Perspective

Not to get too deep with you on a blog, but I’ve been thinking a lot about perspective lately and how having the right perspective could solve most of the problems we experience on a regular basis.

Let’s take some fairly common examples that can easily escalate to mental meltdowns.  Yes, I’m being dramatic, but it is all to prove a point.  Let’s take the common cold or even escalate it to the flu.  Albeit an annoyance and something that shouldn’t necessarily be taken lightly (well, at least influenza), it makes us feel completely miserable.  I’m not going to dismiss the way an illness can make us feel, however, I wonder how often we just take a step back and think about the people that are going through illnesses much worse than the ones mentioned above and how they must be feeling?  I’ll admit I don’t.  However, that is the whole reason behind this post.

During this Thanksgiving season (and going forward), I want to ensure that I maintain a proper perspective.  I can’t imagine what my mother was going through, physically and mentally, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  How difficult it must have been to take care of her day to day activities as best she could, while still maintaining her daily routine as much as possible.  How selfish must I have been (granted, I was a high school boy) to complain about my common cold, or a stomach ache, while she was going through such turmoil.

Such perspective is a kick in the rear for me, making me realize that others are out there fighting such a terrible disease, while I was sitting back without a care in the world.  This was the reason I walked 60 miles in 2010 and plan to walk an additional 60 miles in 2011.  I want to stand among others that are taking an initiative and focusing on the important things in life.

Help me accomplish my goal by donating to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the cure.  I need to raise a minimum of $2300.00 in order to participate.  Let’s work together to help reduce these statistics:

• About 1 in 8 women in the United States (between 12 and 13%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
  
• In 2010, an estimated 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in women in the U.S., along with 54,010 new cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer.