I was just thinking, a dangerous pastime if ever there was one. I was reflecting upon the microcosm that is my life, along with the trials and challenges that I face. No matter how trivial something may be, if you do not look beyond the boundaries of your own life then you cannot put it into perspective and learn to accept the situation for what it really is.
I have faced a rather stressful time at work recently, family challenges, the prospect of finding a whole new career in 6 months and a host of other bits and pieces. I have laid plans, as far as I can. I have taken account of what may or may not happen so that I can avoid threats and take advantage of opportunities.
We had a rather lovely family birthday party this weekend, with a small dark cloud which cast an unfortunate shadow on the event, but still we braced ourselves against the weather and made the best of it. Some of us laughed so hard, it has been such a long time since I have seen such laughter. I got mixed up between David & Goliath and Samson and Delilah when I asked if my wife could cut my hair. In my version David was clearly a hairdresser and Delilah was chucking stones at Samson... We played a fun game where we had to choose a cartoon character and the others had to guess who it was, this turned out surprisingly well and is a good game for a multi-lingual party!
Putting it into perspective and bursting free from that bubble for a moment. I think of the Malaysian Airline that has been shot down and the 298 people who have lost their lives. More so I think of the people of Ukraine, both sides, who have also suffered and lost their lives. The pain that spreads across the world from the loss of that one aircraft, people who were, in all likelihood, going to have a birthday party this weekend and laugh as hard as we did as they played games and said silly things. But they won't now. I suppose the other advantage is that they will not have any more trials to face, except that is for their loved ones who are left to pick up the pieces and are reflecting themselves upon the challenges they faced, how their plans have been shattered and how they regret that the last thing they could have said was 'I love you, you are so important to me and I want you to know'.
What I am trying to say I suppose is that I am eternally grateful for the things I have, for the people I know and for the time I have. I aim, in so far as possible, not to let myself get hung up on the challenges of life, but I am human and I will err from time to time. I have recently learnt that breathing deeply can help to calm the tension, it is something I have really known for a while, but I did not know the science behind it. It is handy because, quite frankly, you need to breathe and so it takes no real effort to do it! I choose to reflect during those periods and I am sure it helps.
A serious one for a change, but then life can be quite serious at times.
