Stopping to Smell the Roses

I think often I've been so fixated on the things wrong with life that I've forgotten to think about everything that is right with life. I think usually I feel like I'm a lucky person, I try not to take the things I have in life for granted. But as of late, I've found it hard to be optimistic with the world around me, and often I get fixated on everything that is wrong.

So. What's good about life for me? Well, let's start with something simple. Spring is here. The hell that was winter is over, and the flowers are blooming. Our lawn is bordered by the most beautiful tulips you could ever see. My dad neatly planted the tulips in the little flower beds bordering the house about 6 years ago. They're bright pink and lovely. I'm greatful that there are such beautiful things as tulips in life.

I'm glad for my health. I'm glad that I can go to the gym, powerwalk to the door, run up the stairs, do a half hour on the exercise bike, do a half hour on the treadmill, chat it up with a friend in the hallway, run down the stairs to the locker room, run back up the stairs, and skip out the door. For too many people in the world, their health wouldn't allow them to do something simple like walking. It might be unusual to think about your health at 24, but knowing what my sister goes through on a daily basis makes me think about these things. So thank God for every day that I can walk and run and jump and hop and move.

I am thankful for having a world where there is music. For almost as long as I can remember, I've found refuge and joy in music. Whether it's a good motown song on the radio, or I'm standing in the back of the risers in choir singing the same measure over and over again, music has had such a big influence in my life. It's really shaped the person I've become today. Last week when subbing at my old elementary school, I ran into my old choir teacher from all those years. The woman who started me out in the world of singing. I wonder if she ever realizes what an influence she could have in another person's life.

Education can seem like such a burden at times. It's frustrating because you work so hard to get a degree, and then when you're finished with it, it seems next to impossible to find a job with it. But I have to remember to be greatful for it. My dad never went to college because his teachers in high school were too busy telling him that someone black like him would never be smart enough to go to college, so he'd just better be happy being someone's mechanic or janitor. My mom never went to college because her parents held southern ideals that the only thing a woman should strive to do is find a good husband. So really, it's a blessing that I have an education, and I have the ability to decide my future.

I guess I've had a lot on my mind lately. I've been so focused on everything that is frustrating that I've forgotten to look at the good things in front of me.