Perspective

A few people noticed that I've neglected to write much lately. Thanks for noticing, by the way. It's nice to know you are liked, even if it's only by two people. Ha.

Life has been crazy, as they say. Lots of ups and downs. The ups are almost euphoric. And the downs can be debilitating. It's been so extreme that I considered the possibility of being bipolar. But then I remembered that the periods of mania vs. depression tend to last longer than a few hours. At least that's what my Intro to Psych book said.

It's in the down periods when I find it hard to write much. It's easier to watch a movie, go the gym or, I'll admit it, drink. Anything to keep my mind occupied.

This has been a great coping strategy for quite some time. Repression, baby. Gotta love it.

Until this morning.

I received an email from someone I knew very briefly. In it, she described her very sudden struggle with cancer. It was one of those shockers that made you say things like, "Why the good people? Why someone so young? Really, of all people. It just doesn't seem fair."

But as I read this email, I realized that she is doing great. Beyond great actually. She has a very promising prognosis and a wonderful family. But more than that, she probably has the strongest, most positive attitude of anyone I know... cancer or not. And I say that in complete honesty.

Her optimism, enthusiasm and gratitude made me stop and think. It's not just that I might be upset about things that don't matter much in the end. It's not just that. Because I believe that many of these things do matter. But I realized that by dwelling on these things, I could be missing other, possibly fantastic things. Like, for example, the number of times I've used the word "things" in this paragraph.

Her story also made me contemplate the whole "it happens for a reason" theory. But that's another post, for a later date. For now, I want to thank this person for putting life in perspective for me. Perfect timing. I know you have a lot of support and inspiration already, so thanks for being that for me today. You rock, as always.