There was a lot of jibber-jabbering at the office today and I made a bonehead move that really bothered me. Then Maddie pooped on the stairs so I had to clean that up when I got home from lunch. And it still isn't Saturday so I was grumpy. I was driving back to work thinking "The only thing we have of any value on this earth is time, and I spend 8 hours every day at RedCoat Publishing hating every minute of it.
Not pleasent.
Then I read this story from Musings of a Distractable Mind, a blog I frequently find much in common with. (I found the story through Better Health, a always-fresh site that compiles posts from a community of bloggers you should check out if you have any interest in the healthcare.
The story is about a doctor and his patient who died recently, but did so without complaining. Just with a smirk and a joke, as DrRob said; the man was totally accepting of a fate that shouldn't have been his.
Also: today is the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
What lessons did I take from this story and this fact?
Well, first that as bad as things may seem, I've never been put in a concentration camp and worked/starved to the brink of death. Or actually killed by incineration or gassing. So I should think about that next time I have to clean up dog poop.
But also, that as precious as our time is on this earth and as much as we should do to ge the most out of it, ultimately, we all die one way or another. It's gonna be over someday. All you can do is be grateful for what you were able to do with your life and accept it.
I may be unhappy where I am right now professionally, but its going to get better and I need to take responsibility for making it better. And in the mean time, there's not point to bitching about it because I'm a lot luckier than many.
Its very hard to remember that when you're standing in dog poop.
My goal: to pause when I'm standing in dog poop to remember that its just poop; that I'm fortunate, and that I have control over my own situation (clean off the dog poop, work to prevent stepping in it again).
My sister and I sometimes say, "At least you weren't bitten by a shark" when things are going particularly bad. You can fill in your unfortunate circumstance of choice but this one is good because it always causes me to smile a little.
Too deep for a blog post?
not at all, when I get down, I simple go home and lay on the ground and let Sara and Chance run all over me and lick my face... they are such simple creatures that have one purpose in life, to love you and make you happy and very rarely do I make them my life. They get so excited and so happy knowing that you are apart of their life and it makes you happy knowing that you mean that much to something/someone. Good post!! love it!
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