[Note: on the right side of this page, you’ll see where you can sign up for a weekly email from me – a little thought or discussion-type piece that comes every Friday. Every once in a while, I’ll share one here with you, so you can see what I’m talking about. I wrote this one earlier this morning, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Enjoy.]
Hi gang,
So I get up at 5am every morning. While I like it, I also love my sleep. My goal every night is to be lights-out at 10pm so that I can get a solid 7 hours in.
If I am woken up by something out of my control before my 5am alarm, I’m cranky as all get-out. And as luck would have it, I have a cat that has no idea how to read a clock.
Every morning at 4:30am, he walks into our bedroom, starts meowing and pawing at the closet door, making a racket. It jerks me from my sleep, and I spend the next half hour getting up every 5-6 minutes to spray him with a water bottle and chase him down the stairs. Drives me NUTS.
This morning, it happened again – as usual. I stumbled downstairs with my yoga mat to get a workout in, alternating between changing positions and flashing him dirty looks. You know, because he can identify with the fact that I’m giving him dirty looks (sarcasm).
It was one of those mornings where I sat around thinking, WHY ME?!? Now, that sounds dramatic – and it is – but at the same time, I’m not getting all the rest I need, and it is next to impossible to get him to leave us alone that early in the morning. It leaves me exhausted for good chunks of the day.
Then, as I sat down at the kitchen table with my protein shake, I opened up Feedly on my tablet and saw the first headline:
“Region on Lockdown as Police Hunt for Second Suspect”
Whoa, I thought, They got one of the bombers!
I kept reading. And I learned of the unprovoked murder of two police officers. The chase through Boston suburbs. The gunfire and the bombs being detonated outside the homes of sleeping families in the wee hours of the night.
I learned that entire suburbs were closed. Families were urged to remain inside, in their basements, away from windows, and to not answer the door. At a time of day when most of us are incredibly vulnerable, these families were shaken from their rest and relaxation to sit in fear while their houses are literally being lit up in the night by bombs exploding outside their doors.
I glanced over at my cat who, after being fed, was finally calmed down and content with life. I stroked him on the chin. Maybe I don’t get a full night’s sleep. But it could be worse. Much worse.
When you are going through stress in your day-to-day activities, and you are tempted to go the WHY ME?!? route, pause for a second.
Think about the lives of those in other countries. Those under oppressive government regimes. Those who live their days in fear. Even those in your own country who are vulnerable.
It’s not a magic pill. Just because you have very little food in your home doesn’t mean you should settle. Thinking about those starving in third-world countries won’t fix your problem. But it will put your problem in perspective. Sometimes, that’s all you need to appreciate what you have, where you are, and who you are.
We have more blessings than we can imagine sometimes. It just takes a pause in our day to appreciate them.
Have a great weekend,
Tom