“It is not the mountain ahead of you that wears you down; it is the grain of sand in your shoe. People seem to have awfully sandy shoes these days.” Though the first line is a quote which long precedes it, this phrase was written in the Boston Herald in 1976 and still says it all.
Honestly, isn’t that the truth?! I have so much to be grateful for…my cup literally overflows with blessings, and yet, the minor frustrations in life can seem to cause me to blow a gasket. My bathroom sink in my house has been messed up (in a minor way) for awhile now, and rather than deal with it sooner, I let it go.
My son took it upon himself to try to fix it yesterday. Now it will not work at all. I was so frustrated; feeling helpless to fix it. I do not want to pay a technician to come out for something that I know would be an easy fix IF I JUST KNEW HOW. It made my blood boil.
Then I had to stop and think. I have THREE bathrooms in my house, and a kitchen sink of course. The other sinks are all in working order. I can thus far afford my water that continues to run in my house, I have a home in the United States in a great neighborhood, and so on. So much to be thankful for…how could I complain?
Yet these frustrations often get the best of us. It takes stepping back and really looking at my life to realize how petty the frustration is in the scheme of things. When I do that, I can quickly replace my being so upset with overwhelming gratitude and then move on…save my energy because there are bigger fish to fry.
I called a plumber today. The issue will be resolved, hopefully soon. Some people in this world do not even have indoor plumbing. Gratitude. Another thing will come up, as the saying goes, “it is always something.” I hope that next time my gratitude will precede my attitude.
Seeking an attitude of gratitude,
Nikola Rosa
