I want to share a few thoughts that have been on my mind lately. What you’re about to read may not be about chiropractic per se, but it’s about life. More importantly, it’s about those things that truly matter in life. I suppose I’ve been on a journey of re-assessing what is truly important in life to me for quite some time.
It may have started coming to fruition during the holiday season when I struggled with buying gifts for people. I just couldn’t wrap my head around spending money on ‘things’ that I knew would be outgrown, not liked, or played with/used a few times then forgotten about. I guess my heart really wanted to give the gift of time spent together, of experiences instead of more stuff to accumulate.
It may have grown some when I realized that I didn’t in fact, want to buy a typical house in a typical neighborhood. It wasn’t only the fact that my stomach turned when thinking of having a mortgage for 30-odd years, but it was also the realization that even in our current rented place, I spend time cleaning rooms and things we don’t use. This is time I could be spending with family and friends; growing and nurturing those relationships. This is time I could be spending on my own hobbies; exercising, creating, gardening. Frankly, I was beginning to tire of spending my time on maintaining things instead of maintaining and growing relationships.
It was recent events though, that have really awaken me to the important things in life. My friend’s perfectly happy, perfectly healthy son ended up in critical care in the ER the day he turned 7-months old. From there he was admitted into a pediatric ICU, on a ventilator, feeding tube, heart monitors, and has been there ever since. That was over a month ago. He turned 8-months old in the hospital, with his parents by his side every day, showing him how much they loved him. Doctors cannot tell them what is wrong with their son, nor can they tell them how much longer they have with him.
I came home from visiting them recently with a changed outlook on life. I realized I wanted to make my time count more; instead of worrying about the future or feeling like I don’t have enough time/money/things, I realized that the present is all we truly have. What we do with each hour is up to us. A lot of us say “I don’t have enough time” but every moment could be a lifetime. I don’t know how much time I have left with those I love, but I have this moment. I realized I needed to love more. We always have the opportunity to choose happiness and love; it doesn’t come from the things we chase. We never know how much longer we have with our friends and family. We only know we have this chance, right now, today, to choose love.
I’ll end this blog with one final thought. In the end, the only thing we can take with us is love…nothing else. I offer each of you the opportunity to reflect on what is truly important to you in life. I’m willing to bet most everyone would answer the same; those they care about and their relationships with them. As Ghandi once said “Where there is love, there is life.” Cherish and appreciate those in your life, for all any of us truly ever have is this moment.
-Dr. Jen
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