tWo LesSoNS i LeaRNt

I have had a lot of thinking time these last couple days. It is a wonder how the mind is able to wander. I thought of a lot of things. I thought about life. I thought about death. I thought about sickness. I thought about health. I thought about fighting. I thought about surrendering. I thought about hate. I thought about love.

I am generally not very verbal about my Catholic faith, or any religious beliefs to be exact. I think of faith as something personal. A communion with a bigger being who knows many more things much better than I could ever hope to learn in my lifetime.

A lot of things happened to me recently. Too many to tell. Too private to share. When things occur, the significance of the moment often escapes me. My friend once said I have a delayed reaction to things. It’s like my mind needs time to absorb the information, and more time to figure out the meaning of what took place. Which isn’t all that bad, I guess.

Through these days of pondering, what hit me the hardest are the lessons in gratitude and humility. I saw a lot of things I don’t usually see in my day-to-day life. I encountered a lot of things I don’t usually experience in my day-to-day life. A lot of these are like little “life-changing” moments for me.

When people reach out to help, do you have the humility to accept their help? When people reach out to give, do you have the gratitude to accept what they are giving? It takes courage. A lot of courage to acknowledge that you are just a drop in the ocean. It takes courage. A lot of courage to say “thank you”.

Bitter as the medicine may be, I think God wanted me to learn how to be grateful, and to learn how to be humble.

And for these lessons, I am eternally thankful.