After hearing of the terrible loss of life this week on the Salang Pass in Afghanistan, I am finding it easier to put our frustrating and fruitless search for an apartment in perspective.
We arrived in Stockholm almost a week ago and following days of internet searching, phone calls, emails, negotations and dead-ends, I was feeling quite despondent about our housing options. My lovely husband encouraged me to leave our hotel room and to get out and enjoy the sunshine.
It was a beautiful day. Crisp and glittering Stockholm was at its winter best. As I walked and wondered at the blueness of the sky, I recalled reading The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (2005). In this moving personal narrative, she describes how grief left her in an altered mental state at best, deranged at worst. She reflects, “Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.”
For me yesterday, blue skies and bright snow brought joy and a sense of awe. For one hundred and seventy people in Afghanistan, blue skies and too much snow brought life to an untimely end. Rather than making me feel maudlin and depressed, this reverie heightened my senses, awakened gratitude and put my accommodation problem firmly in its place.
For now, I will enjoy each instant. Each ordinary instant.
We arrived in Stockholm almost a week ago and following days of internet searching, phone calls, emails, negotations and dead-ends, I was feeling quite despondent about our housing options. My lovely husband encouraged me to leave our hotel room and to get out and enjoy the sunshine.
It was a beautiful day. Crisp and glittering Stockholm was at its winter best. As I walked and wondered at the blueness of the sky, I recalled reading The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (2005). In this moving personal narrative, she describes how grief left her in an altered mental state at best, deranged at worst. She reflects, “Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.”
For me yesterday, blue skies and bright snow brought joy and a sense of awe. For one hundred and seventy people in Afghanistan, blue skies and too much snow brought life to an untimely end. Rather than making me feel maudlin and depressed, this reverie heightened my senses, awakened gratitude and put my accommodation problem firmly in its place.
For now, I will enjoy each instant. Each ordinary instant.
An excellent philosphy that ensures delight in every day. You should see the garden in the front courtyard of my workplace - beautiful! Enjoy those moments.
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