I once was sad I lost my job, until a friend told me he had almost lost his life. As he described the feeling of death’s threatening blade against his neck, I felt ashamed for my neurotic and inconsequential fears. We so often wrench our eyes closed on life’s roller coaster, when we could be enjoying the thrill of surviving being thrown in loops.
If you are like me, and are finding yourself getting wrapped up in the soap opera you have created for yourself, it’s time to take a seat in the audience and regain some amused perspective on the whole thing. You can do this anytime by taking a deep breath and remembering to enjoy life in the following ways:
- Physically: Are you still alive? You must be if you’re reading this. Remember that you were given a body, (even if there are a few wingdings occasionally,) and it is already starting to decay. If you have wanted to do a marathon or skydive, start preparing now. Your body is capale of amazing things, and the sooner you begin the journey, the faster you will get there.
- Viscerally: Stop to smell the flowers– no really. Stop right now, and feel your environment with all of your senses. The small things really are amazing when you begin to realize this world is all woven together to cloak us in an ornate tapestry we can enjoy anytime we please.
- Emotionally: Emotions can be overwhelming, and when they get too intense we often want to shut them down. But, happiness is an emotion too. The next time you want to check out of a painful experience, try to remember you are decreasing your exposure all the other great possible feelings as well.
- Intellectually: The concept of reincarnation is great if you are okay with losing your consciousness, but once you’re an ant, you won’t remember your humanity. The next time you are overwhelmed, consider the option of being any other species on earth without the ability to appreciate their existence in the way we do.
The whole “You don’t appreciate something until it’s gone” holds abundant truth: take anything in your life even you remotely like, and then picture your life without it. Water is an easy one: what if you could never drink water again? Makes you kind of thirsty right?
I once was sad I had no shoes, until I realized I am an able bodied person who can make my own pair.