Image courtesy of Kliefi
It’s only when life ‘stings’ us with enough venom that we lose our immunity to joy and become free to passionately appreciate the now.
I woke up the other day at 5:04am (I looked over at the alarm clock) with the beginnings of a migraine. I usually get them twice a year when the seasons change, and this was my late fall finally. So I knew I was in store for about 2 to 3 hours of horrendous pain, accompanied by nausea. I propped my head up and prepared for the barrage of pounding pain.
By about 7am I started to feel the relief that comes when the storm finally picks up and moves on. If you’ve ever had these kinds of bouts of intense pain, you know about the euphoria that fallows. Suddenly, all you care about is the fact that the agony is gone. Nothing else matters. Your worries are forgotten and no amount of concern can take you away from your new found ‘happy place’. Suddenly the sun seems to shine ever brighter and the smell of fresh air becomes more potent, like a favorite perfume.
These moments in life, the ones that remind us to appreciate nothing more than being alive, can come from many avenues. Sometimes it’s a physical experience like the one I just described, while other times it may occur through the other 4 senses, but with the same results.
Anytime I’m brought to my knees like this and forced to just appreciate life in it’s simplest form, I am always thankful it happened. It’s as if my ‘reality reset’ button has been pushed and I am able to start again with a fresh perspective. The longer I go without a ‘reality reset’, the further I fall into the trap of negativity. Worry and anxiety become my fuel for forward motion as my soul yearns for another ‘reboot’.
So for this addition of ‘Community Insight’ I’d like to hear about the different ways you’ve gained ‘forced awareness’ of life and how you react to these situations. What things happen to you on occasion that force a ‘reboot’ and open your eyes to the wonders that reside right in front of your face? Let us know what keeps you grounded; what brings on your ‘euphoria’ of life.
Forced awareness? Children, two of them. Seriously bro, they bring you to your knees. I’ve had bad headaches, but I don’t think I’ve ever been struck by a migraine. Daisy gets them occasionally, and it’s hard to watch her suffer. Sorry about yours, I’m sure it was horrid.
Writer Dad´s last blog post..Bang!
An eye openeing experience for me was the time I was travelling around Hungary late at night and saw a homeless guy pick some fast food scraps out of a garbage bin and was about to eat them. My husband gave the guy some money to buy food so he wouldn’t eat the garbage scraps. The sad thing is though we knew he’d probably go back to eating out of the garbage the next day.
Every now and then I remember that guy and really feel really grateful just to have a home & a kitchen full of food.
Recently I was thrown to the ground with some fairly decent abdo pains – a fairly uncommon occurrence for me, I rarely have any serious ailments!
It came and went over a couple hours, but served to be a good reminder to be thankful for my health – often taken for granted… It’s really not until we’re unwell that we remember how fortunate we are.
Ross´s last blog post..Is your life moving forward?
These type of Awareness Shockers happen to me often and Thank Goodness they do. Pain is a great (while unpleasant at times) way of waking us up out of the mundane. A couple years ago I was complaining a lot about a certain job, and then one day I was told not to come back (laid off). I got what I wished for in a very painful way and it made me more aware of the flip side of the coin. Thanks for the insight Eric!
Jay´s last blog post..How to Win the Battle With Money
I had severe migraines for most of my life until surgery for ovarian cancer took them away(1994). I have to say that passing kidney stones is also an eye opening experience – not as high tho afterwards as say childbirth – and then there is this cute little bitty baby looking up at you – bumpy, lumpy stones…just don’t produce the high – tho death wishes do come easily.:)
I believe with age and 7 types of cancer in my life, I just wake up with as much joy as I can muster…problems just don’t seem so big…although today I am extremely frustrated with my inability to successfully get on Stumbleupon and Twitter and I am feeling a bit “stupid”…and not getting the business part of my blog functioning well enough..grrr…
but my kiddos are almost all here for a holiday and that is fabulous and lovely and stress relieving.
I just make up my mind…to let life work for me and I not push the river against it’s best living journey.
Patricia´s last blog post..Line Dancing at Waltz Tempo
@Sean: That’s what I hear. I’m looking forward to finding out!
