I heard at a dinner party the other night that I had moved to Des Moines. This was really interesting because clearly no one bothered to tell me of this information. I wanted to know where I was living and what it looked like. Did I have cool furniture? What and who were my neighbors? Do I have a washer and dryer … how about a lawn? Very intriguing.
In actuality, my life is completely boring. My weekend plans usually consist of boring things. This last weekend I roasted a chicken and drug my Christmas tree up from the basement and had wildly exciting discussions with my old large cat about the need for proper nutrition and exercise. Seriously … boring. So it is amazing to me that people need to “color” up my life. I guess though – we all do this – it’s human nature. To tell you the truth, I probably add spice to my own life story because I’m somewhat mortified of its absolute beige-ness.
“Steve if your life is so drab, do something to make it less so – have exciting adventures! Lasso a steer, climb a mountain! Run an ultramarathon!” … or… not. Perhaps to some, my life is exciting and full and to others, boring. To me – it is what it is and regardless, I should live a life of gratitude and thanksgiving. But if I listen to critics or myself, I will only see what is missing and not what is present. When we look around and have gratitude for what we’ve accomplished both in life and at Iowa Specialty Hospitals & Clinics – how can we not be tickled with wonderfulness with what is “us”! We live in awesome communities, work for an incredible organization that is held up as one of the best in the country, we live in a great country … we’re all really good looking and funny! …
Bottom line, running an ultramarathon or lassoing a steer won’t make us a better person or really add that much value to our lives if we are planning the next race or animal we’re going to corral while doing the activity. Maybe it’s all about dragging up the tree or making the best dinner*. Live life in the present, have gratitude whether your life is beige or multicolored. Life is too short to live in the “what if?”
*who knows, maybe the large old cat will start talking back?
-Steve Simonin, President & CEO
