I am no stranger to distress, heartache, and misery. I’ve encountered times when I just didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t want to wake up in the morning. Didn’t want to exercise. Just wanted to slack off forever and ever.
But, there are other times when I’m jumping for joy. Impressed by my good fortune. Fully realizing the eternal bliss of being in the here and now. Being grateful for every little drop of water. Every small breath I take.
Take a look at the world around you. Beauty is everywhere. Beauty is in the here and now. Beauty is incomprehensible.
Today, I chickened out of donating blood. I felt queasy thinking about drawing a pint of blood, and ultimately backed out of a giving opportunity. I’m not sure how I should feel about that. I tell myself not to hang my head. That there will be plenty of other opportunities around the corner to give.
The opportunities are endless. They are everywhere. And if you really take a look, they can be in every minute, every event, every experience, every state of being.
So, I try not to get too down on myself about missing out on a giving opportunity. It was one of those days when I just didn’t feel like getting out of the house to donate. But, at least, the thought of donating came to my head. Donating blood is something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. It just didn’t happen to be the right day, the right time.
So, where is the silver lining in this? Where is the positive outlook? After all, I didn’t give the way I expected to. The way I wanted to. But, at least the thought crossed my mind and I made an appointment to donate.
It’s easier said than done. I am told that every pint of blood can save up to three lives. And that millions of Americans every year need blood. There is no replacement for it. So, donating blood is a worthy cause to do. It’s just that I couldn’t come to grips with the thought of being queasy and dizzy. And ultimately, that made me resign from giving today.
Oh well. Life happens. I shouldn’t be too worried about it. There will be another opportunity down the road to take hold of. Life is filled with opportunities. You just got to see them to believe them.
So, take a look at the world around you. See what opportunities there are. And try to grasp them as best as you can. As I look around, I see the opportunity to be happy in the here and now. To be content with what I have. And I have a lot.
I have a wonderful fiancée. Loving parents. And good health. And I have an active business that provides me with financial resources and the opportunity to hone my skills everyday. I am given the freedom to work when I want, where I want, and how I want. These opportunities are very rare. Not exactly something that everyone has.
I’d go a step further and say that I am grateful for being financially sound. For not being an overly active spender. For having a roof over my head. For having enough food on the table to survive. For having proper hygiene in the form of toilets and showers.
We live in the most advanced stage of life there is to behold. With computers. And gadgets. And cars. And airplanes. And modern science. And new breakthrough research on mental health. By all comparison and for what it’s worth, our standard of living today is so much better than what it was a century ago.
Yet, many of us are not content. Not satisfied. Not happy with where we are. We want more. We want things to be different. We want things to be a certain way, and not another way. It’s hard to be at ease in this type of state.
We just need to take a step back and smell the roses. Take a look at the world around you in all its beauty and fulfillment. I am grateful that my fiancée is cooking dinner for my family. I am grateful that my mom is helping me with my family business. I am grateful that New York City is a wonderful place to live in. I am grateful that my business is not bankrupt and that I have a wealth of customers to fall back on. I am grateful for all the educational YouTube videos and links on how to invest money (something that I’ve been getting into recently).
For what it’s worth, there are plenty of things that you have right here and now that you can cherish. And that’s how it is for all of us. For most of us, life is better than it ever was before. We just need to smell the roses. And take a sincere look at everything for what it is.
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