Terminally Thankful

As most of you know (and hopefully love) my blogs are a sarcastic and jovial approach to living a healthy lifestyle, but with Thanksgiving approaching and my recent work experiences I thought it most appropriate to write a sentimental reflection today.  Because true to living well, we must be well in mind.

Our yoga niyama for November.

Over the past 2 months I have had the pleasure of working with many terminally ill patients, a rarity in my work setting and quite a challenge for me as I tend to get personally invested in most of my patients.  Initially when these referrals began coming in (some sort of weird flood of referrals) I was dreading each day, because let's face it working with someone who is dying is not exactly the most uplifting and I'm used to working with people who progress to their prior level of function and return to life!  However, as this has carried on I have begun to see it as a gift.  How amazing that I get to be reminded that life is temporary and we should enjoy every second?

Now I won't sugar coat this and say that all of my terminally ill patients feel as if life is a gift and they are just enjoying their last days in bliss, because that is most certainly NOT the case.  Like the stages of grief, they are grieving their lives and the fact that most of them will be taken young without experiencing the opportunities that come with growing older.  Seeing your grandchildren, seeing your children get married, and so on.  One of my patients who has been hit extremely hard due to his inability to work, was so embarrassed that he couldn't provide for his family that he was in tears.  There is anger, there is sadness, there is frustration, denial,
and resentment, but in between those negative emotions there is light.  The light that shines through is the appreciation for life, family, each day, and an ability to be thankful that most of us will not experience.  It has made me step back and look at my day to day with a new appreciation.

The things that worry me and drive me into a funk are not things that really matter in the grand scheme.  I still have a loving husband, a roof over my head, an ability to pay my bills, feed myself and my family and create and invest in a future.   There is a calmness that I have felt by working with these patients that I have never known.  Now, let's be real, regular challenges and wants are still there, and some days I come home and cry my eyes out because it doesn't change the fact that end of life is sad.  But it's nice to sometimes be reminded that what you "need" is usually right in front of you.

Thanksgiving is a time to look around and just be thankful for all that we have, not in a cliche sense but in a real sense.  My terminally ill patients have the most REAL appreciation that can ever be seen, and I am thankful that I have been able to use my relationships with them to reflect on my own life struggles.

The stunning 9/11/ memorial celebrating the life of all those individuals

Related to my work with my patients I was also lucky enough to visit the 9/11 memorial over the weekend and this just deepened my appreciation.  This year at Thanksgiving I am thankful for life.  The ability to wake up, breathe, and open my eyes.  Now I hug my man and my pups a little closer, because I have been lucky enough to be reminded that even love is only temporary and we should love with all we have while we can.  So I wish all of you a most Happy Thanksgiving, and I encourage you to be thankful for the "things" that cannot be replaced.  Squeeze all your loved ones a little closer this holiday season.  And if there is truly no love in your life give yourself credit because you are enough.  In the end always be thankful for you and the daily struggle that you have the privilege to be part of.

Happy Thanksgiving - love Harry & Olive