I hope I never lose my appreciation for the life I have. Although there are many major setbacks, particularly with my own child’s health, I am blessed with a wonderful family, friendships and relative stability. I live in a wealthy nation, I am educated, and I never go hungry. While I could look at those with more and feel slighted, I don’t. I really do understand how lucky I am, and I never want to lose that.
When we go through hardships, friends can be so crucial to both mental and physical survival. Relying on others can also have a negative effect; one feels helpless, useless, a pain in the neck. Yet, if we really stop for a moment and give ourself time to realize it is okay to accept the help of others, two things happen: first of all, those helping feel good about doing it, and secondly, there will be a time when the need for support lessens and one can ‘give back’ in some way.
So what is my point? Well, I have learned many lessons related to all of this in the past year. I have accepted help and now have several projects in motion to ‘give back’. When I saw the prompt about what I hope I never lose, my answer came instantly to me. I have perspective and appreciation for life which, only a year ago, I would never have imagined having.
