactly what you’re dealing with, that time can be filled with beauty and laughter and a reminder to not take what you do have for granted.
