Do Dogs Create Big or Small Piles of Shit?

What do these things have in common?

• Broke hip
• Daughter had Pneumonia
• Wife had surgery while husband was on crutches
• Someone shattered car window and stole wife's purse
• Had a property dispute with new neighbor
• Toilet didn't work in new house
• Refrigerator smelled in new house
• Bike was stolen from work

The only thing they have in common is that they happened to me this year.  And I am not putting it out there to get some sort of sympathy or for everyone to feel sorry for me.  I am putting it out there to make a point and dispel a common held belief. 

I believe most people believe in the notion that we have bad days and bad weeks and bad years.  And these bad periods of time are made up of a series of connected "bad" events.  Somehow the world conspired against us and we are stuck in a runt where no matter what positive we do, something negative is going to happen and continue to happen to us.  Everyone has had them.  The kids get sick and then the dishwasher breaks and then you are low on money and then you can't take a vacation and then and then and then and then.

To me that is just non sense.  It is true that sometimes that things happen in succession or in 3s, just like deaths - as my grandmother said.  And when coupled together they become the bad days, months, or years.  In reality, there is no good luck or bad luck.  Yes some people are more or less fortunate than others but good luck in terms of success is more based on hard work than anything else.

If you take the things that happened to me, they all probably would have happened with or without the other.  With or without my hip injury, my wife still needs surgery.  With or without any of our surgeries, we still would have had the challenges with the house as we had our offer accepted before.  Those challenges were waiting for us.  My bike was stolen because I happened to have ridden to work that day.  And before the accident it would have been even more likely because I rode more frequently.

So you have an accident or are struck down with illness and then have a series of unexpected events occur after, don't mentally pile them on top of what you are going through.  Mentally and emotionally separate them and take some (strange) comfort that they would have happened with or with out your injury.

Injuries are tough enough on their own.  Don't make them heavier by placing a bunch of non sense on top.  Yes shit happens but dogs don't always shit in one spot.  They usually spread it all over the yard.  Thus your injury is just one pile.  Perhaps it is the biggest pile but the others have nothing to do with that big pile.

Sorry for a long winded metaphor but I think you get the point.  Deal with your injury and deal with everything else.  Just because you have an injury doesn't make you ill fated for the rest of your life.  Instead keep a positive outlook, do your daily gratitude, and roll with with it.  Go Zen.  Go Christian.  Go with whatever makes you happy.  And take peace with that is how life is: sometimes it is great and sometimes it sucks.  And then it is great and then it sucks.

If you take the right attitude, however, you'll know that shit happens.  And if you roll peacefully down the river, you'll know sooner or later the shit is just going to float on by.

Thanks for reading...