Curveballs

& the twists and turns of life

Only curveball about this day was that it started pouring rain approximately 5 minutes after this photo was taken

You know that feeling when you’re sick with the flu and you lay in bed all day just WISHING you weren’t sick? Not only do you feel physically unwell, but your brain also decides to think of everything and anything that you could possibly be doing with your day rather then laying in bed and waiting for the time to pass. Whenever I’m sick, I’m always in awe of my normal healthy self. How could she not wake up everyday and dance around in celebration that she’s healthy? That she’s capable? That she could go on a run or have the energy to get work done or attend fun plans with friends later that evening? What a privilege it is to be healthy and capable. What a wonder it is that we take it for granted almost everyday. We don’t wake up each morning with a sigh of relief thinking thank GOODNESS I am healthy today. BUT, we really should. Because everyday we wake up sick we are forced to acknowledge it and wish that we were healthy. Unfortunately, due to the way our brains are wired to constantly look for stressors and things to worry about, we don’t realize how good our baseline situation often is.

The same idea can be applied to our daily life. Even when nothing is technically “wrong”, us humans still get pretty upset about this and that. Worried about an upcoming meeting, complaining that we don’t like any of our clothes, being nit-picky about a relationship that we are in.

And then- life throws a curveball at you. Something out of your control, something that shakes you. And you think fuck, why didn’t I appreciate life more when things were actually good? What was with all of that moping and complaining? Because we cannot see into the future, we are left to sit in our present. Overanalyzing, overthinking, feeling stuck. Yet, most of the time, it’s easy to look back and wonder why and how you could care so much/ be so affected by such external factors at the time. Recently, life threw a curve ball at me. It was a completely fair and valid thing to be upset about, yet it really really shook me. Everything was going perfect before this I thought. Yet if that’s true, that nothing was wrong before that, why wasn’t I beaming with joy and appreciation and gratitude everyday? Of course it is unrealistic to be happy all the time. And that’s not the point of what I’m saying. It just served as a good reminder that when life is stable and solid and dare I say- normal- it’s not worth getting caught up in the little things. Celebrate the normal. Soak in the mundane and the beauty of your routine. Be thankful that things are going the way they are.

And in terms of dealing with curveballs- I will share this quote that has helped me deal with mine:

It takes just as much energy to imagine the best case scenario in any situation as it does to imagine the worst case scenario

So you may as well focus on the one that leaves you feeling empowered and open to new possibilities

Thanks for reading :)