When you are struggling with a serious illness or injury and cannot do the things you have been used to doing, you can either stay stuck mentally and emotionally in that situation, or you can find other "little" things that keep your life meaningful and moving forward. There is no getting around the fact that the situation you are in is very sad, and/or frustrating, and/or frightening. People who say glibly - thinking they are making everything better, "Oh, it'll be OK." just don't get it. It takes more than just a feel good statement to make things better. If you want to, you can make a great case for being miserable. In fact, that's the crux of this article. You have choices to make. There are things that have happened to you that you didn't ask for. But here they are.
The choices you make now will go much farther toward determining your future than the events you have experienced. When I say to notice the "little" things, I deliberately put little in quotation marks because that is such a relative term. I mean it as something you might have overlooked earlier before the sickness or injury happened. You might start to see that these “little” things aren't so little after all. Some of those things might be smells that trigger wonderful, comforting thoughts and memories. These "little" things might consist of things like noticing the way the sun comes through the tree in front of your house or how nice it is to really listen to some music and give it your attention. Take five minutes at the end of your day and ask yourself how many new things you noticed today. How many new things did you try. Even if you are bedridden you can try out new things, even in your head if necessary. Allow yourself to experience awe instead of resentment. Keep people around you that touch your heart.You will determine if these "little" things become powerful, positive "big" things or whether they fall into the category of "Who cares? My life is screwed."
Notice the little things and then embrace them. They won't be little anymore.
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