Being Grateful

I was planning to post about an amazing book I read called ‘Abundance’ by Dr. Peter Diamandis. It’s essentially about an optimistic view on where we as humans are heading in the next few decades though the advancement of innovation and technology.

I’ve decided to postpone this post until next week and instead talk about a few recent events that have had a profound effect on me personally.  

A few weeks ago I received the upsetting news that a good friend had just passed away. Helen was just forty nine years young, she was a loving wife, mother of two, super fit, beautiful on the inside and stunning on the out. Helen was the type of person that everyone enjoyed being around, always happy and radiated positivity to all those who had the privilege to know her.

 

At her memorial, her brother and friends spoke of how Helen always lived in the moment and how she was grateful for everything in her life.

Here is a brilliant quote that was read in memory of Helen that had an impact on me personally, as I feel that since my accident I've been credited with bonus time. 

Quote by Marc Levy

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.

Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course?

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.

It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow."

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!

The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.

To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train.

To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident.

 

To realise the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.

 Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it’s called the present.

 

 

A few days after Helen passed, I heard the news that a young twenty year old girl had fallen whilst competing in the annual 'Bridge to Bridge Water Ski Classic'. She sustained suspected head and spinal injuries. 

It is the first time since my injury that I've been physically and mentally exhausted by some tragic news of a fellow water-skier falling off. The details were very similar to when I had my accident. We were a similar age, it was the same race, we were travelling at a similar speed and we both sustained very similar injuries. 

The big difference was that I was fortunate to survive and with deep sadness Sarah did not, passing away the following day. 

Sarah's accident brought back so many emotions that I had not realised would have such an impact on me. Till this day, I feel bad for putting my friends and family through such a traumatic experience. 

People often ask me why I am consistently happy and can remain positive through facing so much adversity. The truth is that it's impossible to be happy all the time, but if you can be grateful for what you have then happiness becomes a by-product.  

I have always been so grateful for everything in my life and for the second chance to live it. It is unfortunate that sometimes it takes a tragic event for us to fully appreciate the wonderful things we all have and just how precious the gift of life is. 

Every now and again I stumble over a video or quote that seems to cross my path at the perfect time when I need it most. A few days ago this video was sent to my email and it's just what I needed. 

David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

What I've learned over the past couple of weeks is that you don't need the biggest house, shiniest car or a huge bank account to be happy. You just need to be grateful for what you do have and for the people in your life. 

Here are just a few things that I am personally grateful for:

• My wonderful wife Emma
• Great family and friends
• Living in a wonderful area
• Being gifted a second chance of life
• Having food in my belly, a roof over my head and a beer in my hand

That's just a couple of mine, what are you grateful for?

Thank you Helen, you have reminded me to live more in the moment, plan for the future and reflect on the past.