Yesterday I had something happen that was most disappointing. For over a month all indications were that I would receive what I had come to view as a prize. Days turned in to weeks and the weeks melted in to a new moon and a New Year. The sunshine of yesterday and the mood of coworkers seemed to confirm the ultimate crescendo that had been building. And then, just when it felt the heavens might burst with anticipation, the announcement came… the “prize” had been given to another.
Reception of the news brought the normal feelings of disappointment, frustration, resentment, and even anger. Yet with the rising of this morning’s sun, a new feeling has washed over me. The feeling came on the tail end of a thought – a memory really – a memory that had clawed its way from the depth of my past.
As I recall, I was about 8 years old when Grandfather and I were sharing a quiet moment and he said, “Wayne, live like you only have 2 weeks left.” Though he departed this earth some 40 winters ago, this morning, it seems as though Grandfather has spoken again. If life had given me 2 weeks notice yesterday, the coveted prize I sought would surely have lost its shine. All things considered, I’m thinking most things that cause upset or hurt or disappointment in our lives might fall off our backs like water if we only kept the perspective Grandfather shared.
Tim McGraw sings the song, “Live like you were dying”. Now I don’t know if Tim in fact lives that way or if he wrote the words to this song, but perhaps Grandfather had learned a truth which was not exclusive at all. Maybe others have also learned to keep perspective amid the disappointments and traumas of life by asking the simple question, “If I had two weeks to live, would this (prize, trauma, or disappointment) be that important?”
Yes Tim, we should all live like we were dying. And yes Grandfather, thanks for the reminder that life has given me two weeks notice.
Once again, a great blog, and ... yes, quite true!
ReplyDeleteMy take on that reminds me of something also clawing its way back up from my distant past, and it went something like this:
"Expect nothing, and when you don't get it, you won't be diappointed!" On the other hand, if you get "it" ... a great opportunity for joy to spill over from the depths of your soul comes with that getting.
Over the years, I have built in some modifications to that original which are not quite so negative, but the basic still works quite well for me.
Bottom line: I have learned in my own journey, my joy comes from a different place than my ... expectations!
I've been disappointed many times in the same manor, only to find out on down the road, (when I got the real grand prize)that I'd only been focused on a lesser runner up prize anyway. My best ones were the ones achieved in someone else's time frame and not my own.
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