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After 14 long nights in the hospital, and a successful surgery at 25 weeks pregnant I’m going home today.
I’m sure these thoughts will be forgotten, so I’m sharing this thread as a way to harvest my insights from this very difficult time.
https://twitter.com/sariazout/status/1382123513641844738
I’m sure these thoughts will be forgotten, so I’m sharing this thread as a way to harvest my insights from this very difficult time.
https://twitter.com/sariazout/status/1382123513641844738
1/ When illness destroys our illusions of self-sufficiency, we are reminded how much we need community and one another, and how much we depend on the larger web of life - nurses, doctors, healers, prayer circles, moms, chefs, friends, teachers, caregivers - to sustain us.
2/ Without suffering there’d be no empathy.
"We treat people w/a different kind of respect when we consider that they might someday be pulling us out of the rubble. We treat the rest of life w/a different kind of respect when we consider that w/out it, we wouldn’t be here.."
"We treat people w/a different kind of respect when we consider that they might someday be pulling us out of the rubble. We treat the rest of life w/a different kind of respect when we consider that w/out it, we wouldn’t be here.."
3/ Before two weeks ago a pneumothorax sounded like the one-in-billions freak accident only seen in movies. I assumed those things just don’t happen to people like me. But when it’s you, the 1 in 100,000 chance is no longer a long tail risk - it’s 100% - a humbling thought.
4/ Don’t romanticize the past. People used to die all the time from things we can treat now. We are lucky to be alive right now, with the miracle of science and modern medicine on our side.
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS!
PROGRESS IS PROGRESS!
5/ We are great at focusing on what is missing from our lives. This dissatisfaction keeps us from complacency (a good thing) but it also keeps us over-achievers from taking stock and noticing what is already very good.
6/ In a new mood, the ‘little things’ start to feel different - no longer an insult to ambition or a distraction from a lofty goal, we appreciate the long, warm shower, the sunny day, the children playing in the background, the organs performing their functions reliably.
7/ The biggest lie we tell ourselves is that pleasure can only be found in the extraordinary. There is so much wonder available for nothing in the here and now. It's unfortunate that it takes a crisis to evaluate each day against the more purposeful measure of death.
8/ When all else fails, there’s music and laughter. With a good playlist and a sense of humor you can always laugh your way through the absurdity of the shitshow.
9/ The amount of effort it takes to tell the story from the perspective of victimhood or strength is the same.
It’s not what happens to us that counts; but how we choose to grow from it.
It’s not what happens to us that counts; but how we choose to grow from it.
What a privilege it is to be alive! To breath fresh air! To be home with my children!
May people everywhere be happy, healthy, and free!
May people everywhere be happy, healthy, and free!
