Perspective.
Most people lack it. And now I get a little annoyed when I see so many people who completely lack it.
I got really bothered by it this weekend when Phil and I were watching TV. We were just looking for something to watch while we ate breakfast before church, so I turned on Tia & Tamera. And after watching one of them freak out about Twitter not working properly and how "overwhelmed" she was with "work", I seriously wanted to scream.
So many times I read some blog posts or listen to my coworkers/family members/friends complain about what they have going on in their lives and it drives me nuts. They talk about how stressed their are. How much they have going on. How they are busy. But what they don't realize is how lucky and fortunate they are. Often times, the things that cause "stress" are really just the blessings we take for granted.
Obviously this isn't always the case. And I know life can be hard and overwhelming at times. But I don't think until you go through something huge (cancer, infertility, a family member's illness, a death, legitimate financial struggles, etc.) do you really realize just how blessed your life really is.
My coworker was freaking out one afternoon about how she was going to get her son to football practice and her daughter to piano practice by herself when they were across town. I mean she was really getting worked up about it. And since I was in a particularly wonderful mood that day, I looked at her and said, "Oh to have your problems. So what if you are late to one of them? It's really not worth getting stressed out about." And once I pointed that out to her, she calmed down and realized it really wasn't worth the stress.
And that's the thing. I feel like so many people are losing sight of how wonderful and amazing their lives are by getting caught up and stressed out about the little, trivial things. So please... do yourself and me a favor... the next time you find yourself getting stressed out about something, consider whether or not it is worth it. Because most of the time, it's not.
Definitely needed to read this today...and most days. Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteVery true. This week it has been the hurricane for me. Seeing someplace you've lived destroyed, along with the homes of others really makes you happy with what you have going on.
ReplyDeletethis i needed. this right here, today. thank you.
ReplyDeleteJust stopping by from The Wiegand's, sweet Casey's blog, to personally invite you to join me for An Aloha Affair; a sort of end of week gathering and mingling and growing together. I'd love to have ya, stop by anytime...
xo,
Nicole
localsugarhawaii.com
I agree with you, I definitely think my health issues have given me a very different perspective on what is important too, so I see your point.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also think that there's a fine line between judging someone's issues and stressors, and taking them at face value, vs. appreciating that you never really know the whole story about their situation. The seemingly minor thing they're worried about might really have been the last straw in a long list of minor things, which have compounded into something anxiety-inducing.
Also, perspective works the other way too. Recently a good friend of mine had to go and have a blood test, which she'd never had before. Obviously, having had large numbers of blood tests/chemotherapy/medical procedures etc, this would not be significant to me anymore, but to her, it was, and for me to have thought "Oh, get over it, it's not that big a deal etc", would probably have been pretty insensitive.
Wow, this was a long comment! I hope it makes sense. I am severely lacking in coffee today and hopefully my brain isn't malfunctioning as result! o.O