Dailies

Adaptability

By Joy ⋅ April 19, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

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I remember this frame up near my grandfather’s home office with a quote I’ve memorized since I was 7:

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

It’s one of those mantras that have stuck with me through life and it comes reverberating in my head especially when I’m in challenging and trying situations. I’ve confessed time and again that patience is not my strongest suit, and the way that life throws the ball at you is often to strike your weaknesses — and that tests my patience. You can either look at it as an insult to injury or accept it as a way for your to reinforce yourself.

There are things I cannot change recently that have frustrated me: my physical ailment at the moment — the radiculitis/nerve irritation that is simply irritating because it’s given me three weeks of constant pain and headaches, my unintended month-long stay in Vancouver, etc. Now that I mention that, I vividly remember saying to myself as a girl less than 10 years old and seeing my beloved grandmother suffering from excruciatingly painful pancreatic cancer, that I do not want to live in pain. Ever. I think this is the longest time I’ve been in pain and it scared the hell out of me, to come so close to the reality of how fragile my body is. I used to feel invincible to a lot of things — pain (which is probably why I had a flare up because I ignored pain), sickness, bad luck, etc. I live a very carefree life until something strikes me. Ooops, back to reality. And then I have to be able to change my plans according to the situation.

I’m that kind of person — the planning gal who has a visual calendar in her head with all the boxes needing to be filled if they’re empty. Today, I imagined it to be a beautiful sunny weekend like last week [see the photo?], and planned to go to Granville Island eat some good food, and bring home goods from the public market. And that did the news say to expect today? SNOW and RAIN. In April. Aw, c’mon!!!

Screw the weather, I’m still going. :p