What’s Really Important in Life?

An Update on Lee’s Surgery Recovery…

So I’ve learned that there’s nothing like a little forced “Time Out” to give you some serious THINK TIME and put things into perspective about life. As most of you know I’ve recently undergone a double knee surgery (not an experience I recommend – unless it’s a must) and while I’ve been recuperating from surgery I’ve had time to ponder a few interesting things that I’d like to share with you today.

First of all, I’ve come to realize that God really did know what he was doing when he created the universe and made it tick the way it does… it’s difficult for me to imagine all of this being an accident and the perfection and greatness of it all, especially the human body, being only a coincidence. I see the answers to some of life’s questions as I sit here in this wheel chair, learning how to walk again. It is the fact that we have to endure the darkness of night that we can enjoy the light of day to a greater level. Loneliness helps us understand and appreciate companionship and the experience of unbearable pain helps us better appreciate the many joyful and pain-free moments that life offers us. It is the suffering that helps us learn how to be grateful for the good and I believe it is in times of sickness  that we understand the true value of maintaining our health and taking care of our bodies. This is especially true as we get older and the years wear on. In order for us to enjoy an active lifestyle in our mature years we must love and appreciate our body and respect it in our youth. We can only maximize our potential and reach our full greatness if we take care of our health and insure the longevity of our time here on earth.

Gratitude overwhelms me as I sit here and appreciate the wonderful care that the staff of Life Care Center of Estero has given me these past few weeks. They’re treating me like a queen and I feel blessed! I can not begin to describe the appreciation for the outpouring of love and prayers from family and friends in this challenging time for me. This experience has helped me understand the importance of maintaining good healthy relationships with family and friends, co-workers and clients because it is in times like this that one realizes who our true friends really are.

We all have struggles and we all experience bumps in the road - it’s the perfect learning ground that pushes us to become a better person. We all need to learn to come outside of our own lives for a moment to be there for one another. These challenging times we all experience offer the perfect opportunity for us to be a friend to someone in need as one day the tables may be turned and we become that person in need of a friend. At some point in our lives we will all need that special friend to lift our spirits, bring us lunch, sit with us and remind us that we are loved, send us words of encouragement or just say a prayer for our health and wellbeing.

I realize that it’s so important to maintain a positive attitude in order to stay focused on bringing about the best results in our health, our jobs and in our relationships. Negativity is all around us and when we experience difficult moments is easy to get sucked into the role of the victim. It’s so easy to cry out “Why Me?” and throw a pity party and wallow in our pain. It might even be tempting for a moment or two and then I remember that nothing good can ever come of negativity. Pain in life is inevitable but suffering is optional. Dark moments will come but we don’t have to stay in the darkness. The great thing about life is that we always have choices. Even if it’s just a spiritual choice in that moment – the choice to remain true to your authentic self. The choice to embrace hope, love and all the good… the choice to be grateful to be alive for as long as we’re alive we will continue to have choices!