GRATITUDE IN PLACE OF TAKING THINGS FOR GRANTED

I sprained my ankle pretty severely on Saturday. I am in a splint up to my knee. I have to wear crutches. I need to keep my leg elevated above my heart. I can’t work for a week. The only exercise I am getting is a trip to the bathroom or a trip to the TV room. I can’t
climb stairs, so sleeping in my room is impossible. I need help getting my clothes and toiletries from upstairs to down. And showering, well, that hasn’t happened either. I have been sponge bath goddess in the last couple of days.

I haven’t been doing any of my shopping or any of my cooking either. However, today, for the first time since this happened, I attempted to make breakfast. It was one of the hardest things I have had to do in I don’t know how long. Something I normally take for granted was frankly a brutal experience. My arms are hurting from the crutches, not to mention my other leg which has had to work twice as hard to support this full body of mine. It's using muscles it didn't even know it had. My asthma doesn’t like all the extra work I am doing, which makes breathing more difficult. I dropped the crutches—twice—when I tried to lean against a counter top. I had to nudge the items over a few feet at a time and hobble over to bring it a few more feet, so that I could get it close enough to the side of the kitchen where the sink is in order to wash the fruit. I had to bring the supplies back to the other side of the kitchen where the pantry is to get all my seeds, cinnamon and granola—all while I held onto the counter with one hand. I had to sit down every minute or so, because breathing is a chore from having to work so hard. Finally, I started to cry. It was too much.

Eventually, I had my meal and believe me, I appreciated it.

Afterwards, I went back to bed. I just laid there staring at the ceiling for a few minutes. Never again will I take my legs for granted is what I thought. For five decades, I have been lucky enough to have two working legs and for this short period of time, I do not have that luxury. I wondered how much more I take for granted. Let’s be honest, mostly everything. I decided to feel gratitude, for my legs. I know eventually, I will have them both back in good order. I know that this is just a blip in the space-time continuum of my life. This was just a lesson for me to learn.

So, my suggestion to all of us is to feel the gratitude for everything we take for granted before we fall down and hurt ourselves. Be grateful for the air we breathe. Be grateful for the eyes we have that have the ability to see the wonders of the world. Be grateful for the beautiful music we are able to hear. Be grateful for the ability to touch a flower, a trunk of a tree or the blades of grass in our yards. Be grateful for the water that quenches our thirst and for the food that satisfies our grumbling tummies. No matter what there is something to be grateful for and why not start with what we normally take for granted.

I know I sure am.

Thanks for reading and Namaste!