Be Grateful of What You Have

There are times when I dwell on the things I don't have or can't have and fret and sulk about it to a point that sometimes I feel self-pity, it's sickening. I know that it is not healthy to do so but it gets tough not to do just that when times are really rough and you feel really inferior. It doesn't boil from lack of self-esteem but from lack of not having what you crave. To doubly work hard to achieve it while others seem to have it real easy is just disheartening. We all call it the Keeping up with the Joneses Syndrome. Who can't relate to that right?

I was feeling exactly this way when we were up in Huntersville applying our own Guerilla Tactics for a business venture that my hubby is planning to establish in that area. Life since last year has been tough which got rougher due to the bad economy. It was hard to keep a happy perspective when you're scrambling to make finances meet most of the time. Keeping up with the Joneses is nil.

So we went about the day then took a short breather at a nearby Target store. As we were heading towards the checkout aisle to pay for our little indulgences, my eyes caught the figure of this young lady in one of the cashier's booth just next to where we ended. She was unsteadily maneuvering the grocery bag on the bag pedestal while hastily scanning the items infront of her to keep her line up to pace. I must have been watching her so intently that she noticed me looking. She looked at me blankly. No twinkle in her eyes. Not even a sense of care nor a smile. At that point she's probably thinking "here goes another nuts". I looked away embarrassed. But that didn't stop me from secretly eying her again. I was mesmerized with profound admiration.

No, I was not attracted to her. I was attracted to her will-power. This lady got only one arm!I was dumb-founded. Here I was feeling blue about my life and here was someone going against all odd to function efficiently to get on with life. How ironic! I do believe I was meant to see her...

A gentle reminder that we are all blessed in different ways but we just don't see it. All our cares has made us blind. I was blind. But she will be a constant wake up call for me from now on. Her image is etched in my mind and will always think of her when I feel worthless. It may or may not work but there's never any harm in trying.

Noteworthy:

Jessica Cox
Born without arms, Jessica now flies airplanes, drives cars using her feet. The first person without arms in the American Tae Kwon-Do Association to get a black belt and the first woman pilot in aviation history to fly with her feet. A degree in Psychology and is pursuing a career as an international motivational speaker!

 

Barbie Guerra

Lost her arms when she was two. Her story was featured in Ripley's. A mom turned body builder.

What about you? Do you have any poignant experience such as this? And How did it affect you?