Something I thought of and wrote up quick. As always...feel free to comment.
The Simple Things Written by TM
Worry about the large things in life and the small things will take care of themselves. That may or may not be good advice. It may or may not be something to live by. In the past few years Ive realized that there isnt a one motto fits all policy. I know people who complain all of the time about what seem to be the simplest of things. Their hair isnt combed perfectly, they are hungry, their head hurts, they hate work, and so on and so forth. Yet when it comes down to getting thing done, they do them diligently and do them correctly. They dont miss the minor details. I complain in my writing and to my parents and only about the bigger things in life. While others sit and ponder what to eat for dinner, Im pondering the merits of reconstructive surgery. While others complain about work, Im thanking God that I can work. It doesnt make me better or worse then anyone else; it just makes for two different trains of thought. However, in the differences lies something we can all agree on as truth.
When a friend or family member, whether human or animal, dies or moves away it isnt the big things about that person that you miss. You miss them and what they accomplished and did for you, but more than that you miss the little things. You miss your daily chats, routines, trips to school, rides in the car, and lunch breaks. My dog has cancer and is a few weeks from dying. Im not going to miss the fact that he existed, Im going to miss the fact that he wont be there to jump in my bed and wake me up in the morning. Im going to miss the fact that he wont be there wagging his tail when I come home at night. I can think of a few big moments with many people I know, but thats not what I like about them. Its not what I like about life. Life isnt the surgeries, weddings, or funerals, but its the breakfasts, days at work, and the hugs and kisses from loved ones.
What we miss in other people is also what we enjoy the most in our own lives. I spend most of my time thinking about my next surgery or about whether or not Ill ever get a date. Yet while Im thinking about the big picture, Im living the small. You can think as far ahead as you want to, but you still need to do the everyday things that get you to where you want to be. Surgeries are big, but to get to a surgery you first need to drive to the hospital. Weddings are huge, but in order to be married you need to find someone you love. Love is wonderful, but before that first love is a first date, and before that first date is a first meeting. It is more likely that the simple and small things in life be a prerequisite to the big than the other way around. The little things create opportunity yet it is the little things that other people care so much about, that I ignore the most.
Earlier this week one of my coworkers asked me during break after the rest of the group I go to break with had already spilled out what they had done in the last couple of days, what I had done. I told her that I hadnt done much of anything. She still figured that there had to be some television show that I had watched or something. I still didnt reveal anything. I could have said that I watched Boston Legal and that I slept till two in the afternoon that day, but it just didnt seem interesting and worth talking about. Maybe it was and maybe it wasnt, but it would appear to me that my mindset could use some changing. I cant seem to have conversation in little bunches. I either need to talk about something deep and serious, or just sit back and think. I cant carry on lighthearted conversations for very long. Since that conversation Ive been wishing that my mind allowed me to worry about the small things. Why wont it let me worry about the homework assignment due next Monday? Why does it always to be full throttle on dissecting love or surgeries?
No matter how much I drill myself for missing out on the small picture, Im still glad Im not the person who completely misses what is on the horizon. There is a happy medium in there someplace. Some have found it, some are searching, and some are probably happy where they are. They worry about what is important to them, and that is what makes them successful. My health and medical life is what is most important to me. Unfortunately, worrying about my medical life isnt going to make me successful. What is more important, my health or my schooling? My mind says my health and friends, but logic says my schooling. My heart tells me to search and find what I want, logic should be telling me to concentrate on my homework and forget about improving my looks. Thinking about my next surgery is not going to get me anywhere, thinking about my job and my homework might. However, in the grand scheme of things, I could care less about my next homework assignment, and would give the world to be healthy and normal.
No matter what I stay awake thinking about at night and no matter what I write about in my essays, it is the simple things in life that I enjoy the most. They are the things I sometimes chastise others for caring too much about yet they are the things of which I care too little. Ill miss my dog because hell no longer be sitting under the table waiting for my nephew to throw him table scraps. Ill miss him because he wont be there to do his tricks for his treat every morning and evening. When Im gone, I want people to miss me because Ill no longer be there to talk to, and because I meant something more to them than just being a medical miracle or crazy essayist. I think therefore I am, well the more I think about my surgeries and my lack of a love life the more I become what I think. It shouldnt be that way. Care about the small things in life. When I have my hearing aid off I dont miss sound, but I miss the fact that I can hear. Dont think about life, but think about what you are doing to live.
