07 Jul “Yes, doctor, I am really fed up; all my body is in pain. Everything in my life is going badly. It’s a complete mess. ” (MARIO ALONSO PUIG)
A man went to the doctor’s because of a number of unknown pains that he had been having.
“Yes, doctor, I am really fed up; all my body is in pain. Everything in my life is going badly. It’s a complete mess. ”
The doctor began to get the feeling that, perhaps, there was a certain relationship between his physical pain and his emotional pain because the man kept complaining about how bad his life was and how horrible things in general were. So, as he knew some of his family and personal background, he said to him, “I understand perfectly and, besides, you just can’t imagine how sad I am about the death of your wife.”
The man looked at him, perplexed.
“But, doctor, my wife is in fine shape; someone must have informed you wrongly.”
“You just can’t know how happy I am that your wife is fine. ”
Then he wrote on a sheet of paper, while saying out loud: “His wife is alive.”
“By the way,” the doctor continued, “I’m sorry that one of your sons is sick.’
“But, doctor, how strange you are today; my sons, fortunately, are all healthy. ”
“His sons are healthy,” the doctor commented while writing it down.
“I don’t wish to deepen your wound, but I am sorry that you’ve lost your job.”
“Doctor, I don’t understand what’s wrong with you, but… ”
And in that moment the man understood the little he had valued all the good things in his life and how he’d been overcome by some feelings that could only have their origin in a very partial vision of things. Then, he got up, thanked the doctor and left.
It doesn’t make sense that we wear ourselves out wishing to change things that, right from the start, are outside our reach. I refer to conflicts or problems at a global level and feeling we are unable to manage our own states of mind.
Saying yes to life has much to do with ceasing to adopt the role of victims, dedicating our valuable time and energy to search for the guilty party and in being responsible the moment we respond to what has happened to us.
Facing resistance and resignation we have acceptance and gratitude. Maybe because neither acceptance nor gratitude seems real options we allow ourselves to be overcome with the idea that neither seems possible.
Reinventing Yourself
Mario Alonso Puig
Image: https://framednetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/cannonflickrsm.jpg
