Be Always Thankful

I was very frustrated today.

I was too stressed out with work. After being sick for 2 weeks and not being able to work, I’m now left with too many tasks to accomplish.

I was too disappointed and frustrated with my internet connection. I was so excited to return to RareJob and talk with my students again. However, there’s an ongoing maintenance/repair due to signal problems in our area so I had to cancel my lessons and close my schedule for a while.

I was quite disturbed about our apartment’s condition. The cleaning lady hasn’t come for weeks and the house is pretty dirty. After staying in my hometown with my mother and I always cleaning, it’s really disturbing to have a dirty apartment welcome you after just recovering from an illness.

I was too frustrated that I started to hate this day. I started hating going back to Makati and going back to the usual “work” routine.

Earlier tonight, I decided to go to Starbucks to chill for a while and clear my mind (I do splurge when I’m stressed/depressed/sad – not a good thing, I know!).

I rode a jeepney to go to the coffee shop. As soon as I got on the jeepney, I noticed that there was a wheelchair. I looked at the other passengers and realized that there were two kids with autism sitting next to me. They were with their grandmother. Both of the kids have speech problems as they cannot express themselves with words. One of them has paralyzed legs and he cannot walk – the reason why there’s a wheelchair. This encounter was the turning point of this day.

Instead of feeling sorry for the kids, I was filled with a feeling of awe, sympathy, admiration and respect towards them and their grandmother. Despite their condition, they still manage to smile and be happy with life. (I did not really understand what they were saying but they were smiling so I think it’s safe to assume that they were happy about something). They are still moving forward in life even though some people reject them. I talked with their grandmother and she said that they had a hard time riding a jeepney. Some drivers refused to accomodate them because of the kids’ condition and the wheelchair. Fortunately, the driver of the jeepney we rode was really kind. He even carried the boy to the wheelchair when they got off. Simple acts of kindness really warm the heart.

From this experience, I realized how lucky I am. I scolded myself for hating this day and being carried away by negativity.

I got sick for two weeks but these kids have been struggling with their condition for years.

I got frustrated and I complained a lot to the ISP but these kids cannot even express themselves clearly no matter how much they want to.

I got scars on my skin but these kids may have been scarred from bullying and rejection.

I have my work (and a few part-time jobs) to support myself and help my parents financially.

I have two feet capable of bringing me to wherever I want to go.

I have an apartment where I can rest after a long day (though I have to clean it if the cleaning lady doesn’t come).

I have my family, friends and relatives who support me and accept my craziness/stubbornness.

…and so on.

I realized that I have so many things to be thankful for. Most of the time, we forget the good things in our lives when we encounter problems, frustrations, failures, etc. If we just realize how lucky we are – lucky to be alive, lucky to learn from challenges/mistakes/failures, lucky to have people who truly care and love us, lucky to have a comfortable life, etc – all the negativity in this world will probably be gone, if not, reduced to a great extent.

Let’s be thankful everyday! Whenever you feel down, just remember that you have a lot of things to be thankful for and happy about.