Blog Dis
What the day calls for
2025-08-21
Today is the kind of day that calls for a huge, fat frothy cappuccino with one teaspoon of raw sugar, to kick-start my new life. I say new life because every day when we wake up, we really have no idea what's coming down the pike. And, due to the fact that you cannot predict what events will unravel during the day, then yes you can view it as a new life.
One day. One new life per day.
What the day calls for is a celebration! To celebrate life means you comprehend the difference between problems and inconveniences. An inconvenience is your Internet service temporarily going off-line. An inconvenience is your toast getting burned to a crisp in the toaster. An inconvenience is every laundry machine being taken. An inconvenience is losing your keys that were tucked in your coat pocket, and your jacket gets stolen while your attention is distracted while shopping. Yes, this happened to a young woman in my building. As I was heading out to visit Dollarama, I saw a young woman sitting in our lobby crying. So I stopped to ask what was wrong and she told me, in between wiping tears, that while she was shopping in the ByWard Market, her jacket was stolen and this was devastating because her keys to get into her unit were tucked inside the pocket. It is upsetting. It happens. She explained to me that the jacket was her favourite and that it cost over $300. This isn't cheap. However, the ByWard Market in Ottawa is known for violence, stabbings, shootings, and generally a thriving place during the day with lots to offer tourists and locals, like specialty shops, but also a place that women don't feel quite comfortable with walking alone at night.
Only, this theft occurred during the day.
A problem is being told by a doctor, while laid up in hospital, "We're very sorry to report ma'am. We have no choice but to amputate your legs," says the doctor with a straight face. Yes! This is a huge, mother f*cking problem. A problem is something that'll irrevocably change your life for the worse, until you come to terms with the change, and realize that your life will go on, despite the depth of this shattering problem.
So I first provided the young girl with the telephone number of our Superintendent who doesn't work on weekends, unless he's On-Call, which superintendents are required to do with the Property Managers in my building. The management company that owns my building owns several in the downtown core, and superintendents fill in for one another. She called and left a voice mail, explaining that she'd lost her keys and couldn't get into her unit. He returned her call and advised to reach out to the Emergency after-hours service, whereby they'd come by, open up her unit, and she'd then be able to arrange for a locksmith to come to replace her keys.
I offered to let her use the facilities in my unit to get a drink of water but she declined, though thanked me for the offer. And before I exited my building, I tried to make her feel better by minimizing her situation, by sharing with her my philosophy on understanding the difference between problems and inconveniences, and how adopting this line of thinking can make you feel a little better. Well, it does for me. It was like a light had gone off. I could see it in her eyes. She realized all would be OK. It would merely mean that she'd be treating herself to a new jacket, as I had pointed out to her.
I like to believe that I know myself, and that I know what to avoid, the situations that push my buttons. Only, I don't always know what I think I know. And, honestly, the longer I survive on this crazy effed-up world, the more I've come to accept that the more I believe I know, the less I actually know. 😆Sometimes my buttons get pushed for the silliest reasons and then I, too, must remind myself about the difference between problems and inconveniences. And frankly, when I think about daily news coverage of war-torn countries, and what the innocent are enduring, the lost lives, and on-going horrors, I wish I owned a magic wand to wave it across these atrocities to make them all disappear. But I don't. I am fortunate to live in an opulent country, so at the very least, I shall repeat:
Every day above ground is a grand day.
Ever day you wake up, it's a celebration of life.
Every day you're alive you get to enjoy another day.
This doesn't mean the celebration has to be long and drawn out over days or weeks or that you're going to be bestowed with awards and money and applause. Your celebration could be something as simple as sleeping in, grabbing a bite to eat with a dear friend or family member, and kicking up your heels at the end of the work day, or weekend, knowing that you were able to enjoy another day of life.
And so it goes.
One day. One new life per day.
What the day calls for is a celebration! To celebrate life means you comprehend the difference between problems and inconveniences. An inconvenience is your Internet service temporarily going off-line. An inconvenience is your toast getting burned to a crisp in the toaster. An inconvenience is every laundry machine being taken. An inconvenience is losing your keys that were tucked in your coat pocket, and your jacket gets stolen while your attention is distracted while shopping. Yes, this happened to a young woman in my building. As I was heading out to visit Dollarama, I saw a young woman sitting in our lobby crying. So I stopped to ask what was wrong and she told me, in between wiping tears, that while she was shopping in the ByWard Market, her jacket was stolen and this was devastating because her keys to get into her unit were tucked inside the pocket. It is upsetting. It happens. She explained to me that the jacket was her favourite and that it cost over $300. This isn't cheap. However, the ByWard Market in Ottawa is known for violence, stabbings, shootings, and generally a thriving place during the day with lots to offer tourists and locals, like specialty shops, but also a place that women don't feel quite comfortable with walking alone at night.
Only, this theft occurred during the day.
A problem is being told by a doctor, while laid up in hospital, "We're very sorry to report ma'am. We have no choice but to amputate your legs," says the doctor with a straight face. Yes! This is a huge, mother f*cking problem. A problem is something that'll irrevocably change your life for the worse, until you come to terms with the change, and realize that your life will go on, despite the depth of this shattering problem.
So I first provided the young girl with the telephone number of our Superintendent who doesn't work on weekends, unless he's On-Call, which superintendents are required to do with the Property Managers in my building. The management company that owns my building owns several in the downtown core, and superintendents fill in for one another. She called and left a voice mail, explaining that she'd lost her keys and couldn't get into her unit. He returned her call and advised to reach out to the Emergency after-hours service, whereby they'd come by, open up her unit, and she'd then be able to arrange for a locksmith to come to replace her keys.
I offered to let her use the facilities in my unit to get a drink of water but she declined, though thanked me for the offer. And before I exited my building, I tried to make her feel better by minimizing her situation, by sharing with her my philosophy on understanding the difference between problems and inconveniences, and how adopting this line of thinking can make you feel a little better. Well, it does for me. It was like a light had gone off. I could see it in her eyes. She realized all would be OK. It would merely mean that she'd be treating herself to a new jacket, as I had pointed out to her.
I like to believe that I know myself, and that I know what to avoid, the situations that push my buttons. Only, I don't always know what I think I know. And, honestly, the longer I survive on this crazy effed-up world, the more I've come to accept that the more I believe I know, the less I actually know. 😆Sometimes my buttons get pushed for the silliest reasons and then I, too, must remind myself about the difference between problems and inconveniences. And frankly, when I think about daily news coverage of war-torn countries, and what the innocent are enduring, the lost lives, and on-going horrors, I wish I owned a magic wand to wave it across these atrocities to make them all disappear. But I don't. I am fortunate to live in an opulent country, so at the very least, I shall repeat:
Every day above ground is a grand day.
Ever day you wake up, it's a celebration of life.
Every day you're alive you get to enjoy another day.
This doesn't mean the celebration has to be long and drawn out over days or weeks or that you're going to be bestowed with awards and money and applause. Your celebration could be something as simple as sleeping in, grabbing a bite to eat with a dear friend or family member, and kicking up your heels at the end of the work day, or weekend, knowing that you were able to enjoy another day of life.
And so it goes.
