Control the things you can control…

Almost a year into the pandemic and I am sitting here writing this with a heart full of gratitude.

That sentence sounds strange. How is gratitude possible in a world where there is so much suffering? It doesn’t mean that I am oblivious or unsympathetic to what is happening right now. In fact it is quite the opposite. I often empathise too much (if there is such a thing). I have shred tears over the loss of people I may have had the honour of only meeting once. We also lost two beautiful women from our own family during 2020. But I decided that for my own sake and for my children’s, that I would choose to control the things that I can control. To let go of what I can’t and to be truly present, as none of us know what tomorrow has in store for us.

Yesterday I got up early and had a great plan for the day, but my youngest choose to take our day on a different journey by getting a bead from a toy stuck up his nose! We had to make a dash to the local gp and then onto A & E! As I sat in the waiting room with him, I thought about how lucky I am to have this service within 12 minutes of my home. I thought about how I was grateful he wasn’t in any pain and how he could breathe through the other nostril. I chose not to sit in a panicked, fearful state, thinking of all the worst case scenario’s (which I would have previously,) but instead in a calm, grateful mindset. I asked where I could get some water and a nurse went out of his way to buy me one from the canteen! I sat there thinking how lucky we were, while other patients were shouting at staff and complaining about the wait. Guess what, our patience and gratitude paid off as we were seen after about an hour (which is super fast compared to previous visits). The GP’s original plan for anesthetists etc, were all avoided when another Dr said, “lets try this first” and managed to coax my three year old to breathe out as hard as possible and dislodge the object himself! I was grateful and relieved, the two Dr’s also told me they were grateful for a good news story from their shift with very little intervention needed!

 

So why am I sharing all that? Well because we always have two choices. One is to panic, shout, fear, complain. Focus on all the doom and gloom and worst case scenario’s. Or we can choose to trust, to stay calm, avoid negativity and focus on what you can do in this current moment right now. What can you do that will make you feel great? Can you turn up some music and dance around your kitchen? Will you feel silly? Maybe, but will it lift your mood? DEFINITELY! Can you go for a walk? Can you take some time to sit and read a book or start a project that you have always wanted to do? Let’s use this time as an opportunity. Find things to be grateful for in your life today and I promise you, your life will change.

Stay safe,

Tara x