Each and every day that we can get up and breathe in fresh air, see another sunrise and sunset is special, as well as connecting with loved ones and exploring the life we have been given this is special. Whatever our current circumstances, we are able to enjoy at least one thing in our lives, and even if you are not grateful for what you currently have remember that there is always someone worse off than you.
When you give it some thought and think about what you do have you will see that there is someone who doesn't have all the resources that you have or the opportunities and probably a host of other things, and if you go wider, there are a large proportion of the world that don’t have access to clean running water, or food or a place to lay their head. They don’t have and will never have most of the other things that you have and will on a daily basis take for granted and even get complacent over. Yet those that do not have are making the most of what they do have, they are struggling and living from day to day, and we have a responsibility to help and impact the lives of so many around the world in the simplest of ways – but that is for another post.
I often worry that mom is hating her life right now, thinking about all the things that she use to do that she now can’t do. At times I find myself going into automatic mode when helping her to do something, of course I will help her cause she can’t do it for herself, of course I will because she is my mum, but then in the midst of me helping her do something you would expect to do yourself she says ‘Thank you’.
She says it with gratitude, she says it because she is grateful for the help, and I think even more so grateful for being alive and able to enjoy what may seem limited to others, but to her it’s a life worth living. She may not feel that way all the time, who does, but generally she has found a way to still smile and laugh at life. There are still things that make her chuckle, and what I try not to forget is how precious this moment is. This day that we have been given is unique and I have the choice to celebrate it and try and be all that I can be today, for tomorrow is another day. I can choose to be present in my life or I can choose to worry about all the things that are not happening or that I do not have. I choose to bring joy into my home and see the wonders that are around me, and the opportunity to be able to make a difference today.For now think about those little things that bring joy into your home. Look at the gifts that you have been blessed with among what look like ashes and celebrate those gifts.
You can also click on the 'Celebrating life' image to be taken to the rest of the posts from the Journey of a Carer.
