I have led a charmed life. Sure, I’ve had my challenges — we all have — but for the most part I feel blessed. But I learned early on in life that there is no free lunch. There is a balance in life that keeps the yin and yang “yinning” and “yanging.”
Because I have had a charmed life, I have taught myself to accept the little things that are not so charmed, the things that help create the balance.
For example, never get in line behind me. Whether it’s the grocery store, the bank, the post office, wherever lines form, be aware. If there are choices, like in a grocery store, be sure to let me pick a line and then go to another. Regardless of how I choose, I always end up in the line that moves the slowest.
You know the routine — the little old lady who counts out all the change, or the guy who uses the cashier clerk for information. One time, the man in front of me was trying to buy beer, and the clerk apparently wasn’t old enough to sell it, so he had to go find a manager. I kid you not. But this kind of thing doesn’t bother me. I chalk it up to the balance in my charmed life. Put up with the little things because I always seem to win the big issues, like having a great family.
Never send me shopping. I can have the list in hand and still bring back the wrong item. In my defense, why do we need so many choices of any one product? As a kid my ma would say, “Go to the store and get me a loaf of bread.” I’d go pick up a loaf and be home. Today, there are rows of bread, way too many choices; I inevitably grab the wrong one. I am the worst shopper.
If I am a passenger in your car, don’t ask me for directions. Or, if you do, just do the opposite of what I suggest. I could probably lose my direction in a closet. Once again, this doesn’t bother me. I use maps, I use a GPS. I just chalk it up to another little issue I have that helps justify me being so lucky.
I always misread a menu. Unless I ask my wife to verify what I think I’m ordering, I seldom get what I expect when I’m in an unknown restaurant. Staying on the food topic, I also cannot open chip bags. I don’t even try anymore. If no one is around to open the bag for me, I go find scissors.
Whichever location I sit in an airplane, the person in front of me always has to lean back the seat.
These are just a few of the little things that plague my life that I accept as a balance to all the good things that have happened. I feel grateful my balancing act is so simple. Some people have real problems to balance.
So often we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations or feel like maybe we are being slighted by the gods. “Why me?” When things are not rolling our way, it is easy to think life sucks. “How come I’m treated this way?”
Life is a balancing act. We try to stay on an even keel, but it can be hard. Surprises and challenges can appear from nowhere. It isn’t always easy being who we are, but it is who we are. I try to accept and appreciate the good and take a deep breath, be patient and accept what’s not so good.
Gabriel A. Fraire has been a writer more than 45 years. He is the former editor of the Windsor Times. He can be reached at www.gabrielfraire.com.
