To appreciate the light, you must have known the darkness… Mick Deev
Most of us take ordinary activities for granted. We don’t really appreciate their true value until suddenly deprived of them.
Among the most traumatic deprivations that I can imagine are the lacks of freedom, food or sleep; if deprived of any of those activities you are bound to endure great stress. But there are many other activities that you will equally miss (love, friendship, social interaction, sex) if incapable of fulfilling them.
If you eat steak and lobster every day, you will gradually lose your taste for it. It is only when unable to do so that you will begin to crave it again.
Presuming that you are fortunate enough to draw a large monthly salary, I can guarantee that you won’t appreciate it as much as someone hitting a once in a million jackpot.
The same goes for sex. If you do the nasty twice a day, you won’t get the same gratification as if doing it twice a week. It is the relative rarity of the deed, not the frequency that makes it valuable. You need to hunger for something to properly appreciate it.
Lately due to some reconstructive surgery, I have been unable to walk without assistance, drive and of course play pétanque. All restrictive and frustrating constraints.
Frustration by the way often leads to aggression and I might have been feuding with my feline companion more than usual. When socially engaged, I felt that she did not empathize with me; she just flattened her ears, swished her tail back and forth and stared. She did not show any appreciation for past favors and this is not cool.
My condition is slowly improving and with it the appreciation of what I can now accomplish. While still unable to play pétanque, I can now walk and drive without too much trouble.
I look forward to showing up on the field and play a few rounds with any you.
The greatest accomplishment is not in never failing, but in rising again after you fall. Vince Lombardi
Do not take routine tasks for granted. Clean the cat box and take the garbage out without grumbling because you don’t know how lucky you are to be able to do so.
Alain
