Yesterday was my 54th birthday.  2016 started out as an interesting, and somewhat challenging, year for me.  I had a miserable case of pneumonia, my car was totaled, my dog needed surgery, my youngest child needed a minor medical procedure, and I needed a damaged wisdom tooth removed.  For most of the previous years of my life, all of those situations would have spun me into an unhappy tailspin.  But this year, none of it bothered me too much.

As each year passes, I become more and more grateful for the opportunity to live this life.  I have grown to understand that bad stuff happens and it will continue to happen.  It’s all about how I experience the bad stuff that makes it either really bad or growth producing.  I now know that I learn from every bad situation that comes my way.  I learn how to adapt, how to look at things differently, how to solve problems, and how to grow because of it.

I don’t think I’ve added rose-colored glasses.

I don’t think I’ve added rose-colored glasses as I’ve matured, but rather shifted the focus of my vision from the negative to the more realistic and ultimately positive view of things.  Getting pneumonia was a painful reminder that I must always put my health first and that I might need to get a pneumonia shot next year. The car accident made me aware of how truly fragile life is and to be grateful that neither I nor the woman who caused the accident was injured.  It didn’t hurt that she had great car insurance and I didn’t have to spend one penny on rental cars or car repairs.

Medical procedures for loved ones is truly the hardest situation for me.  I don’t like feeling a lack of control or seeing those I love in pain.  Yet, these situations always bring me back to what I value most in the world and that is my family.  Nursing others is also a great way to pull out of our own self-centeredness.  And that nasty wisdom tooth?  It’s gone and it was nice to have a close friend (who is also an oral surgeon) make me laugh while he yanked it out of my mouth.

Turning 54 amongst a trying first quarter has made me all the more grateful for the life I’ve been given, the opportunities that have come my way, and the times when the sailing has been smooth and easy.  Life can be lived dreading the bad stuff or it can be lived grateful for the ride, both smooth and bumpy.  I try to remind myself constantly that the latter way is truly the path to joy and fulfillment.

My 53rd year was one for the record books in that it was the most consistently joyous of my life.  Not because nothing bad happened, but rather because the bad never once took away from all of the wonderful opportunities and blessings that came my way.  I’m looking forward to making 54 even better!

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC