Ask Ill Friend How They’ve Come To Appreciate Life
Do you appreciate life in a different way now that you live with illness?
Living with an invisible illness can sometimes feel as though we have turned the exclamation points in our life into ellipses. What is an ellipsis? You may know it as a triple-dot punctuation (it look like this . . . ), or a “suspension point.” It represents an intentional omission or unfinished thought.
Yep. Sometimes life feels like we have fewer exclamation marks and a whole lot more suspension points or intentional omissions. And yet, it is during the . . . (ellipses) we learn to appreciate life.
It can seem cliche to say that chronic illness or invisible disease can help you appreciate life is ways you never thought of before. And yet, I have to admit it is true. Rather than waiting for life to bring me memories and happiness, I must look around from where I am at–whether it be from my patio in the morning with coffee, or the wheelchair watching my son play at an amusement park. I have to find ways to appreciate life and what I have, instead of what it can bring to me.
When we are with someone who is healthy, it is an opportunity to share the gift we have been given by allowing them to see how we appreciate life, how we find joy in any circumstance. Rather than stomping our feet and saying, “No one understands! I can’t walk that far!” we have the choice to say, “You go run around at the park while I sit over here in the shade with my iced tea.”
We have all been around people who do not appreciate life. Regardless of their circumstances they can find something to complain about. Simply taking them to lunch can result in a long list of things they don’t like from the parking to the wait, from the seating to the waitress, and the list goes on. It is just not any fun to hang out with them.
Resist the urge you have to sometimes be this way. Instead, leave your friends asking, “How is it you appreciate life so much even though you are in constant pain?”
Not only will it encourage them today, it may inspire them in the future when they start to feel bitter about their own circumstances. They will remember you, your attitude, and what it is that you share about how you have found the ability to appreciate life.
TWEET THIS: TThings TO SAY to an ill person #16 It is amazing how U appreciate the little things in life. How do U do that? #iiwk12
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-ljc
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