Tuesday, October 2, 2012

One-Armed Thankfulness

Life is full of twists and turns and I have been fortunate to be on the higher banks of the river with my life.  Recently, I had shoulder surgery and have been one-armed (literally) for the past month.  Try it sometime...take your opposite dominate hand and do Everything with it...and I mean EVERYTHING... putting on socks, brushing your teeth, writing, typing, driving your car, putting on deodarant...on both armpits, opening a jar of peanut butter, opening a door while trying to carry something, etc.
Well, I list some of those not to create sympathy (because this is so minor), but to make a point that situations like this help heighten our awareness of how fortunate we have it.  The fact that I still have one good arm (and soon to be 2 again) is a blessing.

Some of these twists and turns should be perceived as challenges and not frustrations.  This experience has made me slowdown...take my time...partially because it takes a lot longer to do things, but I believe it will be another stepping stone of attempting to be a better person and to be appreciative each day.  I do not think we have one thing to complain about if we wake up healthy with a sound mind.  Take my cousin Mike, for instance. He has Stage 4 Liver cancer and is battling for his life.  Not once has he complained.  That's powerful and humbling.  Makes a temporary one-armed challenge so insignificance!

So let's take our heightened awareness of appreciativeness to a new level.
After all, everyday above grass is a good one.  Let's live that attitude.