LIFE IS TOUGH? PRACTICE GRATITUDE

As a retired psychotherapist I am dedicated to writing books, which gives me a wonderful sense of purpose. However, the task of writing leaves me many free hours that need to be filled. So, a couple of months ago I called the Volunteer Department at Mount Sinai Hospital, which is close to my house, to offer my services. A very nice lady called me back and in less than a week I started working at the patient information desk in the main building entrance. The job is interesting because I have the opportunity to assist many people who get lost in the endless building hallways, desperately looking for their sick relatives. Moreover, not only do I feel useful by helping others reach their destination; this task also gives me the opportunity to ponder on the mysteries of human existence. As I walk the hospital hallways and run into patients being transported on their gurneys, some of them with terminal illnesses, I can’t avoid thinking about how lucky I am that, in the second half of life, I am still able to work and write and interact with friends.  So many times, when we are younger, we complain because we did not get that job or because we found out that our good friend wasn’t really that good, without knowing that those hurdles are nothing as compared to what other people are going through. Most of us have to live many years to learn to appreciate the good things life has in store for us; it is only when we lose them that we realize how precious they were. In my case, I am glad that life gave me the opportunity to realize how lucky I have been and how generous was my fate; now my only task will be to share what I know with others.