The Simple Things Written by TM
Worry about the large things in life and the small things will take care of themselves. That may or may not be good advice. It may or may not be something to live by. In the past few years Ive realized that there isnt a one motto fits all policy. I know people who complain all of the time about what seem to be the simplest of things. Their hair isnt combed perfectly, they are hungry, their head hurts, they hate work, and so on and so forth. Yet when it comes down to getting thing done, they do them diligently and do them correctly. They dont miss the minor details. I complain in my writing and to my parents and only about the bigger things in life. While others sit and ponder what to eat for dinner, Im pondering the merits of reconstructive surgery. While others complain about work, Im thanking God that I can work. It doesnt make me better or worse then anyone else; it just makes for two different trains of thought. However, in the differences lies something we can all agree on as truth.
When a friend or family member, whether human or animal, dies or moves away it isnt the big things about that person that you miss. You miss them and what they accomplished and did for you, but more than that you miss the little things. You miss your daily chats, routines, trips to school, rides in the car, and lunch breaks. My dog has cancer and is a few weeks from dying. Im not going to miss the fact that he existed, Im going to miss the fact that he wont be there to jump in my bed and wake me up in the morning. Im going to miss the fact that he wont be there wagging his tail when I come home at night. I can think of a few big moments with many people I know, but thats not what I like about them. Its not what I like about life. Life isnt the surgeries, weddings, or funerals, but its the breakfasts, days at work, and the hugs and kisses from loved ones.
What we miss in other people is also what we enjoy the most in our own lives. I spend most of my time thinking about my next surgery or about whether or not Ill ever get a date. Yet while Im thinking about the big picture, Im living the small. You can think as far ahead as you want to, but you still need to do the everyday things that get you to where you want to be. Surgeries are big, but to get to a surgery you first need to drive to the hospital. Weddings are huge, but in order to be married you need to find someone you love. Love is wonderful, but before that first love is a first date, and before that first date is a first meeting. It is more likely that the simple and small things in life be a prerequisite to the big than the other way around. The little things create opportunity yet it is the little things that other people care so much about, that I ignore the most.
Earlier this week one of my coworkers asked me during break after the rest of the group I go to break with had already spilled out what they had done in the last couple of days, what I had done. I told her that I hadnt done much of anything. She still figured that there had to be some television show that I had watched or something. I still didnt reveal anything. I could have said that I watched Boston Legal and that I slept till two in the afternoon that day, but it just didnt seem interesting and worth talking about. Maybe it was and maybe it wasnt, but it would appear to me that my mindset could use some changing. I cant seem to have conversation in little bunches. I either need to talk about something deep and serious, or just sit back and think. I cant carry on lighthearted conversations for very long. Since that conversation Ive been wishing that my mind allowed me to worry about the small things. Why wont it let me worry about the homework assignment due next Monday? Why does it always to be full throttle on dissecting love or surgeries?
No matter how much I drill myself for missing out on the small picture, Im still glad Im not the person who completely misses what is on the horizon. There is a happy medium in there someplace. Some have found it, some are searching, and some are probably happy where they are. They worry about what is important to them, and that is what makes them successful. My health and medical life is what is most important to me. Unfortunately, worrying about my medical life isnt going to make me successful. What is more important, my health or my schooling? My mind says my health and friends, but logic says my schooling. My heart tells me to search and find what I want, logic should be telling me to concentrate on my homework and forget about improving my looks. Thinking about my next surgery is not going to get me anywhere, thinking about my job and my homework might. However, in the grand scheme of things, I could care less about my next homework assignment, and would give the world to be healthy and normal.
No matter what I stay awake thinking about at night and no matter what I write about in my essays, it is the simple things in life that I enjoy the most. They are the things I sometimes chastise others for caring too much about yet they are the things of which I care too little. Ill miss my dog because hell no longer be sitting under the table waiting for my nephew to throw him table scraps. Ill miss him because he wont be there to do his tricks for his treat every morning and evening. When Im gone, I want people to miss me because Ill no longer be there to talk to, and because I meant something more to them than just being a medical miracle or crazy essayist. I think therefore I am, well the more I think about my surgeries and my lack of a love life the more I become what I think. It shouldnt be that way. Care about the small things in life. When I have my hearing aid off I dont miss sound, but I miss the fact that I can hear. Dont think about life, but think about what you are doing to live.