This may have happened to you. After a routine annual exam you are called back due to some questionable results. You are asked to get additional tests. For me it was three days before Christmas.
If you are like me, you go from carefree optimism to belief that you are about to be diagnosed with a terminal condition that will change everything. I already knew I was not strong or brave enough to handle this.
In those days I made several promises, and vowed to change some behavior. Maybe a little bargaining, but mostly realization that I take so very much for granted. Instead of squandering time and stressing over things that really do not matter, shouldn’t I have been more grateful? Shouldn’t I have let those small things go, discarded some of the petty grudges, been a better person??
Luckily for me the additional tests indicated no problem. I was free. But many of my friends and family have not been so lucky. I left the doctor’s office feeling incredibly grateful. The sky looked bluer, the air was cleaner, my husband was even handsomer! Life was good. From the despair of the previous day I emerged feeling incredibly lucky.
But what about all those promises and good intentions? What if I decided to truly live each day to the fullest and let go of those “small” things? In the heat of the moment, this was an easy pledge to make. It is not so easy in the day to day. However, that is my intention this year -- and what I hope for you. Spend time on those things that are important, be grateful for what you have and to let go of those negative thoughts. I will let you know how it goes. . .
{"title":"A year of good intentions","content":"<p>This may have happened to you. After a routine annual exam you are called back due to some questionable results. You are asked to get additional tests. For me it was three days before Christmas. <\/p>\r\n<p>If you are like me, you go from carefree optimism to belief that you are about to be diagnosed with a terminal condition that will change everything. I already knew I was not strong or brave enough to handle this. <\/p>\r\n<p>In those days I made several promises, and vowed to change some behavior. Maybe a little bargaining, but mostly realization that I take so very much for granted. Instead of squandering time and stressing over things that really do not matter, shouldn’t I have been more grateful? Shouldn’t I have let those small things go, discarded some of the petty grudges, been a better person??<\/p>\r\n<p>Luckily for me the additional tests indicated no problem. I was free. But many of my friends and family have not been so lucky. I left the doctor’s office feeling incredibly grateful. The sky looked bluer, the air was cleaner, my husband was even handsomer! Life was good. From the despair of the previous day I emerged feeling incredibly lucky. <\/p>\r\n<p>But what about all those promises and good intentions? What if I decided to truly live each day to the fullest and let go of those “small” things? In the heat of the moment, this was an easy pledge to make. It is not so easy in the day to day. However, that is my intention this year -- and what I hope for you. Spend time on those things that are important, be grateful for what you have and to let go of those negative thoughts. I will let you know how it goes. . .<\/p>","excerpt":"Let go of the small stuff, says NCCF CEO Jennifer Tolle Whiteside.","url":"\/blog\/a-year-of-good-intentions","publishedAt":1325613600,"media":[],"enableComments":false,"inMenu":false,"meta":null,"ordinal":0,"orderChildrenBy":"","id":"2f7b21aee252488a9c158dc918e67de0","parent":"e76aa785e2f140b6a8bdcb322b91b397","node":17021,"created":1533183588,"modified":1533183588,"fresh":1,"type":"post","children":{},"relations":{},"permission":"read"}