A Life without worry.
That’s the goal, isn’t it?

Not having to rush because we woke up late. Not trying to cram all those study materials in. Not needing a paycheck desperately. Not feeling angry because it’s going to rain. Not being scared from the results in the doctor’s office.

Sounds ideal, doesn’t it?

I’m pretty sure you could add 600 other things to that list.
But does that mean we need all those 600 things to go flawlessly?

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that once we get over that or this, we’ll reach the calm waters of Life without a storm anywhere near.
“If this one thing would go away, everything would be okay”
There can be many, actually, but even if all of them are solved along the way, new things come into their place.

They never seem to end, at least not in our garden.
Our Life is always a mess.

But the neighbors’!
Their house is neat and perfect. They never have to worry about anything.
Sometimes they complain, but those things are insignificant.
Meanwhile we are struggling with real problems.

Yet if all of us think that, and we’re the neighbors of each other – what’s going on here?
You already know the answer.

We all have them. Problems that make us stress.
Mortgages, bills, debts.
Exams, theses, tests.
Matches, championships, races.
Disability, pain, sickness.
Workload, promotion, career.
Kids, spouses, grandparents.
Deadlines, meetings, projects.

All of these are going well for everyone else, except for ourselves.

How foolish it sounds, yet how often we believe that?

How easily this can push us further and further in the darkness, until we stop looking for solutions, because all we see are problems. It takes away our smile, our health and our common sense.

None of this is going to solve anything.
So what does, then?

Reality check.

When was the last time you’ve been grateful for something you had?

When you looked at someone in a wheelchair and realized that walking is a privilege?
When you saw a blind person trying to cross a busy street without any help?
When you came out of a restaurant only to spot a homeless person with a piece of dry bread in his hand?
When you hear the story of a friend about losing one of his parents?

Only to have this impression last for 3 minutes.

The second we fail a test, break a leg, miss a promotion or lose our wallet – we’re back to it again.
Terrible, terrible existence. Why does Life hate us so bad?

If we saw the amount of blessings we have, the gratefulness would wipe out both the stress and the bad thoughts we have.

So what’s the catch?

We need to consciously look for that. To enjoy the meal we have. To feel the warmth of the sand. To hold a loved one’s hand. To see the colors of a painting; to listen to an army of instruments.
Some people will never get a chance to experience any of that.

If you woke up tomorrow without being able to do them, wouldn’t you give away everything just to live the Life you had for 1 extra minute?

See what you have through those lens.

Take care,
Erik