Appreciate Life

I've encountered some things this past weekend that really got me thinking and made me realize how much I have in my life, and that I should realize how lucky I am.

2 people ate at the table with me-

1) A women.

2) A 10 year old girl.

Now reading that seems like nothing out of the ordinary but I've learned a lot from both of them and I'd like to share what I've learned.

Let me ellaberate-

The women is divorced, she has a full time job and only partial custody of her daughter. She has a really busy work life and when she is home it's just her and sometimes her daughter. No sitting down for family dinners after a long day at work. After all she's gone through in her life she sat at our table with a smile on her face. She explained to me that it is hard the situation that she is in but she had to do what she felt was best for her and her daughter.

The 10 year old girl has a problem that she can not eat. She has feeding tubes (which are not visable so at first glance she looks like anyone else) She has to feed herself using tubes a few times a day and can only eat very few foods through her mouth.

What i learned from the women is that sometimes we are in hard situations, things happen and we have to deal with them in the appropriate manner- we must realize that when hardships come up in life, think many times before making a final decision, many decisions that you will make will be life long decisions that once they are made there is no turning back. Be careful with the choices you make and watch out before commiting yourself to anything.

The 10 year old girl sat at the table with a smile on her face while everyone ate. All the other kids were screaming that they wanted dessert and she just sat and watched- she had no need to scream for it because she couldn't have it. Stop for a second and think about how much you loved snack time in school, dessert at any meal, going to the candy store- this child did not have any such desires because there is nothing she can do with them. Yet through all of that she sat with the biggest smile on her face.

How many times do we get upset about things that are not worth getting upset about, how many times do we ask for things that we 'need' and we can really live without , and how many times do we say things to people not realizing what those words can do.

Stop and look at your surroundings. Realize how lucky you are for who you are and what you have.

Whatever you feel you are lacking in your life, there are most certaintly many people who have a lot less than you do.

Be happy with who you are and what you have.

Smile, thank G-d and appreciate what you were given!

Happiness is contagious - try your hardest to be a carier.