Breaks
Happy New Year and welcome back to “Insights and Outcomes,” my blog I ended four years ago. These four years allowed me to accomplish other goals, and to refresh and reboot. Although I published a book last year (shameless plug: LIFE-KU: 101 Life Coaching Tips, 17 Syllables at a Time), I found myself missing the consistent writing of life lessons and connecting with you. What I thought was an end of blogging turns out to have been a break.
I hope you will (re)join me as we navigate through our ups and downs, our challenges and victories, and our moments of celebration and pause. As 2014 was ending, I took another break, this one not by choice. I broke my right foot. Now six weeks later, I am happy to report that it is healing and I will be driving again soon. I certainly would not have chosen this break, but there have been many upsides that helped compensate for the temporary pain and inconvenience.
My first moment of gratitude started on the trip to the emergency room. As soon as I hobbled to and buckled in the car, I was awash in my good fortune of having health insurance, a choice of terrific hospitals, a car to get to the hospital and someone to drive me there. I was greeted at the emergency room entrance with a wheelchair, quickly treated by terrific medical professionals, and left with a temporary boot (not the type of “rebooting” I had in mind), pain medication and a follow-up plan with a doctor. It doesn’t get better than that.
Once home, my gratitude only expanded. Unlike people who cope daily with incurable diseases, my mishap was temporary and had a solution. I was grateful that I work from home, so my professional life did not skip a beat. My husband has a home office, too, so I had built-in assistance. Being married to a great cook is always terrific, but in the weeks following the break, I had my meals served to me upstairs in my office. Coffee and breakfast magically arrived upon awakening. Pain schmain – I was living like a queen!
After a busy and fulfilling year, my broken foot forced me to slow down and pare my life to its essentials. My husband has been wonderful, my kids helped out, friends visited and, for the first time in months, I resumed crafting. My dogs were always by my side. I lacked for nothing.
No one goes through life unscathed. (See “Shoes”) Once unchosen and unfortunate events occur, our only decision is whether to bemoan it, or learn from and make the best of it. Allow yourself to go through the initial litany of “darn,” “ugh,” or “ouch,” but don’t become so mired in the negative that the lessons, and, yes, the “upside,” are not evident.
So let’s start 2015 with our best intentions, knowing that we can thrive even during unplanned twists and turns. Work hard but give yourself plenty of breaks. No need to wait for a break to happen to you.
