Blessings in Disguise

The term, "blessings in disguise" is use to describe good things that happen in our lives that, at first, may not seem like a blessing at all.

Losing, or even leaving a job may seem like the worst thing ever. I know; I've been there. But losing "that" job may have opened a door that normally would have remained closed, or offered you a different path leading you to something better or more fulfilling.

That's what happened to me. I had a job I liked very much at the University of Pennsylvania, but – after a serious car accident where I suffered a major back injury resulting in surgery, coupled with the two-and-a-half hour commute that caused me so much pain, I knew I had to leave it. After resigning, I floundered a little, and then decided to volunteer at an animal shelter. I volunteered for all of two weeks before the shelter manager approached me and offered me a job as their Volunteer Coordinator/Humane Educator/Special Events Director.

Coordinating volunteers and special event planning were things I'd done and was fairly good at. I'd always thought I wanted to teach, but I never went to school for it. Turns out that shelter manager saw something in me that I hadn't even known existed. I was a natural teacher and she knew it.

I think if it hadn't been for the accident and decision to leave that "good job" at the university, I might not have ever discovered the blessing of how much I liked teaching, leading me to the path I'm on.

My dad's illness brought me home. While his illness and, ultimately, his death completely sucked, I can look back on it now and know it was a blessing because it brought me home to Lincoln. Prior to his illness, I kept saying I wanted to move back, but finances, another good job and logistics always prevented it from happening. Suddenly, his illness and the severity of it made all of the excuses seem unimportant. The blessing in it all, I'm home.

Most recently, as many of you know, I was run over by my own horse and knocked several feet in the air before landing and hitting the ground HARD. I suffered several injuries to my left arm; my dominant arm, I might add. My last visit with the doctor revealed some additional trauma in my upper arm, which has impacted my recovery. I've now been out of work from waitressing for almost three months. Hardly sounds like a blessing, right? Well, what if I told you this has actually been one of the biggest blessings in disguise to date.

How you ask?

Well, on the day of my little mishap, I went to feed my horse, Missy Moonshine. For those that follow me on social media, she's the beautiful white horse in several of my photos. She's 27 now, and moved with me from PA back in 2009. I was getting off work a little late from the Montanan and was scheduled to be at a Chamber meeting at 5:30 and a special Art's Council meeting at 6:30. I've fed this horse thousands of times. So why this time did it result in such a severe injury? Simply put, I wasn't present and I was rushing. Horses are BIG animals. I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been and was just going through the motions of getting her fed so I could "get-on to the next thing."

I won't bore you with the details, but suffice it to say when I hit the ground, I looked up and saw hooves over my head, which luckily did not make impact. I could do nothing but sit there, dazed and in pain, with several expletives running through my head. I decided to be a "tough girl" and brushed off the pain and went to my meetings. Truth be told, there was no brushing off the pain, but I did suck it up before going to the emergency room the next morning.

So, where's the blessing I was talking about? It's two-fold, really.

First, it's given me the realization that even as much as I think I've "slowed down," I haven't. In order to do things well, I need to, and focus on the things right there in my present moment. Everything from the views around me to being aware of the horses' body language when I'm in a corral with them. That is a true blessing, to be in the present moment, very present and aware.

The second, while being out of work and the loss of income has been challenging, the time away has given me time to focus more clearly on the things I want to accomplish in my own business and personal life. It's helped me realize that while money is important, it's not as important as feeling inspired and fulfilling my own passions as an artist, a writer, and the relationships I've been neglecting during all of my busy-ness.

If I truly focus on those things that are important, the money will come. But if I continue at the pace, the schedule and the routine of just making money, the money will come, but everything else I mentioned and more would continue to be jeopardized. There's truly nothing like a health issue that will make you think twice about the important things, and that, well, that's where the blessing in disguise truly lies.

So, the next time you feel like things aren't going well, or you're faced with a decision that is scary, try to find your own blessings in disguise. I would imagine if you take a step back and look at the situation, it's waiting there to be discovered.