Soar Throat

The king of sore throats came to town that evening.  By midnight, gargling an ocean of salt water had provided only modest relief.

Then I remembered that a box of Fisherman’s Friend cough lozenges has resided in my upstairs office for several months.  Now, just so you know, I predict that someday Fisherman’s Friend cough lozenges will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for all the pain and suffering they have alleviated.

I retrieve the package with grateful anticipation that the porcupine in my throat would soon be mollified and sweet dreams were on their way.

Imagine my shock when, upon opening the box, I discover that it contains just one-half of one lozenge.  Ha!  And it’ll be dawn before my beloved awakes I can inquire about her stash, or zip three miles down the mountain to the nearest grocery.

With my small, handicapped Friend under my tongue working as industrially as it can, I smile at the opportunity to be grateful for what I have rather than concerned about what I don’t.  Due in part, I’m sure, to a seed planted long ago by one of my favorite holy guys.  A fellow named Anthony deMello, a long dead Jesuit, who said:

There is only one reason why

you’re not experiencing bliss 

at this present moment, and it’s

because you’re thinking or focusing 

on what you don’t have.

Mmm—mm.  Boy, I savored that half-a-lozenge like it was my last nickel.  Like it was my last piece of firewood on an arctic night.  Like it was my last popsicle before heading off on foot across the Sahara.  Which is to say I savored that lozenge in ways I wouldn’t have had the box been fuller.

And that was the point, I suddenly realized.

Man, the universe is tricky.

It was the old sore throat and lozenge gimmick.

What a brilliant way to remind me to savor my entire life with the same gusto, the same enthusiasm, the same gratitude I savored that tiny Fisherman’s Friend.

❦

Sharing my discoveries and welcoming yours is the purpose of this little playground.  I hope you’ll add your voice when it feels right.

If you’d like to explore working together, click on Q&A, or visit my other website, CoolMindWarmHeart.com