One of the worst aspects of congested sinuses, headaches, and sore throats is that these ailments keep you from being your best. You take medicine, eat soup, or try herbal remedies to be rid of such hindrances however, nothing seems to get yourself back to normal. As frustrating as this may be, eventually everything passes and you go back to a healthy body. At the peak of the illness the main thing that always slaps me in the face is how much I’ve not appreciated those months and years of being ailment free. This feeling, perspective, and mindset, of taking things for granted, has continually struck me throughout the course of the past 391 days. It is now glaringly obvious this concept is all too common however, we can also use it to propel ourselves forward.
Back to School
Reflecting on days of old when homework, gossip, and cliques were a part of everyday schoolhouse and college campus drama there are many aspects where we didn’t realize how good we had it. Now yes, our cash flow statements would have been doused in red ink however, at the same time some things that came with it were virtually priceless. The ability to wake up only 15 minutes before class at 10am is one. Another is living and seeing your friends daily. Being able to have access to “included” food basically 24/7 and high quality gym equipment within walking distance of bed. Not having to worry about paying endless bills and other worries that come with living in the real world. When we are there and living it, we commonly fail to have the ability to slow down and look up, down, left, and right to realize how things are in the moment. Now after school the fun and people and friends that I encountered daily are sometimes weekly, monthly, yearly, or more commonly never again.
Back Home
Everyone had their own unique “home” situation growing up. Speaking for myself who grew up in a standard suburban household in Allentown and Quakertown, Pennsylvania many things were taken care of. I didn’t worry about the mortgage or pay the bills or do the laundry or wash the dishes among other things. These were done for me and were certainly taken for granted. Now being a homeowner myself, I wish I had been more aware and appreciative of all of those everyday tasks that just magically seemed to get done, not to mention the time I had without them.
Health
As I’ve alluded to above have a nagging ailment can quickly throw you into a rut both physically and mentally. You never truly appreciate being able to breathe or think or eat or speak with ease until you can’t. This brings me back to a life changing event that I conquered back in 2014 when I completely tore my anterior cruciate ligament and 25% of my medial meniscus at the same time while playing soccer. Not being able to put any weight at all on my right leg for 3 months aggregately and working for 9 months until full running stresses were once again achieved was a constant reminder that I certainly took my leg for granted. There are other certain everyday things such as getting less than a solid full night’s sleep or eating an unhealthy fast food meal that afterwards you regret not doing the opposite and take for granted how good the opposite feels. It’s these moments that motivate me to be mentally and physically as strong as possible while I still can. Did you train today?
Biomedical Technocratic Globalism
This brings me to 2021. Our overlords have flipped the world as we know it on its head and then tossed it off a cliff. When the 3D Chess playing globalists stumbled upon the release of an enhanced virus their gambit was to swiftly induce fear and cripple all opposition. On a simple day to day level, common things such as crowded bars, concerts, festivals, carnivals, fairs, family BBQ, and house parties vanished. Even books. These are now all deemed trivial at best and dangerous at worst. Little did most of us know that these things could be obliterated essentially overnight. What we have now isn’t living, it’s meekly surviving. The once driving metric, our “quality of life”, that first-world societies used to measure human progress is now devoid of “quality” and demoted to just, well, “life”. I truly miss living in that degree of freedom and only now can we realize that it was most definitely taken for granted.
For Today and Tomorrow
If it isn’t already evident our timing when it comes to having perspective of all things that give us true quality of life and happiness comes much too late. With this realization, having ways to bring this timing forward to as near present as possible will prove to be of high value tomorrow. Leaving positive affirmation reminders scattered throughout your house or car, positive self-talk, and pinning down that voice in your head to slow down and look around at the great things of today are a few possible progressions. Deep Work on ultra-specific things is another method to prevent future “I took _____ for granted” moments. This isn’t to say that all things today are blindly great or positive however, using this perspective as a solid foundation to improve upon and make the best of today is key. Being grateful and yet refusing to settle for what you’ve got is a delicate albeit powerful skill to master. My closing message is to take a deep breath, look around, reflect and assess your present because you’re never sure what could be gone tomorrow.
