Stop and Realize How Lucky You Truly Are

The St. Patrick’s Day hype may be coming to an end, but we all know we will still see leprechaun decorations and Shamrock Shakes for another few weeks. Soon, we will see stuffed bunnies and Reese’s eggs covering the shelves even though Easter is not just around the corner.

However, as you pass those four-leaf clover t-shirts on the clearance shelves, stop for a moment and think about your life. Don’t think about the negatives; think about what you are lucky enough to have.

We all may think our lives are rough, but we need to stop for a moment and remember that there are people who have it much worse than we do.

Recently, a friend of mine suffered a traumatic brain injury and a severe concussion. I danced with her on my college dance team and she also helped with an organization I founded supporting hospitalized children. When I found out about her condition, and how truly severe it was, I was devastated.

We all know that struggling with any kind of demon is not easy and when I realized that my friend was learning to speak and walk again, it made me think about the struggles we all go through and how hard it is to push forward.

Find Your Luck and Hold Onto it

Most of us do not plan on teaching ourselves to talk and walk again. Many of us have a place to live and food to come home to. Some of us are lucky enough to have a support system to fall on, if needed.

This may all sound cliché, but these are things that should be thought about. For self-harmers, the moment before you make the mark, you may feel as if your life is in the dirtiest of rubble. You feel hopeless and stranded and feel that that mark will be the escape needed. During my years of self-harm, my brain was at war. I was fighting against dangerously evil thoughts and after those thoughts had beaten my coping skills to a pulp, I grabbed the scissors or paper clip and made the mark.

Now, looking back after five years self-harm free, I realize that even though my depression and insecurities were in such a frightening place, other people were struggling with even worse demons. I knew children throwing up on a daily basis because of chemotherapy. I knew people who were dealing with the death of a loved one. There were classmates who were getting beaten when going home after a stressful day at school.

When you take a moment to slip on someone else’s shoes, you realize how lucky you truly may be.

My friend is doing much better and is back in school to finish her senior year of college. She is still struggling with some of the symptoms from her life-threatening situation, but she is moving forward in a positive direction. We all must find a reason to move forward as well and away from the sharp items we see every day.

We all have something we are lucky enough to have. It’s up to you to find it, embrace it and use it to your advantage.

You can also find Jennifer Aline Graham on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and her website is here. Find out more about Noon through Amazon.com.