Have you ever taken things for granted? I’m sure you have. At some point in our lives, we all reflect and figure out that we took some things for granted. At times we may reflect and look back and appreciate things for what they were or what they are. I think that this may take years for some people, for some it happens spontaneously, and for some it never happens. If you are blessed, it can come along when you still have a lot of living left or when you least expect it. For example, I always took breathing for granted. My dad, who I also took for granted, developed COPD. He smoked for years, like a chimney, and worked like a dog. He took his health for granted. He had a fast metabolism, lungs that worked (for what he needed them for), and a wife that also took him for granted. Eventually, the abuse caught up with him. No one is bulletproof, immortal, or self-aware from birth. Now, you would think that my father after having watch my grandfather die from COPD, would mend his ways. Nope. You would think that me, after watching both my grandfather and my father suffering, and dying from COPD, would mend my ways. We are masters of denial and procrastination. After-all, i started smoking out of boredom. After 30 years, the only reason that i quit smoking was that i didn’t like the way it made me smell. I guess, “thank the maker” (to quote C3P0) for small favors. Whatever works. Hopefully, i changed this young enough and have exercised/recovered long enough that i wont suffer a similar fate with COPD. For me, that is now a huge fear. Every time i run or elevate my heart rate to the point that i suck wind, i wonder “am i in early stages of COPD”? It’s enough to make me not like running anymore. I used to really enjoy running – now, not so much. Fear is a shitty thing. It’s in the same boat as apathy. The way to combat it is to acknowledge it, embrace it, overcome it. Don’t let it define you or who you are. Neither iron, nor noodle. Bend like the mighty willow.
-Rat
