A few days ago, I broke a rib.
It may sound like a small thing, but movement has always been a part of my life. Dance, exercise, strength, and freedom of movement have accompanied me for decades.
Suddenly, I had to slow down.
I could not move the way I wanted to.
I could not do the things that normally bring me energy and joy.
Yesterday I felt sadness.
Almost like grieving a loss.
The sadness was real.
The disappointment was real.
But this morning I woke up and remembered something important:
I have a broken rib.
I am not a broken rib.
The injury is real, but it is not who I am.
The pain is real, but it does not have to become my identity.
I can acknowledge the loss without building a home inside it.
I can allow sadness to visit without inviting it to stay.
Today, my circumstances have not changed.
The rib is still healing.
But I have a choice about where I place my attention.
I can focus on what has been temporarily taken away.
Or I can focus on everything that remains.
My health.
My family.
My freedom.
My future.
My gratitude.
So today, I choose gratitude over self-pity.
I choose possibility over discouragement.
I choose happiness over suffering.
INSIGHT
Pain is not always optional. Suffering often is.
When we stop arguing with reality and become fully present, we discover that our circumstances do not have to determine our state of being.
REFLECTION QUESTION
What circumstance in your life are you resisting, and how might your experience change if you stopped fighting it and became fully present with it?
