Yesterday we had a so called “Health Day” in my company. Each employee was given the opportunity to apply for a short medical examination, including lungs, eyesight, hearing, blood pressure, blood count etc. So I applied…
And there I am, sitting in a small office room which was converted to a doctor’s office for this occasion. The medical practitioner, a friendly and chatty mid-aged woman started right off with an interview:
“Height?”
“180cm”
“How much do you weigh?”
“92kg” (I lied, I’m currently closer to 93-94kg)
“Any chronic diseases?”
“No”.
“Any known eyesight issues?”
“No.”
“Ok, we’ll check that”.
“Hearing. Is your hearing ok?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll check that, too”.
“Are you suffering from tinitus?”
“No. That is, well, if I really concentrate I am able to hear a very high pitched sound when my environment is completely still and silent. But I don’t hear this sound all the time, no”.
“Any issues with your bones? Joints?”
“No. Wait, yes – my knees do hurt sometimes but I attribute that to my being slightly overweight. I expect this pain to disappear once I’m down to my goal weight od 78-82 kg”.
“Do you smoke?”
“Nah, I quit several years ago.”
“Alcohol?”
“Nope. It’s been a few years since I quit that, too.”
“Not even a glass of vine or a beer, occassionally?”
“No. Honestly. Not a sip.
And then I told her that I’ll go ahead and jot down all of the above in my “gratitude list”. “Gratitude list”? She looked at me. Yes. A gratitude list. Some time ago I discovered by “coincidence” (I’m putting coincidence in quotes because I believe that “coincidences” don’t exist. Everything happens for a reason) a book on this subject, where the author wrote down 1000 reasons for being grateful in life. And this came just after I finished reading Nick Vujičić’s book “Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life”. Oh, that book was a life changer. I was instantly cured of all the issues I thought I had. I realised that not only I was not missing anything, but I actually have (much) more than the most: I’m alive, healthy, have enough to eat, have enough money, there is no war going on here where I live… Nick is, for example, totally grateful for the one foot he’s got (he was born without arms and legs). Among other things, that is. I totally recommend this book.
So she went on with the examination, my eyes are ok. My hearing is perfect. My lungs have 97% capacity. Blood pressure 107/68. Woooha! And so on…
In my gratitude list I currently have 35 items, ranging from “I’m grateful for having healthy and strong arms, hands and legs” to “I’m grateful for being able to take a shower with fresh water, whenever I want, and choose water temperature which suites me best”.
Too often we forget what we have. We forget our health, we forget that we posess so much of everything, all the necessary and unnecessary bits and pieces. Those of us living in the West also tend to forget that there are no armed conflicts around us.
Alive, healthy and free. This is my foundation. Everything else that comes on top is a nice extra. It’s not that I’m not developing my “extras”. Quite the opposite – I enjoy working on all aspects of my life, starting with health, wealth, various skills and ultimately true happiness.
And what is it that you’re missing? And what are you grateful for? 😀