Here’s what my home city of Sacramento, California normally looks like:
Here’s what it’s looked like for the past week:
Photo credit: John Myers, Los Angeles Times
The deadliest wildfire in California history, the Camp Fire, is taking place about 70 miles north of where my wife Lisa and I live. The resulting smoke has settled over a huge patch of northern California including Sacramento. Yesterday, we had the distinction of having the worst air quality of any major city in the world. The fire department is handing out free air filter masks, and health officials are saying to stay indoors if at all possible.
As a result, we’ve been holed up in our apartment for the last week. My outdoor excursions have been limited to going down to the lobby to get our mail every other day with my sweatshirt over my face. I’m very much a person who enjoys and thrives on routine, so this disruption to my normal schedule has been a challenge. Since we all face a variety of minor and major disruptions in our lives, I want to share three things that are helping me deal with my current situation:
Photo Credit: Noah Berger, Associated Press
1. BE GRATEFUL
Choosing “an attitude of gratitude” is one of the most effective ways to deal with life’s interruptions. Lisa and I feel incredibly fortunate to be safe, to have our apartment not in danger, and as writers, to be able to work from home. To date, the Camp Fire has taken the lives of 71 people. Over 1,000 are still missing, tens of thousands have been displaced, and almost 10,000 homes destroyed. When we remember how others have been impacted so deeply, our minor inconveniences shrink to their proper perspective.
2. BE GENEROUS
Generosity is gratitude in action. It’s taking practical steps to help others who are hurting. Our charity of choice during natural disasters is the Red Cross. The smoke hovering outside our windows serves as a reminder for us to give to a wonderful agency that is providing practical help to those devastated by these wildfires. If you’re motivated to donate, click here.
Me setting up our library
3. BE CREATIVE
Sometimes disruptions can provide opportunities to do things in a new way. I took the chance that being cooped up in our apartment gave me to do some long delayed projects, like setting up our library and laying out picture shelves in our bedroom. We sold both our vehicles in our recent move to Sacramento since we can walk almost everywhere including the grocery store. With walking being discouraged, this week we used an online grocery delivery service instead. I normally run outside five times a week, so I’ve been missing my exercise. Since we live on the sixth floor, this morning I tried running up and down the back stairwell of our building. It was shielded from the smoke and gave me a great workout.
So how about you? What disruptions are you dealing with? Take a moment to acknowledge the inconvenience. Then, remember the good things in your life, and BE GRATEFUL. Think of those suffering more than you are, and BE GENEROUS. Look for options you hadn’t considered before, and BE CREATIVE. If you do, things will definitely improve, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
Matt,
Here is a poem we heard tonight at an Ecumenical Thanksgiving service.
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. ” Melody Beattie.
Each Thanksgiving we create a participatory prayer. In it each person present reads a brief list that identifies three things that we know they are grateful for. They are encouraged to add to their sharing as they read aloud. Adults and children are included. They have become more and more interested to find what we have written for them. This year I will add the above poem to my prayer before dinner.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving day!
That is such a wonderful quote. It really captures the power of gratitude. Thank you so much for sharing that, Mr. Douglas. And what a great Thanksgiving tradition to share what you know others are thankful for. That must make for some interesting discussion and responses. I hope you and your family have an awesome holiday season! Thanks so much for reading.