Always Someone Worse Off

I've been indulging in a bit of self-pity about Mr Special these last few weeks... especially this last week. I know that ultimately it's not the end of the world, and I'm not going to die of a broken heart - no matter how much it hurts right now. And I know I have so much to be grateful for, wonderful family and friends, my health (such a cliché!), my job... everything in my life is pretty good apart from the love life, which does get me down. But there's always someone worse off, who seems to cope and not let things get them down and depressed.

I met someone like that the other day. A beautiful girl in her early 20s who had been in a road traffic accident and as a result of it, is now blind in one eye. To look at her you would never think that there was anything wrong with her, there are no visible scars or marks to show that she suffered such a horrendous injury. And she is such a bright, bubbly, happy girl with a lust for life, determined not to let this get her down.

I think we can all take something away from this. Yes, there always will be someone worse off than you, maybe they have a terminal illness, been in an accident, had terrible things happen to them. And maybe they're better people for not letting these things affect them so greatly. But no matter how trivial or superficial the pain is that you feel, it is still pain nevertheless. And perhaps it does feel like the end of the world, because at that point in time it happens to be the greatest pain that you feel, and maybe you've been fortunate enough to not experience anything worse.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that we shouldn't belittle what people go through, even if it does seem of little consequence compared to what some other people go through. There always will be someone else who has bigger problems than you.

Having said that, I am also a great believer that life is short and that you have to make the most of it. You only get one shot at life. So I know I'll be okay, but for now, just now, let me be sad...