My wife and I were in Santa Fe, NM for a get-away before the start of the next high school girls tennis season. The intent of the trip was for hiking, biking, good food, and some relaxation. We stayed at a place called Ojo Santa Fe. It’s a beautiful, tranquil spa resort. It has areas to sit and read, think, or just be. In the background of the above photo are some small soaking pools with warm water overlooking the pond.
In one of those pools, we met a woman and her daughter. The mother appeared to be in her late 40s and the daughter is 20 years old. They were there on a mother-daughter escape. We were enlightened by the positive outlook of the mother and the strength of their relationship. And this is why:
The mother had one leg amputated. She had two canes to walk wherever she went. It was not easy for her. The mother mentioned she had been sick in the answer to a question. It did not come up from a need for sympathy. We suspect it was cancer and that is why her leg had been amputated. Yet she was as happy a person as you could ever hope to be. Her outlook on life was inspiring. She said she loved spending time with her daughter and that was the gift for the day trip from the Albuquerque area. You could tell the warm water pool or a massage at the spa was secondary. It was the opportunity and the gratitude to spend time with her daughter that mattered most. It was very apparent the daughter felt the same way. She absolutely loves her mother. To spend time with her mother was something she wanted to do, not felt obligated to do.
- I ask you, as I ask myself, how much time do I spend being grateful?
- Are there times I become obsessed with chasing competitive dreams at a cost of losing sight of what I do have?
- Am I okay with me when I have so much, compared to the misfortune of the woman I met in the pool? Or does she have more than me because of her outlook on life?
- It’s never too late to write a new story for yourself to create a better version of yourself.
- You can choose to take inspiration from others to create a new perspective.