Last night, I had four inches of water in my basement. As I stepped off the cellar stair, I noticed a little grey mouse victim of the flood in my cellar. As I plugged in my sump pump, my inner voice was saying, "man, standing in this water, my hands dripping with ice cold water, this is just great."
Most weeks, I put in quite a few hours, so little problems like my cellar sometimes seem like big tragedies. My wife's old car broke down again this week, a pipe is leaking under the sink and my front door is difficult to close because it is swelling for some strange reason. I just found out that one of my dogs has a terminal illness and my back is really aching right now.
As I considered joining that poor little drowned mouse, I heard some footsteps upstairs. That sound reminded me of just how lucky I really am. I have a loving and accomplished wife who will kiss me when I get to the top of the cellar stairs and thank me because she knows that I am exhausted. My daughter who is home from college will excitedly brief me on her latest plans for an upcoming trip to Italy. I have wonderful friends that love me and respect me just the way I am. I am healthy and well. I have a decent home to live in, plenty of food to eat and most of the creature comforts that many Americans enjoy. This spring as winter recedes; I will bring my Harley out of hibernation and into the welcoming spring sun for an entire day of cleaning, polishing and servicing.
Many people in America do not have what I have and many, many more outside America have much less. Rather than feeling sorry for myself, I might better feel guilty for swerving into the "poor me" lane. It is a self indulgent and unhappy destination. Not only does it make the suffer feel bad, it drop kicks the energy of everyone around you.
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