Reality Check

I don’t have to tell you how easy it is to get stuck in a rut and completely lose focus of the bigger picture. We all go about our daily business and routine, some of us sleepwalking through the motions, be it going to work, running errands or keeping up with the kids. The days run together and if it weren’t for our calendars we might lose track of which day was which.

Then something comes along to wake us from our trance.

The earthquake in Japan and resulting tsunami was sure a wakeup call for me. I’m not in touch with anyone in Japan, but I still felt the gut wrenching fear as I watched footage and read about the destruction.

How would I have felt if I knew people there? What if that was somewhere closer to home, like Los Angeles or San Francisco, where I do know people? Or what if that was here in Seattle?

I can’t imagine the pain, fear, devastation people living in the center of this tragedy are experiencing. What would it be like to have the earth break beneath my feet then have a whole area I know washed away, and not have any idea where my loved ones were?

Suddenly my petty daily complaints of not having enough sleep, a fussy toddler, frustration over finding employment, feeling bored, or someone not returning a phone call so I can complete a writing assignment seem so very, very insignificant.

It is a shame that catastrophes like this need to remind us to cherish each day and moment we have on this earth as well as with loved ones.

As if that wasn’t enough of a reminder, I went to the local fruit and vegetable stand today that I’ve been going to since moving to this neighborhood more than six years ago. It opens around February and offers fresh, tasty stuff through late fall, then turns to selling pumpkins. There’s a brief break after Halloween until after Thanksgiving and they start selling Christmas trees. Then they close after Christmas until February.

I’d met and talked to the owner, Tony, more times than I could remember. He always said “˜hi’ and chatted me up a bit. He was a bit of a local celebrity. Everyone knows Tony.

Today, my first day back to the stand this year, I expected to see him. But he was no where to be found. I figured he took today off.

Then, as I was paying, I looked up over the entrance and saw a huge photo of him and the words “In Loving Memory.” Tony was gone. He’d passed away of liver cancer Dec. 4. They’d discovered it only weeks before.

I struggled to remember my last conversation with him. I couldn’t. I’d taken for granted I’d see him again sometime. And now he was gone.

This all has really made me think a little different.

I’m happy this week I got to spend time with many people I love in the helicopter industry, and have seen or been in touch with many others I love.

I’m grateful for Facebook and how it has brought so many back into my life and allowed me the opportunity to feel connected to so many in this busy time.

I must never forget that any visit, e-mail, Facebook wall post or phone call could be my last contact with someone.

I must never leave mad.

And above all, I must work to consider all I have to be grateful for. I am very fortunate and any time I get the urge to complain about my lot in life, I must remember those that suffer through tragedy and loss, be it their whole home town or a family member taken too soon. I feel like I dishonor them and God when I’m so focused on my own trivial issues.

 

 

Tagged as: gratitude, tragedy