My furniture just arrived from Boston today…

5 amazing guys were unloading all day.

I found myself asking them about their life stories.

I would walk by their side as they would carry the furniture in and they would tell me…all these spectacular things about their lives.

The war.

Cancer treatments.

Single fatherhood, with 3 daughters.

Cross country trips.

Dreams.

We got to know each other in these few hours of unloading all of my belongings.

I found myself enjoying their conversations so much.

They were so real.

So full of humanity.

One of them had just finished cancer treatments the day before.

And he was loading furniture today.

Age 64.

They told me how blessed they were.

How happy their kids made them.

The scars on their bodies and in their hearts were invisible.

I was going to write about loneliness today.

But these men showed up at my house and all I saw was resilience.

All I saw was human endurance.

They worked hard for their bread and butter and they smiled all day.

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I wanted to keep them for dinner.

I wanted to be like them.

Just grateful for so little.

But yet so much.

Tired but so alive.

Burdened but yet light as a feather.

Wow.

They are the true artists of life.

Today I am going to keep it simple and ask you to ask yourself, is your life really that hard?

With love,

Christina

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Christina

Christina

Christina Rasmussen is an author, speaker and social entrepreneur who believes that grief is an evolutionary experience required for launching a life of adventure and creative accomplishment.

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3 Comments

  • jeanne amadon says:

    Reading your thoughts on today with the wonderful men that moved your furniture into its new home, made me smile and then reminisce about my life four years ago, before cancer took my husband from me and his family. He went through chemo and radiation and worked every day for the City of Cranston RI without missing a day, from November 18 ,2009 through April, 2010. We thought he beat it. he had six great months, then in October 2010 ,cancer being cancer did what it does best, came back with killer instincts. Curt died in June of 2011 He died at home with his family around him and he enjoyed those last days with us. I fell apart after that for quite a while. He was the strong one and he is the one that made life good. Today, Two years later, I am looking out the windows of the home we lived in and I do have a great life. I am fortunate and I am thinking, without misfortune we don’t seem to recognize the wonderful part of life that naturally occurs when you are least expecting it. I am happy today. And I know I never expected to say this in my life. Your insight into grief has been such a powerful tool for me, I can’t begin to thank you. But I will try.

  • anne says:

    I love to hear peoples life stories. I am fortunate to hear life stories of those over 70, 80 even 90 in my job. I LOVE that. I saw on your fb page you were going to write about loneliness so saw the date and signed up here. I have an amazing 16 yr old who is my life’s breath but also i am training her up to “leave me” . I am divorced from her father. What I read above was yes life isn’t “that hard” I too have wonderful parts to my day but do any of these men go home, feel lonely then? Feel lonely eating lunch alone? going home when no one is home? I do often.Weren’t we made to be loved, to give love? I want to know single people’s secret to not feeling lonely often. Nothing replaces having that person who you are a partner to a life partner. How did you transition when your husband died from being 1/2 of a whole (I believe 2 become on in marriage) to a single whole? I am happy to have found you…

  • Barbara says:

    Thank you for reminding me if I have my health I have little to complain about. You write so beautifully. I don’t have any major struggles at the present but find myself drawn to your wisdom. How blessed I’m feeling our paths have crossed. I know where to find help now when life becomes challenging.

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