When a best friend gives you a card after a serious accident that says “Sometimes simply by sitting, the soul collects wisdom”…. You can decide to vehemently reject the whole notion of sitting quietly and continue with an oxen determination to avoid any form of reflection and quiet, or to open your pores to the Zen master’s intention of the proverb and literally just start on your way.
Even before I ended up with a multiple fractured pelvis sustained from pursuing the sport I have loved so much, for so long, (which requires much wisdom of the not sitting and quiet sort), gratitude has always formed a strong part of my pulse.
To quote someone I never ever thought I’d show even the slightest interest in, (again thanks to my wonderful friend for getting me on to her podcasts. Does she have an evil plan for me in all of this ‘getting of wisdom stuff?) Oprah Winfrey, (I can’t believe I’m writing that!), said, “Nothing that ever happens to you is wasted”. Suddenly AA Milne and Oprah seem like a perfect combination!
So a hunt to magnify an already coherent sense of gratitude, and seize the opportunity of sitting on my backside for months on end began!
Coinciding with these inspirational quotes, my husband who is definitely the better of the two of us at quietly collecting wisdom, happily presented me with a 1000 piece puzzle to while away my hours ….. Somehow this collecting of wisdom has just turned into a big jigsaw puzzle, and I’m just not quite sure what the picture is going to be when it’s finished. A thousand pieces of wisdom, a thousand examples of gratitude…. Surely that isn’t enough. Not being a details person, that kind of research and documenting would be way too stressful anyway. Let’s stick to the glaringly obvious to start with and work our way from there.
Gratitude and opportunity…. Waste not want not. Don’t waste the opportunities (remember Oprah’s wisdom!), and “In all things give thanks” (Thessalonians 5:18). Pretty sage advice when you are sitting through a 1000 piece puzzle. Even better advice when a gorgeous neighbour drops by a frozen pizza that has been reduced half price for dinner with the words,“I hope you’re not offended…. If you add a few more veggies and some extra cheese….” “You’ll have a great meal without having to stand up for long……” There’s one piece of the 1000 right there!
The perfect combination of deep thinkers and Zen masters is getting longer when we add Calvin to the mix. A long-time mentor, Calvin has the unique ability to focus on the miniscule, find the buried treasure, the weird root, the disgusting grubs and the dirty rocks. I would bet safely that he is the only one that knows about my “gratitude spikers” Noun: “ An object or action that causes a spike in the gratitude barometer”. Where someone goes beyond the clichéd, “Let me know if I can help you, (but please don’t really come back to me on that one), and wholeheartedly decides to inconvenience themselves or think outside the square as to how to make your mundane more interesting or even easy. Promoting a swelling heart of gratitude by the recipient! Meals, Boston buns, flowers, books, taxi driving, ironing, visits, shower seats, are all great “Spikers”. Admittedly I have developed a favourite “Gratitude Spiker”. Immobility breeds discontent, (in my case), therefore anything that increases output is high on the treasure list…… This is where “The Grabber” comes in…. The ultimate, most useful, (yet humbly overlooked), tool for picking up the trail of debris I leave behind me on the floor. (I’m surprised the wicked witch hasn’t found me yet). Hoisting up underwear, putting on shoes, turning on the shower before I get in to make sure the water isn’t freezing and shock my pelvis into some other contortion, hanging up washing. Endless joyful opportunity…… Definitely a “Spiker” Calvin would consider treasure.
The undercurrent of wisdom and gratitude must have run deep with Zen masters in hot tubs. It would be otherwise unexplainable as to why the local hydrotherapy pool bubbles chlorine friendliness and helpfulness. Tokens of kindness by way of fellow “hydropoolers”, (mostly born in a different century), directing the pool guard to organize a wheelchair for my first ever, nerve wracking descent into the hot bath, the thumbs up on successful achievement of this milestone by grey haired (super encouraging) onlookers, affirmed that this place really must be good for one’s wellbeing. The effervescent enthusiasm of “noodle offering” water mates, (learn from the experienced…. Gather wisdom). Clearly it’s the true ‘hydropoolers’ that certainly appreciate the nervous and physical energy of getting into the pool unscathed. The genuine sympathy in the sharing of tragedies, the heartfelt encouragement of a road to recovery all to be found in the chlorine vapours and the wrinkled fingers. A sincerer welcome would be hard to find. But user beware. Amongst all the smiles and encouragement, a hidden rule to heed…. Don’t cross my swimming lane if you wish to continue to be the recipient of the hydro-goodness. We are serious here!
THE WISDOM COLLECTOR 