@Bonnie: I can only imagine. Seeing another human being in that kind of need/state would definitely be humbling, I’m sure.
@Ross: “It’s really not until we’re unwell that we remember how fortunate we are.”
My point exactly. Well said!
@Jay: It’s always like that. We think we’ve got it bad and then we get what we THINK we want and realize we didn’t have it so bad after all. The paradox of life.
@Patricia: I know that you of all people have a unique appreciation for life. You’re really an inspiration to me and I know many others. Thanks for sharing and I hope you get that blogging stuff figured out.
Eric.
I remember 5 years ago or so I had a fishbone lodged in my throat and I couldn’t remove it by myself. It was really scary and I thought I was going to die; it didn’t help that I was reminded of its presence everytime I swallowed. I had to go to the hospital to the next day to get it removed (no surgery needed, thankfully). This incident made me appreciate life a lot more after that; I just so thankful for everything. (and I also avoided fish for a few weeks after that! though that’s irrelevant since i’m a vegan now!)
Celes | EmbraceLiving.Net´s last blog post..Two Important Things that Led to My Discovery of My Real Purpose
Sean,
Watching my mom and dad age. They are 88 and 89 years old. Being with them shows me how fragile life is and how fast it goes by even when you live a long life.
Recently, I got myself in the hospital and was frequently visiting it for 6 months time. It was this incident that shook me up and I started to be more aware of my life, start up a personal development blog and also had a 30 days challenge for myself to be healthier.
Cheers
Vincent
Personal Development Blogger
Vincent´s last blog post..Result Of My 30 Days Challenge
@Celes: That’s sounds like an awful experience. I’m glad it turned out to be beneficial. And I BET you didn’t eat fish for a while!
@Tess: Very good point.
@Vincent: Good for you for using that experience to change your habits and live a healthier life! Eric.
I remember when I was sitting in hospital by the bedside of my grandfather who was dying. (the Doctor had previously advised that my grandpa had only hours to live)
My grandpa told me a joke (quite an intricate and funny joke too). He was trying to cheer me up!! This had a profound effect on me. My grandpa was dying and yet he was thinking about other people rather than himself and he also taught me to embrace life and live it to the full. Enjoy every moment.
In the face of death grandpa showed me the euphoria of life. I will never forget this.
Leanne Magraith | Forever Change´s last blog post..Is Human Stupidity Infinite?
@Leanne: I had a similar experience with my father as he was dying of cancer. He kept telling me to make the most of each day and not waste my time on things like TV (he wasn’t saying to never watch it, just be mindful of the value of my time). This has had an amazingly powerful impact on me and how I spend the minutes of my day.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Eric.
Hi Eric
There are so many people at the moment losing their jobs etc. that I’ve thought to myself: at least I have work and an income
Then I read about GM etc and I thought: AT least I have work
I’m in South Africa and I see now that many South Africans were laid off first and are returning jobless. I thought: AT LEAST I have work.
We always get our annual increases in December and I thought that we will be lucky if this scrapes what is stated as inflation (which is way less than true inflation in South Africa anyway). We got quite a bit more than stated inflation. I thought: I cannot express my gratitude!
Juliet
LifeMadeGreat | Juliet’s last blog post..Experiencing Fear As It Is Meant To Be
@Juliet: That’s a great perspective you have, Juliet. It sounds like you’re a pro at appreciation!
Eric.
Hi Eric,
Great idea for a post. I can think of a few examples of the “forced awareness” you refer to, but the one I’ll share relates to my career. For much of this year I have been frustrated with my situation of having a job that, while having many positives, is ultimately not what I want to do with my life.
Ever since the financial crisis, my thoughts have shifted from focusing on what I don’t have to being thankful of what I have – that is, a job with a company that is doing well relative to others in the same industry. I’m now enjoying my work far more, while at the same time taking steps towards a career I would prefer.
Peter | The Change Blog’s last blog post..The Universe Works If You Get Out The Way
@Peter: I think a lot of people are seeing the grass on THEIR side of the fence as a little greener, now that the economy is struggling. Like you said, having a job that’s not IDEAL is much better than not having one at all.
I’m glad you’re working for a strong business and I hope the best in your pursuits for your ‘dream job/business’. Eric.