They say ‘gam zu letovah’, but sometimes it can be hard to mean it. Now that I’m (Baruch Hashem, Bli Eyein harah) feeling more than a little bit better, here’s a list of things I gained from being ill.
- Before I left school, I knew maybe a third of the people there. I still don’t know anyone, but now they know me!
- I learned that as difficult as it may be, it does no permanent harm to a person to miss out on something they were looking forward too, such as the Purim party, my cousin’s graduation, or any number of things in between.
- That it’s ok not to jam pack a summer with camp or work- I still have what to do, even if it’s at a slower pace.
- Not having an appetite for almost two months really helps a person lose weight. :)
- It wasn’t just me- we found out I actually need glasses.
- We met a doctor who’s really helpful- not only with the current issues, but with everything else as well.
- It was she who discovered that… I’ve outgrown my asthma! (More or less.)
- I actually started getting more exercise.
- I worked out how to make phone calls work (almost) as well as seeing my friends in person.
- I had loads of time to work on my hobbies.
- I overcame my fear of shots. (I hope. Maybe. We’ll see next time.)
- I discovered what nice people my classmates are.
- It really is possible to catch up months of material in four subjects in a few weeks.
- My grade average didn’t suffer from missing school. I’ll know for next year!
- I found out that all the teachers actually know my name.
- Because I had to miss the school trip, I walked to the house of a person I hadn’t visited in years- and I think I probably gained more from that than from the whole shabbaton (weekend trip) I missed.
Here it is- the whole, slightly kooky, majorly optimistic list, made on very few hours of sleep, and a tight deadline.
Why don’t you try it one day? You’d be amazed how good some things can turn out to be- even if the majority is still bad. List every little good thing that happened on the otherwise miserable, rained on, food spoiled trip. You still have what to mope about, but you might feel a little better.
What do you think? Hopefully I’ll have something longer next week. Any suggestions?
What happened?
BTW I would be unable to make that list ;)
so true yeah what happened?
Mussia, what do you mean ‘what happened?’ And why can’t you make that list? Do you mean any list like this, or this one in particular?
The list of good. Optimism in the worst occasion is like a baby trying to reach Mt. Everest for me. And what happened to you? Like what all of sudden triggered this list.
Part of what triggered this was that I had to find something to post this week!
But I also realized that I learned and gained so much from being ill- Hashem wouldn’t make me suffer without a reason.
The list started when I realized that all these appointments helped me learn more about a medical condition of a family member- they always ask about family medical history, and this seemed to be related. I learned so much I would never learn otherwise, and it gave me a lot more sympathy and understanding- before this point, I had no idea, and I didn’t understand many thing that now make sense.
Another thing that started this was some of the positive side effects of one medicine. So rare given my reaction to most things. And it just morphed from there.
I have SOO much to be greatful for- most importantly that I’m basically back on my feet now!
ohh well if you’re still sick and if you’re not…. HURRAY! :)
meant if you’re sick Refuah Shelaima. Forgot to write that! Whoops! :)