For the past couple of weeks I’ve been looking for inspiration. Something to write about, something to think about. Not that there’s really a lack of it lately, there’s just mostly a lack of words to describe it. I get these… moments lately, every now and again, where I can just stand still and say “thank you”. I look up at the sky and ask in my heart: Why am I so blessed, and why do we still sometimes find reasons to look past all that blessings to complain about the useless things. I am blessed. Truly. God has given me so much.
And so, here I am. It’s the middle of the night and I’m sitting on the couch in the living room, the TV screen lighting up the dark room. I’m keeping my hands busy by folding the kids’ washed clothes, while the two Labradors are lying at my feet and I’m crying my eyes out, because on the screen Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston is standing at Marley’s grave with their three beautiful kids by their side. And while experiencing all of this, and giving the dogs (the two buggers that usually drives me nuts) each a kiss on the head, I just know, this is one of those moments. Those moments where you feel that everything is worth while: Life is beautiful. People are beautiful. Even the ones that you don’t get along with. The ones that you, somehow, always manage to start an argument with about the unimportant things in life. And the ones that do really stupid things, because somewhere in their soul something is broken. Sometimes even the random strangers that pass you by on the street. When I’m in one of these moods, I can just get out of the little box that is me, and stare at my surroundings for a while, especially at the people. Because people are so interesting, so beautiful, so extremely different from each other, and still, somehow, each has his place in the world. Each with their own unique life, their own little world, and their own way of thinking. And somewhere, somehow, there is always somebody who will love them just the way they are. Somebody who will be their friend, their spouse, their sibling, or fellow human being… to make life worth while.
A week ago I was amongst the white, snowy mountains in a little Swiss village called Saas Almagell. Every day, I would get on the ski lift and look down at the world with awe - Gravity pulling heavily at the two ski’s on my feet. The only sound that you hear is the whispering bzzz of the lift-cable and the distant laughter of the people on the slopes. It's just you, and the mountains, sharing a moment of silent awe. The snowflakes are slowly floating down to earth, in complete silence, as if the mountain is holding it’s breath for something, and we dare not distract him. It’s all wonderful: Sliding down the icy mountain on a pair of ski’s, looking up at the peaks of the Alps, the sun smiling through the mist and causing the bright white snow to glisten, as if the earth is covered in glitter… but the most wonderful part of it all is sharing it with everybody else up there. I was up on that mountain all week, surrounded by random strangers. Sometimes I got tired and frustrated (with my poor ski techniques). After a rough day of skiing, the muscles in my arms and legs were aching, and the ski shoes were bruising my ankles. At times, I was stuck in the thick snow, too tired to dig myself out of there and frustrated, because I know I was turning too slowly, stopping too late, or simply not leaning forward enough… then I would look up and smile, because it doesn’t matter. I’m there to experience it all. I never did anything to deserve such a blessing, it was just given to me and I can share the joy of it with so many people around me.
The mountain is covered with people from all over Europe, each speaking a different language, each having their own ways, their own story. When you can’t speak their language, the best way of communicating is exchanging a sincere smile, lending out a helping hand when they’re down on the ground and sometimes ending up right next to them in the snow, and sharing a good laugh about it. The whole experience wasn’t about going on an expensive ski-holiday, staying in the best hotel, having the best equipment and being the best skier on the slope. I quickly realised that none of that matters to me. It was about the people: Watching a two year old boy on a tiny pair of ski’s, standing between his father’s legs and confidently trusting in his daddy’s movements while moving downward together. Watching the little kids holding on to each others ski sticks, skiing in a neat line behind their instructor. If you’re not holding on to the one in front of you, then you, and the rest of the kids behind you, are lost. Experiencing how a simple Christmas present can light up a little boy’s heart, and observing the special bond amongst a small, broken family when they share their hearts with each other.
These are the things that make life worth living. Sharing our struggles, sharing our smiles, and blessing somebody else, because I am blessed with so much. We don’t live life for ourselves. It is not about MY life and how successful I am at living it, it’s about living this life for the other people around me. That’s the way we were made. Once we stop struggling to try and make life perfect for ourselves, we start realizing that there is so much more out there, than just your own insignificant life. We weren’t put on this earth to be alone. We were meant to share, to care and to love. To have relationships with the people sharing this life. That’s how we learn, that’s how we grow and that’s how we manage to keep moving forward, no matter what.
