Lucky

So I didn´t read much during our trip to England recently, but I did leaf through one of those free airport magazines (can´t remember the name of it) and came across an interview with British comedian Francesca Martinez, who has cerebral palsy (but prefers to call herself "wobbly" according to Wikipedia).

"I once met a guy in a pub and told him that the world made me feel abnormal. He said: 'You are abnormal: most people in the world live in dire poverty. You are lucky, so take your head out of your arse and open your eyes.'"

Then I read this otherwise very funny piece by David Sedaris on the New Yorker website:

"I thought of the first time I had a kidney stone. That was in New York, in 1991, back when I had no money or health insurance. All I knew was that I was hurting, and couldn’t afford to do anything about it. The night was spent moaning. Then I peed blood, followed by what looked like a piece of gravel from an aquarium."

Now that really made me feel lucky, who live in a country where I don´t ever have to consider whether I can afford to ask for help when I am in pain, or even minor discomfort. On reflection I suppose we all have limitations, either in ourselves or imposed upon us by the world we live in; but I think that no matter how lucky we are, it is natural to regret the things we can not do (and there will always be plenty of those). Perhaps realizing that one´s potential is in some ways hampered is even necessary to be able to turn one´s attention to the possibilities we do have, and be creative within that framework.