Is it really the worst?

It had been a rough morning with two teen remote learners, the repair person from the fuel company was in the basement attempting for the fourth time in three weeks to repair the leak in our furnace, and a few other hurdles that seemed to play like bad broken records in my head. I set out for a morning walk for a bit of exercise and if I was lucky, some clarity. It was bitter cold. As I looked down the salt crusted road, the winter wind smacked me in the face as if to ask, "is it really the worst?" I put my headset on and turned on the music that my husband had thoughtfully downloaded to my mp3 player.  It began to flurry and the cold seemed to grip onto me mercilessly. At that moment, it occurred to me that it's easier when things are good and when everything goes according to plan and our days run smoothly. Why wouldn't it be?  After all, those are the days when gratitude comes easy.  I muttered to myself, but is it really the worst?" The notion occurred to me that it may be more about perspective. It's much easier to see the worst. Think about it. How often do we hear someone ask or we say ourselves, "what is the worst scenario?" Without meaning to, we see the worst in situations, we expect the worst, we even complain about the weather being terrible. 

On that particular brisk morning walk, I realized that we may have to work harder to find the good or see the good. We may need to ask ourselves, "is it really the worst?" More often than not, it is unlikely that whatever it is, it isn't THE worst.  After a long walk, I returned home and I felt a sense of overwhelming gratitude for the time to take the walk, the warmth of my house, and for the change of perspective.