Gratitude

[thethinker48]

This happened to me a couple days ago; still been stirring it over in my head for the past few days.

Last week I walked into the gym; having one of "those" days. You know; where you're complaining about not having enough size, or not growing at the rate you think you should, meals aren't digesting well, life is horrible...The usual bullshit bodybuilders go through

I walked over to the machine area for legs; and there was a kid there looking over at me. Both of his arms were missing; from basically the clavicle down. He asked me if I could adjust the weight on the leg extension for him, he thanked me for it, and went about doing leg extensions with a smile on his face.

Man did I feel like a shit that entire workout. You got a person here with once of the worst possible scenarios in life just enjoying physical activity, and I'm complaining about some obscure "look" that I don't have.

Makes me think of the many things I'm grateful for in life; a healthy body, more than enough food, the ability to attend school, a roof over my head.

Guess I'm sort of rambling; It's a blessing to get these reality checks in life once in a while.

 

[little slice]

empathy is a good thing bro



means you're human

 

[Durro]

Amen brother, every morning I wake up and I thank god for everything I have in my life and I do the same before I go to sleep. Even though my car got rear ended, my turtle passed away, and my daughter hit me up to pay for more college classes so she can double major. I always think I can be worse. And health is always over looked. We need to take a step back and look around because we are surrounded by awesome people everyday but we just take it for granted.
That’s awesome you made him smile. Keep it going.

 

[G.I.Bro]

Post made me a little emo. Shit like that fucks me up, especially with kids. Once you become a parent, shit changes too. Stuff like that hits you harder.

 

[luckyone]

Gratitude is a wonderful thing. I always start the day remembering all I have to be grateful for. Our troubles may be heavy at times but there are always those for whom the burden is so much heavier.

your brother in Christ,

Lucky

 

[nothuman]

This happened to me a couple days ago; still been stirring it over in my head for the past few days.

Last week I walked into the gym; having one of "those" days. You know; where you're complaining about not having enough size, or not growing at the rate you think you should, meals aren't digesting well, life is horrible...The usual bullshit bodybuilders go through

I walked over to the machine area for legs; and there was a kid there looking over at me. Both of his arms were missing; from basically the clavicle down. He asked me if I could adjust the weight on the leg extension for him, he thanked me for it, and went about doing leg extensions with a smile on his face.

Man did I feel like a shit that entire workout. You got a person here with once of the worst possible scenarios in life just enjoying physical activity, and I'm complaining about some obscure "look" that I don't have.

Makes me think of the many things I'm grateful for in life; a healthy body, more than enough food, the ability to attend school, a roof over my head.

Guess I'm sort of rambling; It's a blessing to get these reality checks in life once in a while.

Thanks for sharing. I needed to read this today

 

[nickels]

Great reality check, thanks Thinker.

Most of us are luckier than probably 90% of the planet, I'm guessing.

 

[brutus69]

Post made me a little emo. Shit like that fucks me up, especially with kids. Once you become a parent, shit changes too. Stuff like that hits you harder.

me too, i got something in my eye as i write this.
i drove past a little girl being pushed in a wheelchair who was seriously mentally and physically challenged. she had a blanket over her lap and was looking up at the sky, eyes closed, feeling the sun on her face. and godam, it got to me. and i think about that alot when i'm feeling sorry for myself.

 

[dale338]

Great post! Sometime we all need to see shit to put it into perspective. Guy at my gym recently lost a leg in an accident. Semi-built guy, could tell me spent time at the gym before his accident. I'm amazed at his grit and determination is how he is trying to perfect each exercise, when he is out of balance. You don't realize it until you see it. The prop he has to use to stay balanced with each exercise and reinventing his routine. Sort of makes me feel a bit guilty while I march around the gym without a care.

 

[Marvin Martian]

I start EVERY day with 5 minutes of gratitude. I can’t even come close to listing all that I am grateful for but I list as many as I can. I do this as I am still lying down. I even say I am grateful when I feel pain - there are men who would LOVE to feel aching knees - because they are paralyzed.
This may sound corny as hell but I don’t care. As I brush my teeth - I got no hair so I also brush my face (beard) - I look in the mirror and tell myself a compliment and that I love myself
I’ve not always done this - but it’s changed my life. I was an angry man for a long time. I scarred my body in hundreds of fights - but the hatred and anger never got better - in fact only worse.

 

[Brochacho_Prime]

Good shit brother, it is nice to have things put in to perspective once in a while to help keep us from getting so wrapped up in our own bullshit we miss the forest for the trees.

 

[11sh11]

Thanks for sharing... I always enjoy your comments and posts
A good reminder for humbleness and appreciation

 

[Gunsmith]

Humility is a dying trait anymore , sadly everyone needs to get a little slap to the face with humble pie to put things back into perspective

 

[brownbanana]

This happened to me a couple days ago; still been stirring it over in my head for the past few days.

