Gratitude In the Midst of Change By Dr. Juan Harrison
Gratitude In The Midst of Change
I walked into the waiting room for my regular chemo treatment to be greeted by another patient I had never met. When asked how he was doing, he replied, “I’m on this side of the dirt.” Can’t get much more basic than that.
I regularly remind us to be grateful for even the most basic parts of our lives. Things like sunlight, rainfall, cool air and warm days. We haven’t touched on fresh water and basic foods. In our land of plenty, we seldom pause to give thanks for even the most basic items.
Throw in family, friends, homes, pets, jobs, places of worship, schools, parks, lakes, and recreational facilities. Imagine life without cars and bicycles, no municipal buses, Uber, taxis, mail delivery, UPS and FED EX, no school buses, electricity, safe running water, gas and gasoline, EV’s , wind power, solar systems, public and private schools, universities, community colleges, municipal, state, and national systems to keep our transportation, food, service providers able to meet the daily needs of our millions of citizens.
For most of us, like little children, we give little thought about everyone and everything operating 24 hours a day—until it doesn’t. We just assume that services will be there until they’re not. Anxiety can begin to build when our favorite fast food joint closes for renovation or for good as its chain goes out of business. Our doctors, mechanics, hairdressers, maids, and accountants retire, move away, pass on. How inconsiderate of them. They were supposed to serve us forever.
One of the bigger challenges us humans face is change. The older we are, the tougher it is. Pets pass away. Grandbabies grow up. Our bodies and those of friends and loved ones poop out. We thought we’d live forever.
In recent days as paper checks have become more scarce and companies punish us old guys with $1.99 fees to process a paper bill, we can see the electronic writing on the wall. We’re fighting a losing battle as bank cards push checkbooks aside and even some medical offices I’ve recently visited no longer handle cash.
It’s hard not to feel like we’re facing a long fight with a short stick. My wife cranks up the car on Sunday mornings only to have her cell phone tell her that she’s about to leave for church, even telling her the time and distance of her short journey. That’s just about spooky. Most of us are creatures of habit, but that’s a little too weird. I walk by my car, and it unlocks. I swing my foot under the rear bumper and the trunk lid goes up. I can’t imagine the driverless cars out there. One guy got in one and ended up going around in circles. That would probably be my luck.
By Dr. Juan Harrison
