Soundy ~
You're obviously blessed with remarkable children - and a very astute, compassionate PCP! The words to the Kenny Chesney song ("I'm Alive") are poignant and ring so true. As a church Deacon in charge of our benevolence ministry I often come in contact with folks who are in some kind of crisis, often financial but sometimes coupled with emotional issues, too. I try to gently steer them toward a recognition of what's good in their lives and to leave the bad behind if possible and focus on the future. Recriminations, guilt and disappointment manifested as bitterness helps no one. Bad things do happen to 'good people'. While I don't wish to proselytize, I do have to mention that a firm foundation in my faith has been of enormous benefit in dealing with adversity over the years, including some scary situations, including my AN diagnosis and a cancer scare (which proved baseless).
I think the Kenny Chesney song lyrics demonstrate more than simply 'putting on a happy face' or 'seeing the glass half full'. I believe that looking for 'villains' to blame for whatever troubles may befall us in life is ultimately destructive. I recommend looking forward, refusing to wallow in past disappointments , betrayals and just plain 'bad luck' (like an AN diagnosis) and forgiving those who may have hurt us in the past. I think we all know that forgiveness is of more benefit to the person doing the forgiving than it may be for the person we forgive. Carrying animosity in our heart is a heavy burden that eventually hurts us while the person we blame for - whatever - is often totally unaware of our feelings and suffers no guilt at all from our seething resentment of something they either don't think was important or are blithely unaware of the negative effect their words and/or actions had on us.
We're all a product of our life experience and while we can't realistically put everything negative that ever happened aside, we don't have to let it control our future. Tomorrow is a new day . We get to chose our 'mood' and how we'll deal with whatever happens. I've seen people in pretty dire circumstances (physical disabilities, poverty) that still managed to be optimistic about 'tomorrow' and believing that 'things will get better' while they truly enjoyed the present and surmounted their troubles. Troubles that would have crushed most people I know, myself included. Again, a firm, unwavering religious faith (mine is Christianity) is a tremendous help but I've seen those with little or no spiritual faith overcome great odds and live 'in the moment', enjoying their life as it is, here and now. Kenny Chesney seems to grasp that - and his song lyrics reflect it. Thanks for posting them.
Jim
