Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 00:52:45 -0500
From: Mark Stinson
Subject: Bad day ? or not so bad of a day ?
Sometimes we take things for granted such as a bad day . We complain and wish it were over with but what if that was the last day you would be alive ? Would you wish it to be over with so quickly ? How many times have we had a bad day and crawled into our closet , cave or our own little world or what ever you call it and just gave up till it was over with . We decide since we are having a bad day we will not socialize with anyone and just get it over with . I have done it .
I have had days I couldn’t walk , I couldn’t straighten up or I was so weak all I wanted to do was sleep . One of the side effects of playing with lightning is constant fatigue so even on a good day I don’t have a fraction of the energy I had before I was struck by lighting . I have migraines and joint pain that never ends and I often get names and numbers mixed up as my short term memory is at best functional . Its easier to remember something 25 years ago than what happened 10 minutes ago . I get agitated easily but since I know this I tend to walk away and chill out because 99% of the things we get upset about really aren’t worth getting upset about . I’m describing my typical condition not as a complaint but to make a point so bear with me . I put 5 vehicles in the junkyard after totaling them . I had a 63 Ford fall when the cinder block holding it burst dropping it on my chest .
I had a tram hit me at the fair one year . I have had pneumonia several times leaving scar tissue in my lungs . I have been set a fire , shot at , beat up and nearly drowned in a flood on top of 4 lightning strikes . The end result was not one but a multitude of bad days .
There were days I wished would end and days so bad I wished I would end but god had a purpose for me . I’m still not sure what that is but I have learned this , even on a bad day there is something to be grateful for . On a bad day you can make someone smile even if you cant yourself if you look for something positive to come out of the chaos . The last time I was hit by lightning it apparently fried nerves in my back . You may think this was a bad thing but in fact it was a blessing . When I fell in a warehouse years earlier I compacted a disc and it gave me constant sharp pains that would stop me in my tracks and often put me to bed . The car wrecks didn’t help it either . The lightning strike fried the nerves so 90% of that pain I cant feel anymore . My back is numb in spots but numb is better than pain so yes I am very grateful I was hit by lightning that time . Is my back cured ,, no , I can still tell when I have pushed myself too far as I can feel some pain . I notice limitations in movement instead of sharp breathtaking pain . Some days I feel really physically bad and those are the days I jump friends and make them smile . When I feel so weak and so drained that everything hurts I feel useless and I hate to feel useless so I find a friend and talk to them . I focus on making them smile and it helps me feel useful and take my mind off my own ills . We need to be grateful for those bad days as they remind us to really cherish the good days .
It was a bad day Saturday when that troubled young mans mind snapped . Good people died . It was also a good day . A focused intern held Mrs. Gifford’s head and stopped the bleeding saving her life and possibly giving her a chance at a near normal life after recovery . It was a good day that several people with unselfish desires to help and protect others jumped the troubled man as he tried to reload his gun . It was a good day because there were lives saved . At this point in time its hard to look at it as a good day but it was because he didn’t get that second clip loaded . It could have been far worse . So when you think your having a bad day be grateful your just having a bad day and try to make the best of it . One of the greatest lessons we will learn in life is to turn an adversity to an advantage so we create great things from the ashes left behind from devastation . As long as I can make someone smile , help someone or take time to make even a small difference my bad days don’t seam so bad anymore .