View from the top
So, I have a cold/flu thing. Not so bad that I'm down and out for the count, but bad enough that I feel lousy, have sinus congestion, that little tickle of a cough, and ache all over. It has seriously been over 2 years since I've been sick with anything like this. You'd think that what with working in a retail store, all those people in and out, plus the dearth of sick co-workers -- somebody was always sick...cold, flu, strep, bronchitis, malaria, bubonic plague...you would have thought I would have caught something there. Nope. I managed to dodge that bullet for over 2 years. But 4 weeks at my new job, in an office setting? Yup, I've caught something. And I most certainly blame my co-workers.
But being sick has reminded me to appreciate the times I'm not sick. It has reminded me to be thankful for the good things that happen.
Did you ever notice that we only remember the bad stuff and share that with others, rarely the good stuff?
Think about it. If somebody mentions, say, an upcoming surgery. Everyone seems to come up with their worst "surgery story" and share that. You know the one...the time you knew somebody who knew somebody whose aunt had gall bladder surgery and the doctor left a crescent wrench in her abdomen when he closed her up. Or somebody mentions a parking lot fender-bender and somebody in the group brings up the time they rolled their car 12 times down an embankment into a raging torrent and only survived by crawling 28 miles to town with a fractured sternum, surviving only because they were adopted by a wolf-pack. It's the quintessential "mine's worse than yours" syndrome.
We all have had stuff happen in our lives that were unpleasant. Some of us, we have had downright horrible, tragic things occur. I'm not trying to minimize those at all. But we have all also had amazing blessings, great triumphs, fascinating moments of grandeur.
About a year ago, my wife and I went on a wonderful trip to Italy. In one part of our trip, we hiked up into the hills in the Cinque Terre region.
This was the path up into the hills:
Yes, it was work. By the time we got to the "top" area, we were huffing and puffing. Altitude and a nearly vertical climb made work out of it for us two "21 year olds". (Quick aside: according to GM Pak, black belts are 21 for life.)
Not that being down below on the coast was "bad", by any means. It wasn't. It was beautiful. See?
But we wanted to see what it was like up in the hills. We wanted to hike up to a couple of the small towns tucked away, and immerse ourselves into the culture a bit. No, neither of us speak a lick of Italian. (Thank you, google translate!) But we thought it would be fun, so off we went. On that one day, we logged 32 miles of hiking. But being able to have views like this for most of the day was well worth it!
That's a view we couldn't get from down on the shore. If we hadn't trudged up those steep, mountain-goat trails, we would never have experienced the awesome magnitude and quiet peacefulness of walking along those high-ridge trails.
What sticks out to me is that you technically can't have "mountain tops" unless there are mountains. And if you have mountains, you must have valleys between the mountains. I'm no geologist, but it seems to me that's kinda the way it works. To get to the top of the mountain, we first had to start out lower, then through hard work, get ourselves up the trail, so we could arrive at the top. The mountain top wasn't going to come to us. We had to work for it.
So, I've got a cold. Like the old saying goes, I can go to the doctor and have him treat it, and it will be gone in about 7 days. Or, I can just get lots of rest, drink lots of fluids, self-treat and it will be gone in about a week. It's a bit of a "health valley", if you will. For the most part, my health tends to hang out on the high ridge-lines. Sure, I've got a couple of "older people" maladies, but that's part of the process, I suppose. Generally, I'm in pretty decent health. I think I need to make sure I appreciate that fact. Today, I am much more appreciative of my generally good health. But I also (grudgingly) am thankful for the sniffles-thing. It reminds me to be grateful for when I am healthy, and not to take that for granted.
Mountains and valleys. We all have them. Health, finances, relationships, jobs. If we don't have the valleys, we might not appreciate the view from the mountain tops.
My two cents worth today.
But being sick has reminded me to appreciate the times I'm not sick. It has reminded me to be thankful for the good things that happen.
Did you ever notice that we only remember the bad stuff and share that with others, rarely the good stuff?
Think about it. If somebody mentions, say, an upcoming surgery. Everyone seems to come up with their worst "surgery story" and share that. You know the one...the time you knew somebody who knew somebody whose aunt had gall bladder surgery and the doctor left a crescent wrench in her abdomen when he closed her up. Or somebody mentions a parking lot fender-bender and somebody in the group brings up the time they rolled their car 12 times down an embankment into a raging torrent and only survived by crawling 28 miles to town with a fractured sternum, surviving only because they were adopted by a wolf-pack. It's the quintessential "mine's worse than yours" syndrome.
We all have had stuff happen in our lives that were unpleasant. Some of us, we have had downright horrible, tragic things occur. I'm not trying to minimize those at all. But we have all also had amazing blessings, great triumphs, fascinating moments of grandeur.
About a year ago, my wife and I went on a wonderful trip to Italy. In one part of our trip, we hiked up into the hills in the Cinque Terre region.
This was the path up into the hills:
Not that being down below on the coast was "bad", by any means. It wasn't. It was beautiful. See?
What sticks out to me is that you technically can't have "mountain tops" unless there are mountains. And if you have mountains, you must have valleys between the mountains. I'm no geologist, but it seems to me that's kinda the way it works. To get to the top of the mountain, we first had to start out lower, then through hard work, get ourselves up the trail, so we could arrive at the top. The mountain top wasn't going to come to us. We had to work for it.
So, I've got a cold. Like the old saying goes, I can go to the doctor and have him treat it, and it will be gone in about 7 days. Or, I can just get lots of rest, drink lots of fluids, self-treat and it will be gone in about a week. It's a bit of a "health valley", if you will. For the most part, my health tends to hang out on the high ridge-lines. Sure, I've got a couple of "older people" maladies, but that's part of the process, I suppose. Generally, I'm in pretty decent health. I think I need to make sure I appreciate that fact. Today, I am much more appreciative of my generally good health. But I also (grudgingly) am thankful for the sniffles-thing. It reminds me to be grateful for when I am healthy, and not to take that for granted.
Mountains and valleys. We all have them. Health, finances, relationships, jobs. If we don't have the valleys, we might not appreciate the view from the mountain tops.
My two cents worth today.
Comments