Perspective
It’s been quite a month:
- I was mugged, almost
- An ex-colleague faced a parent’s worst nightmare
- Sandy
I haven’t been dealt the worst hand in any of these situations, not by a long shot. I wasn’t hurt in #1. The heartsickness I feel about #2 is a drop in the ocean compared to the grief my old friend is dealing with. During #3, my apartment went dark but I had food, water and good company. Now everything is back to normal.
Or is it? This week I found myself cutting out everything but what I care most about as I scrabbled for vestiges of power and connectivity. I also rediscovered things I used to do — happily — before I wallowed in stuff I take for granted today:
- taking a bath out of a tub with a bucket
- reading fiction
- figuring out how to play songs by ear (look ma, no tabs!)
- talking to neighbors
There are plenty of stories about people having life-altering experiences and redefining their priorities. These stories are probably all better than my non-events and new collection of simple joys. But still — this month has shown me, and I will not be the same again.
##“For something tremendous has happened; I must face it without getting muddled.” – A Room With a View, E.M Forster