Whether you fell Joy or Pain be thankful...it means you're alive

The title of this post was inspired by a wisdom tooth located all the way in the back of the right side of my mouth, the very last tooth in fact.

Before you all think I am crazy I'll give you the short story about how this past summer I suffered weeks of excruciating pain thanks to the fact that I never removed my wisdom tooth (I am 30 years old!) and-- I hope this is not too graphic-- the tooth eroded meaning that, what was once the "center" of that tooth is now a hole and the entire thing needs to be extracted, which is something I am in the process of doing

But anyways, the excruciating pain was so bad that I often feared for my life. I finally got myself to a dentist whom advised me, after an xray, that the reason for the pain is that I had nerves that were now out in the open because of that hole in my tooth. Hence, anything and everything that would irritate the nerve would hurt like hell. And boy did it hurt!

I recall eating something at a conference and bitting on it too hard. Apparently I hit that nerve because I was holding back tears the entire hour and a half of the keynote speaker presentation and was too embarrased to get up. And that was just one of several times this past summer where that so called "out in the open" nerve in the inside of my mouth drove me painfuly insane.

Well thankfully and eventually the pain of that tooth subsided. I still have the hole and that tooth is still there (because I havent gotten my ass to a dentist again) but there is no pain anymore. In fact, I was eating an apple earlier and a whole chunck of it went to that hole in the back of my mouth and I bit hard. And there was no pain. At which point I came to the conclusion that nerve was now dead. And I felt sad for a little bit. As much as that pain was unbearable, it meant the nerve was alive and well and kicking and screaming. But now, there was absolutely zero response from the hole in my tooth.

...and there you have it.

At that second when I realized that strong bite out of an apple and in to  my eroded wisdom tooth hole didnt result in any pain whatsoever; I had one of those Oprah "aha moments" where I realized that as much as painful circumstances and experiences may hurt us emotionally; the flip side of that is that it means we are alive and well.

We are alive when we fell joy just as we are alive when we feel pain, and everything in between, and for that we should be thankful. <3

Thanks for reading.

Fortunate Fridays (Last Friday of March 2014 Edition)

Hey everyone!

Hope you're all doing well. Back on the blog to say hello and to bring back one of my favorite features which I stopped doing some time ago, most likely due to time constraints: Fortunate Fridays! I have been reading and listening to a lot resources on happiness lately. To be quite honest, I was looking to learn more about the subject and cheer myself on regarding some less-than-happy moments during the past week.

As much as we sometimes feel alone with what happens to us in this world the absolute truth is that we ALL go through difficult times. The times make get so difficult that we wonder how the heck we will keep on going. Well, guess what, just we all go through pain we all go through happiness and I am a firm believer that happy moments last much longer than any less-than-happy ones (thank god for that!). So, is just a matter of staying strong through the storm. A BEAUTIFUL rainbow awaits on the other side. Trust that. Just hold on to your faith (whichever form that may come in) and stay strong.

One common theme in all of this happiness research focuses on the idea of being grateful and thankful. One specific Ted Talk, based on studies, actually indicated that gratitude brings happiness and not necessarily the other way around. I can totally see that and I have to agree! So, without further 'ado, here are some of the top things which I can be feel fortunate/grateful for this pass week:

1. God & Faith 
2. Friendships
3. The FACT that we can all choose how we feel and although it may be tough at first (and comes with practice) eventually we realize that:

"Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it".

4. Online resources on absolutely anything we may need at any given moment
5. Motivating and oh-so-uplifting sermons by TD Jakes & Joel Osteen
6. Being happy now + looking forward to a [maybe] uncertain but certainly AMAZING future.
7. Having my mom in my life and the way shes always there no matter what. Now that I am older, she's becoming a friend much more than just a mother.
8. Remaining optimistic against all odds

...And for some reason [ironically enough] I feel I can go on and on but I will stop right there :)


Tell me, what are you feeling fortunate for this week?