Perspective

Living a content and grateful life is all about it.

I was watching a TV program yesterday about a woman who suffered a sudden stroke while making dinner one night. She had developed a blood clot on the part of her brain that transfers messages to the rest of her body. The result was normal cognitive and thought functions, but absolutely NO extremity control. All she could do was blink her eyes for "yes" and "no". Her husband, a true saint, remained true to his wedding vows and kept the family in tact. It's been five years since her fateful stroke, and her physical capabilities are still limited to blinking eyes.

Wow. And I feel sorry for myself that my daughter has relatively mild CP. Ellie's disability is like an ingrown toenail compared to what this lady has to deal with. I often get a bit miffed at people who complain about "insignificant" (all relative, I know!) problems like eczema or chronic ear infections. I feel like screaming, "I would LOVE for my daughter's most pressing health concern to be ear infections!"

Yet, when you put things into perspective, you realize that there's always *someone* who has it worse than you. In fact, when I put things into perspective, I'm usually left feeling embarrassed that I even bitched about my problems in the first place!

It's so easy to ride the "Why Me?" train, with a pit stop at the "It's Not Fair" station. It's NOT fair. It's not fair that Claire has eczema, and it's not fair that Ellie has cerebral palsy. EVERYONE feels that part of their life isn't fair. I'm NOT the only one with sorrows or concerns.

It's the human condition, after all. It's the reason why heaven looks so amazing.