The Lessons Within

This past Saturday, I was enjoying the outdoors with my son doing what he loves best: playing soccer. The air was fresh and crisp as fallen leaves crunched beneath our feet, and warm rays of sunshine cast their glow through the bare branches of the trees. We chased after the ball, laughing and battling for possession. Each of us kicked the ball fervently toward our own end of the yard, hoping to get a score. Surprisingly, after only a few minutes, I was up 2-1, but I knew my son would be on the move and tying the game before long. What I didn’t anticipate was what happened next. We were racing after the ball – as we had done a hundred times before – when a searing pain shot through my right foot. Immediately, I stopped running. When I put pressure on it, the pain returned with increasing intensity, and I knew I was done with soccer for the day. After limping through the back door, I landed on the couch. Frustrated, I placed an ice pack on my foot as my husband went out to finish the game for me. I was totally bummed!


Leaning back on the couch cushions, I decided I might as well pass the time watching a few Hallmark movies. They distracted my attention from my injury and enabled me, at least temporarily, to relax. I knew my self-assigned list of tasks for the day would remain undone, but there was nothing I could do about it. Sipping hot tea, I hoped my foot would heal quickly. However, when Sunday came there was no change. My foot still ached, and I had no choice but to plant my butt on the couch. Only this time, my son and daughter joined me. We watched Hallmark movies together and it was really fun - although now both of them think all I do every day is drink Dunkin Donuts coffee and watch Hallmark movies. My son said to me on Sunday night, “You really are into those Hallmark movies, aren’t you?”


As Monday rolled around, I still hadn’t finished any of the tasks that I had set aside for myself over the weekend. Sitting on the couch for the third day, I decided not to let my frustration at my lack of productivity get me down. Instead, I chose to take a new approach. Rather than being angry that my foot wasn’t healing fast enough, I closed my eyes and sent healing energy to my foot knowing that it would heal in its own time. (Of course, having it miraculously heal at that very moment would have been nice, but we don’t always get what we wish for.) As for the unfinished tasks, I decided to take a deep breath and change the question I was asking myself. Instead of asking, “Why did this happen to me?” I asked, “What can I learn from this? What message is my foot trying to tell me?” I know these may seem like strange questions, but the technique actually worked pretty well. It made me stop feeling sorry for myself, and instead I tried to take what was happening as a learning opportunity. I realized that perhaps I was spreading myself too thin and that I needed to take some time to enjoy my family – that resting and watching movies was actually a good thing to do even if it wasn’t “productive.”


In our lives, many of us often wonder why things happen, and we feel discouraged by our lack of control over different situations. But perhaps we could change the way we look at things. Instead of wondering why something’s happening, maybe we could ask, “What can I learn from this? What is it trying to teach me?” Everything that happens in our lives helps us grow, especially our struggles. It doesn’t mean we have to like everything that happens, but somehow through our struggles and our mistakes, we find out more about who we are. Consider your own struggles. Whether they are small, medium, or large, see if you can find the lessons within all of them. You might be surprised at how helpful those answers can be.


Oh, by the way, my foot seems to be improving and I’m grateful for that. (I just need to watch a few more Hallmark movies!)

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Published on November 13, 2015 09:51
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