Life. No one can escape the human experience.
I was catching up with a friend a few weeks ago, she is going through some intense challenges caring for her mother who has been diagnosed with stage four cancer and her father who has early onset Alzheimers disease. It made me reflect on the beauty and excruciating pain that all human beings endure.
Without boring anyone with the details of my first world issues, I also had my fair share of 'in your face' challenges personally and professionally last month. I can't say that I embraced them all with ease, but I can say that when I am feeling uncomfortable I know it's part of the growing process. And I was uncomfortable for most of February. So growth it was.
And when these challenging times that no one can avoid arise, whether its life or death, conflict resolution or just drawing a line and standing your ground; sometimes the best we can do is to continue to breathe deep and place one foot in front of the other. So I thats exactly what I did. Instead of getting attached or caught up in the drama that was playing itself out around me I became an observer, stood my ground when necessary and recognized it all as another opportunity to count my blessings amidst the life's difficulties. Sometimes it can be so easy to get caught up in the negative that not losing sight of my blessings is a practice in itself.
Throughout all of this, I have found that Gratitude is the great equalizer. On the one hand, my life felt like it was in total upheaval and I found myself walking into the unknown again but at the same time I have had some amazing gifts bestowed upon me. Most of these gifts have were the best kind. Gifts of love, encouragement and support from friends old and new. And others were of the physical nature like a practically new pair of MaryJane Keen's just my size (sweet!) or a bag full of little boys' hand-me-downs that are perfect for my son as he continues to grow like a weed. I even received some unexpected chocolate covered strawberries from a friend/client for Valentine's Day. Isn't life Delicious?!
I also had a quality weekend when my son and I were snowed in and we spent an entire day making Valentine's for his classmates. Using the oragami paper that Santa brought him in December we made 25 red paper airplanes and 25 pink oragami hearts. We took some thread from my sewing kit and carefully stitched the hearts to the underside of the airplanes, creating little 'love bombs' to be sent out to all of his friends. Which he won Most Creative Card award at his school Valentine party. A wonderful gift of simplicity and quality time where we connected and collaborated and my son was able to grasp the meaningful difference between a store bought and a handmade Valentine.
The universe is full of gifts large and small if we are willing and able to recognize and accept them when they come along. And when I sit back and put everything in perspective, I see clearly that my life is full of abundance and blessings. And I am grateful.
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