After having a terrible accident resulting in an injury that prevents you from being able to walk for a little while and puts you in an immense amount of pain, most people would sit around dwelling on how bad things are. This is the approach I could have taken after the horse I was riding took off in an uncontrollable gallop and I fell off and ended up in Emergency with a fractured pelvis. Thank God I didn't.
Today, Day 3 with my injury, I went down to the park and beach with my grandparents. I realized so much within that hour and a half. My 80 year old grandfather is pushing me around in a wheelchair… that seems a bit twisted. But I realized how I am so incredibly grateful that this is temporary... and that my grandparents are in great shape! As we went along the path parallel to the beach, we passed lots of people. Everyone looks, not for the same reasons though, because this time I was different, I was maybe seen as incapable People want to know, “what happened to her?” or “I wonder if she's always like that”. I noticed people would look and wonder, or look and smile. One lady even bent down a bit and said very slowly, “Hiiii thereeee, nice dayyyy outtt isn't it?” I replied, “Yes! Gorgeous!” I think she was caught off guard a bit. We passed another wheelchair and I smiled to the other rider. It made me think, wow, he is always in that chair. He lives like this every single day, so do thousands of other people. I am so grateful that I will be back to my healthy, able self.
I realized that I was smiling the entire time. I was enjoying the beautiful day, the sights, the water, the trees, the sun. The little things that each of us take for granted every day. I saw people running, walking, swimming, and thought, how lucky am I that I will be able to do that again soon.
Please, stop and think about how incredibly lucky you are. Those two legs on your body, you probably take for granted. What do you think about your legs? They are too fat? They have cellulite? They are stumpy? They are not long, smooth, toned enough? Those legs are your freedom, a part of your amazing life and the only thought you should be thinking about your legs is how grateful you are to have them and use them. They allow you to go and do the things you want! To see the world, to get around, to run, jump and walk! If you are so lazy that all you do is lay in bed and watch TV, do yourself a favour and start being grateful for those 2 legs of yours that you are taking for granted! Use them! Go explore, go enjoy yourself, go live!
Think about the stupid and dangerous things you do. You are so lucky to have stayed safe, healthy, and alive! Every day is a gift! Think about how much you can do with every day! Most of us have absolutely no reason to complain. What have you been complaining about? “My girlfriend is a bitch.”, “My boyfriend is an asshole.”, “My mom won't let me go out until I get a job.”, “My dad won't drive me an hour to my friend's party.”, “I need to lose 10 pounds because I don't think I am beautiful.”, “The guy I like doesn't like me.”, “My job sucks and my boss is annoying.”, “I drank way too much last night and how I feel like crap.”, “This weather sucks.” Whatever it is, is it> worth it? Does that stuff matter? If it is so bad and it makes you so unhappy, why don't you change it? You are the only one who can. Do something about it, for yourself.
Honestly, no one cares what you are complaining about. People get enough negativity in the world around them. Pressure to look, think, dress, live a certain way. You turn on the news, almost every single story is a negative story that is going to put a down on your day. You attract what you feel and what you think about. If most of your thoughts are negative thoughts on what you hate about your life, guess what, you are only going to get more of that. Stop putting limits on your life, dream bigger than you think is possible. And don't ever say, “Well, I don't wanna get my hopes up.” Get your hopes up! Believe 100% that it is going to happen for you. I believe that doubt is the number 1 reason for not reaching your dreams. Have no doubt that what you want will come to you. People limit themselves because they don't understand how something is going to happen for them. What you give is what you get, so give love, give happiness, give positivity, give support. That is what you will get back. If you give sadness, hate, anger, complaints, that is what you will get back.
From my day in a wheelchair, I learned so much. Be grateful for what you have in life. If you aren't happy, change it, you are the only one who has that power. If you have your health, you have everything. The people in this building now know me as the granddaughter in the wheelchair who fell off a horse. One lady said when we were going into the elevator, “Oh there's the horse girl! Everyone has heard about you!” Grandpa told me I was famous. I just laughed, but it made me realize again how incredibly grateful I am that this kind of life is very temporary for me.
Think about this one last thing. Because I was in a wheelchair today, I was recognized and known for my disability. Think of every other person you know with a permanent disability. You need to look past the disability, because I for one would not want to be identified for my weaknesses. People who saw me on the street today only judged on the outside appearance. They know nothing about who I am, what I believe in, or what I am capable of. But I do. When you see someone who is lacking something, eye sight, legs, movement, hearing, don't identify them by their impairments, see the amazing human being that is inside of them, and be grateful for what you have. Even if you don't think much of yourself, they might be looking at you thinking you are the luckiest person in the world.
xo,
Sammi
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