A real life example of how a negative can lead to a number of positives to be grateful for

I talk about the importance of being grateful for things in your life regularly and today I want to tell a story which illustrates how something negative, in this case me being poorly yesterday, can lead to a number of positives and experiences for which I am hugely grateful. I hope you enjoy reading and it helps to show how we should be thankful for the little things rather than dwelling on the not so good.

Yesterday, I had a dodgy stomach with pain and bloating and although I tried to keep myself busy to keep my mind of the symptoms, I took myself off to bed and read my book later in the afternoon. I was really productive in the morning, but by lunchtime, I was feeling less enthusiastic. I also remembered that I had two fitness classes booked to make up for the fact I couldn’t do Pilates the week before.

At mid-day, I went to the gym for my legs, bums and tums class, as I would be charged £4 for non attendance or late cancellation, but in the end decided to go back home as doing stomach crunches and other tummy exercises wasn’t really a good idea and I didnt want to feel worse. I told several of my friends from the class on my way out and they sympathised and told me that they hoped I was better soon and had made the right decision to head home. I also saw the instructor who asked me if I was okay and told me to curl up on the settee for the rest of the day. I left the gym feeling grateful for the kind words of friends I’ve made in my classes and less guilty that I was missing my regular fitness class.

Before going home, I popped to the Sainsburys next door to pick up a few bland items for my lunch, namely some rice cakes and cheese and a tiny but indulgent caramel flavoured dessert. There were no small trolleys to be found in their usual location in the trolley park by the building, so I needed to go off searching for one. I saw an elderly man who was wondering what to do about the lack of smaller trolleys. I asked him if that is what he was after and told him to wait there as I could spy some across the car park. I hot footed it there and grabbed two before quickly wheeling them across the tarmac, passing one to the grateful gentleman with a smile. As he entered the supermarket, I heard him telling his wife about my good deed and, despite wanting to get home quickly, I felt good that I’d had a positive impact on his day.

But the best surprising positive of my day was yet to come!

As I’d spent most of the day indoors, I told my husband that I was going to sit outside on our back garden bench and get some fresh air. By this time, it was 8 o’clock and therefore dark but I love to sit and enjoy the peace and quite out there, whatever hour it is. In the late evening, we sometimes spot one of the frogs from our tiny wildlife pond and have seen other small creatures such as a mouse or a shrew. My husband said he would join me shortly and when he did, I enjoyed our chat about all sorts of things without any distractions such as our phones or tablets. However, all of a sudden, he paused and said really quietly “what on earth is that perched on top of the parasol?”. It was difficult to see with it being dark but I had brought a torch out with me and I shone it on the grass so it lit up the night a little. We were shocked, and amazed to see that it was a little tawny owl looking straight at us! It didn’t stay long as the torch light scared it but we watched it as it took flight, showing us its beautiful wing span in the moonlight. It was a wonderful experience for us, with us both being nature, wildlife and bird lovers and it made me so happy. It was a lovely end to our day and I was beaming inside about it for hours afterwards.

If I hadn’t been ill yesterday, none of these events would have happened and my day would probably have been relatively uneventful. I had so many highlights to write in my Five Minute Journal and I will remember our opportunity to see a tawny owl close up for a long time to come. I hope you enjoyed the story of my day and it has reminded you to keep looking for the positives however big or small they are.