Last week I walked into the gym; having one of "those" days. You know; where you're complaining about not having enough size, or not growing at the rate you think you should, meals aren't digesting well, life is horrible...The usual bullshit bodybuilders go through

I walked over to the machine area for legs; and there was a kid there looking over at me. Both of his arms were missing; from basically the clavicle down. He asked me if I could adjust the weight on the leg extension for him, he thanked me for it, and went about doing leg extensions with a smile on his face.

Man did I feel like a shit that entire workout. You got a person here with once of the worst possible scenarios in life just enjoying physical activity, and I'm complaining about some obscure "look" that I don't have.

Makes me think of the many things I'm grateful for in life; a healthy body, more than enough food, the ability to attend school, a roof over my head.

Guess I'm sort of rambling; It's a blessing to get these reality checks in life once in a while.

Gratitude is good, but for the past couple of years I have been pondering about the situation. The one you just mentioned. It’s a blessing. Surely is. But I have been wondering if there is more that I could do, like help. Not trying to hyjack the thread, but you mentioned how you were still thinking about it, well, maybe because there is more meaning. Because helping people is also a blessing, then again, that is what you did.

 

[jp4355]

Great Post !
Whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself.
I think of the Kids who don't have the ability to just enjoy running around in a Schoolyard, let alone what we do.
Smacks me right upside the head, thanks again.......................... JP

 

[zacharykane]

Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by "life things," I try to sit and make a list of all of the things I have to be grateful for. And when I say 'things,' I more so mean like being in good health, having a roof over my head, the ability to function normally...

At my gym there's more than a few people bound to a wheelchair and they still get after it, and there's a guy I talk to that has terminal cancer and has had something like 300+ tumors removed including ones on his spine and he still is in there training hard and giving life everything he has. One day I got to talking to him, told me his life story growing up (not an easy childhood) and the things he faces with cancer now and I just can't even imagine...

 

[zacharykane]

I think there's lots of little ways to help out. One goal I put forth every day is to do a good deed for someone, whether it's helping someone put groceries in their car or holding a door...little deeds add up.

It's also easy to donate things to local shelters and groups. Even simple things like some blankets or toiletries go a long ways at a homeless or women's shelter.

I also work as a general contractor, and take the time to hunt down local chapters of habitat for humanity (or similar) to donate excess construction materials rather than throwing away dumpsters full of perfectly good items.

A little effort can go a long ways!

Gratitude is good, but for the past couple of years I have been pondering about the situation. The one you just mentioned. It’s a blessing. Surely is. But I have been wondering if there is more that I could do, like help. Not trying to hyjack the thread, but you mentioned how you were still thinking about it, well, maybe because there is more meaning. Because helping people is also a blessing, then again, that is what you did.

 

[buck]

I run into a guy in the gym some times that is in a wheel chair, and he is grabbing the 45 lb. plates and loading the machine he is using then hauls him self out of the chair and over to the machine to do his sets. Always in a good mood. Never asks for help but will accept it if offered. Most people avoid him. I usually chat and have a few laughs with him. I was complaining one day about getting older, weaker and tuning into a pussy. And he told me that you have to be tough to get older. Being young is easy. And I try to remember that. Guys like him can be a godsend. And there should be more people with that attitude.

 

[brownbanana]

I run into a guy in the gym some times that is in a wheel chair, and he is grabbing the 45 lb. plates and loading the machine he is using then hauls him self out of the chair and over to the machine to do his sets. Always in a good mood. Never asks for help but will accept it if offered. Most people avoid him. I usually chat and have a few laughs with him. I was complaining one day about getting older, weaker and tuning into a pussy. And he told me that you have to be tough to get older. Being young is easy. And I try to remember that. Guys like him can be a godsend. And there should be more people with that attitude.

Because there is only one way to develop that attitude. Suffering and resistance.

 

[1bigpapapump1]

This happened to me a couple days ago; still been stirring it over in my head for the past few days.

Last week I walked into the gym; having one of "those" days. You know; where you're complaining about not having enough size, or not growing at the rate you think you should, meals aren't digesting well, life is horrible...The usual bullshit bodybuilders go through

I walked over to the machine area for legs; and there was a kid there looking over at me. Both of his arms were missing; from basically the clavicle down. He asked me if I could adjust the weight on the leg extension for him, he thanked me for it, and went about doing leg extensions with a smile on his face.

Man did I feel like a shit that entire workout. You got a person here with once of the worst possible scenarios in life just enjoying physical activity, and I'm complaining about some obscure "look" that I don't have.

Makes me think of the many things I'm grateful for in life; a healthy body, more than enough food, the ability to attend school, a roof over my head.

Guess I'm sort of rambling; It's a blessing to get these reality checks in life once in a while.

Thank you for sharing this. As i am typing this it's hard for me to not get emotional. I suffered for many years with not having an attitude of gratitude. At one point i was an avid meth user, and drinker, but still functioning in life to maintain jobs and have a roof over my head. Amen that i got clean and sober, AA helped with that. However while in AA i tried to take my own life due to wondering why i was having this lack of attitude of gratitude. I wondered why i wasn't grateful for toilet paper, my wife, my job, my family, and still being alive after so many years of fucking chaos i lived in. Needless to say I'm so thankful that things turned out different and i am still here.