Life has a habit of creeping up behind you and slapping you with the equivalent of a wet fish from time to time.
I have recently had a notice of "possible redundancy" from a job that pays poorly but at least provides regular income, and have been fretting about that, wondering how I'll make ends meet if it happens. However, as I reached the point where I was convinced that all was lost and that I'd have to sell the dogs into slavery, I received a metaphorical thump around the back of the head from a still-wriggling sea bass.
A friend of long standing - around 30 years+ by my reckoning - has been suffering from cancer for some time. Unlike me, she hasn't been fortunate enough to receive the 'all clear' - yet. Our usual mode of communication is via email and regular mail. Occasionally, I receive a telephone call for important news or special events. For a few weeks, I'd heard nothing and, on Monday, I was wondering how my friend was and how her chemotherapy was progressing. Two hours later the phone rang; by the time I'd extricated myself from my laptop and hurdled over prone dogs, the ringing had stopped. Fortunately, it was my mobile rather than landline, so I was able to check whether it was someone in my contacts list. Imagine my shock to find that not only had the call been from my sick friend - or her family - but that there had been a phone call at all, given that we rarely phone each other. Furthermore, there was no message for me on voicemail. Under the circumstances, my imagination went wild. Had her health deteriorated? Had she even died? It was too late to call back, given that she lives in a different time zone, so I spent a miserable night, wondering and worrying.
The next morning, I sent a text message to her mobile. Within the hour, I had a phone call on my landline. When "International" flashed up on the caller display, I knew who would be calling, so when her husband, also an old friend, spoke, I was very worried indeed. However, within a couple of seconds it emerged that all was well. My friend is feeling reasonably well and is waiting for her next visit to her doctors next week. The reason they phoned? I'd forgotten to let them know how my last visit to the hospital was! I'd been so busy with work and wrapped up in my own concern about possible redundancy that it had completely escaped my attention that I hadn't emailed them recently! So, we'd both been worrying about each other unnecessarily...
The wet fish of life reminded me rather forcefully that there are much more important things in life than work. Yes, it's useful - and necessary - to be earning money to pay the bills, but if you or your friends have, or have had, a "life threatening illness" (thank you yet again to my GP for that sensitive phrase), then maybe focussing more on what's important - friends, family, your health - is more meaningful than obsessing about where the next penny will come from. After all, stress is almost certainly a contributory factor to cancer, so why invite it in?
I have recently had a notice of "possible redundancy" from a job that pays poorly but at least provides regular income, and have been fretting about that, wondering how I'll make ends meet if it happens. However, as I reached the point where I was convinced that all was lost and that I'd have to sell the dogs into slavery, I received a metaphorical thump around the back of the head from a still-wriggling sea bass.
A friend of long standing - around 30 years+ by my reckoning - has been suffering from cancer for some time. Unlike me, she hasn't been fortunate enough to receive the 'all clear' - yet. Our usual mode of communication is via email and regular mail. Occasionally, I receive a telephone call for important news or special events. For a few weeks, I'd heard nothing and, on Monday, I was wondering how my friend was and how her chemotherapy was progressing. Two hours later the phone rang; by the time I'd extricated myself from my laptop and hurdled over prone dogs, the ringing had stopped. Fortunately, it was my mobile rather than landline, so I was able to check whether it was someone in my contacts list. Imagine my shock to find that not only had the call been from my sick friend - or her family - but that there had been a phone call at all, given that we rarely phone each other. Furthermore, there was no message for me on voicemail. Under the circumstances, my imagination went wild. Had her health deteriorated? Had she even died? It was too late to call back, given that she lives in a different time zone, so I spent a miserable night, wondering and worrying.
The next morning, I sent a text message to her mobile. Within the hour, I had a phone call on my landline. When "International" flashed up on the caller display, I knew who would be calling, so when her husband, also an old friend, spoke, I was very worried indeed. However, within a couple of seconds it emerged that all was well. My friend is feeling reasonably well and is waiting for her next visit to her doctors next week. The reason they phoned? I'd forgotten to let them know how my last visit to the hospital was! I'd been so busy with work and wrapped up in my own concern about possible redundancy that it had completely escaped my attention that I hadn't emailed them recently! So, we'd both been worrying about each other unnecessarily...
The wet fish of life reminded me rather forcefully that there are much more important things in life than work. Yes, it's useful - and necessary - to be earning money to pay the bills, but if you or your friends have, or have had, a "life threatening illness" (thank you yet again to my GP for that sensitive phrase), then maybe focussing more on what's important - friends, family, your health - is more meaningful than obsessing about where the next penny will come from. After all, stress is almost certainly a contributory factor to cancer, so why invite it in?
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