The picture below came up on my ‘Facebook Memories’ this morning. It was a throwback to this time 2 years ago, when I’d broken my leg. I was making another trip back to hospital to have a check up and see if my knee brace could be altered to move past a 45 degree angle. I still wasn’t weight-bearing. You can probably surmise from my fabulous style, that I was determined to face my situation with a smile. And sparkle!
Today’s title and theme, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone,” is the subject of numerous chart hits, movies, poetry and fiction.
The idea that we don’t really value what we have until we don’t have it anymore – sometimes until it’s too late to get it back – is something that we can all connect with in some way.
In our busy lives, it’s only natural that we forget to take the time to really appreciate what we have. We take for granted the places and things and people and situations that makeup our normal, everyday lives.
Sometimes though, ‘life happens’ and things are taken from us without any warning.
Sometimes, they’re things that you can get back relatively quickly. A lost bank card or a phone. Even a loss of self-belief, in a moment of adversity.
Sometimes, they’re things that you can get back, but they’ll take a lot of patience, time, hard-work and dedication. Like a broken leg. Or a relationship/friendship, following an upset.
Sometimes, they’re things that you can’t get back, no matter how much you want to. Like a person. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.
Breaking my leg fits nicely into category B. It took a massive amount of patience, self-restraint, self-belief, pain and time. At times, the frustrations was overwhelming. Mentally, I told myself stories about what I ‘should’ be able to do. But my body just wasn’t capable – at least not at that point. It was an incredibly character-building time. 2 years on though and I’m now a Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt, and competing in my first Tough Mudder at the end of the month.
My biggest takeaway? Appreciation for my everyday, normal body and the everyday things that it allows me to do. Especially those legs.
Those legs that allow me to just climb out of bed without thinking and put both feet on the floor. Those legs that allow me to walk up and down stairs. Those legs that allow me to shower, on two feet. They hold me up and keep me strong. Those legs that allow me to walk and drive and shop and jump and dance and jog and run.
When you don’t have two working legs, these ‘normal’ activities become like mini-mountains the climb. I vividly remember crying at the pain and hardship of getting up the stairs the first time on crutches. But this isn’t an unpleasant memory. It’s a reminder to myself, to appreciate what I have now.
Whether you’ve experienced loss like this or worse, or you’ve so far living a comfortable, disaster-free existence, take a moment right now to think about the things that you do have in your life that you’re really grateful for. And send them love. Show them love.
We never know what unexpected events are around the next corner. Be grateful and truly appreciate all you have right now. Don’t wait until it’s gone, to realise what you had.
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